Second player-of-the-year accolade for Reilly this season

RINDGE, N.H. (November 16, 2010) -- Franklin Pierce University men's soccer standout Tom Reilly (Wallasey, England) was named the 2010 Daktronics East Region Player of the Year, as announced on Tuesday by Daktronics and AthleticSite.com(.)

In addition to Reilly, five other Ravens were honored by being placed on the All-East team, including: senior back Shaliek Dawkins (Kingston, Jamaica) on the first-team; junior midfielder Paul Latif (Newcastle, England) on the first-team; junior midfielder Diego Tabares (Seekonk, Mass.) on the first-team; junior goalkeeper Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass.) on the first-team; and junior forward Victor Goncalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) on the second-team. By being named Player of the Year, Reilly also earned a spot on the first-team.

The five Ravens who earned first-team honors now move on for consideration for the 2010 Daktronics All-America Team, which will be announced at a later date in either late-November or early-December.

For Reilly, it was his second player-of-the-year accolade this season, as he also earned the same honor from the Northeast-10 Conference two weeks ago. Reilly has helped anchor one of the top defensive units in the country as Franklin Pierce ranks fourth nationally in goals against average at 0.53. He was a big factor in helping Franklin Pierce win the 2010 NE-10 Championship as he assisted on two goals, including the game-winner, in the Ravens' 5-1 win over Merrimack in the conference quarterfinals. He followed that up with spectacular defensive play in the semifinals and finals, as Franklin Pierce posted a pair of 1-0 shutout victories over Le Moyne and Bentley to hoist the championship trophy.

Dawkins has also played a big role in Franklin Pierce's defensive efforts this season as he has served as the team's center-back. In addition to ranking fourth nationally in goals against average, the Ravens also rank among the top-10 in the NCAA in shutouts per game. Dawkins has earned a pair of first-team honors this season. In addition to being placed on the All-East team, he was also named to the All-Northeast-10 First-Team earlier in the month.

Latif has been a major offensive force for the Ravens this season as he leads the team in points (20) and assists (10), and ranks third goals (5). He was a key contributor during Franklin Pierce's seven-match winning streak midway through the season as he factored into the game-winning goal in all seven contests (4 g, 3 a). Latif was also placed on the All-NE-10 First-Team two weeks ago.

Tabares also earned first-team honors for the second time this season as he too was placed on the conference's first-team back in the first week of November. Tabares has scored five goals and assisted on three others for 13 points this season. He came up big for the Ravens in their penalty kick shootout victory over Southern New Hampshire on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as his PK tally ended the match and lifted Franklin Pierce to the national quarterfinals.

Papageorgiou has had an outstanding season in goal for the Ravens as he is 17-1-2 with an .849 save percentage, a 0.53 goals against average and 11 shutouts. He posted back-to-back shutout victories in the NE-10 semifinals and finals to give Franklin Pierce its first conference title since 2006. He was named to the All-NE-10 second-team earlier in the month.

Goncalves earned All-East Region Second-Team honors for the second-straight season. He is tied for second on the team with six goals, including scoring Franklin Pierce's lone regulation goal in Saturday night's win over SNHU. Goncalves also added a penalty kick goal in the shootout to help lift Franklin Pierce to victory.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday night when the Ravens play host to Dowling in the NCAA Quarterfinals at 7 p.m. in Sodexo Field. The winner of that match will advance to the Division II Final Four on Dec. 2 in Louisville, Ky.

Tickets will be sold at the gate and are $7 for adults, $4 for students and seniors and $2 for children (2-12 years). Franklin Pierce students who show their college ID at the gate will get in for free, courtesy of Student Involvement and the Athletics Department.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men's soccer, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).