Marks the second All-America honor for each player this season

RINDGE, N.H. (January 5, 2012) -- Three senior members of the Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team, Diego Tabares (Seekonk, Mass.), Tom Reilly (Wallasey, England) and Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass.) were recently named All-Americans by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). 

Tabares earned first-team honors, while Reilly was placed on the second-team and Papageorgiou took home third-team honors. It marked the second All-America honor for the trio this season as Daktronics recognized them back in December by placing Tabares and Reilly on the first-team and Papageorgiou on the third-team.

Tabares' NSCAA recognition means that he is a consensus first-team All-American for the 2011 season. He had a decorated senior campaign, including being named the player of the year by both the Northeast-10 Conference and Daktronics East Region. 

Tabares started all 23 matches during the year and led Franklin Pierce in goals (9), points (22) and shots (81), while also ranking among the top-five in the NE-10 in all three categories. He also scored a pair of match-winning goals and ranked among the conference leaders in that category as well. Tabares put together a streak of seven-consecutive matches logging at least one point during the midway portion of the season, including producing multiple points in five of those contests. His strongest outing during that stretch was a two-goal performance in a 3-1 win at Southern Connecticut State on Oct. 5.

For Reilly, it marked the second-straight year he earned All-America accolades from both organizations, as he was awarded first-team status by both in 2010. He picked up the All-America awards this season after anchoring one of the top defensive units in the nation as Franklin Pierce ranked third nationally in team goals against average (0.51), sixth in shutout percentage (0.57) and seventh in save percentage (0.85). He was named the NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year, becoming just the fourth player in program history to earn a major, year-end award from the league in multiple seasons. Reilly also contributed on the offensive end this season as he scored three goals and assisted on another seven points.

Papageorgiou had a stellar 2011 season for Franklin Pierce as the senior goalkeeper posted a 21-1-1 record, a 0.51 goals against average and an .848 save percentage, while earning NE-10 Goalkeeper-of-the-Year accolades. He ranked third nationally in goals against average and eighth in save percentage. Papageorgiou also recorded 13 shutouts on the season, including posting three in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament and a pair in the NCAA Division II Championship. His three shutouts in the NE-10 tournament helped the Ravens capture their second-straight conference title. He recorded a shutout victory in Franklin Pierce's NCAA quarterfinal showdown with Southern New Hampshire on Nov. 19, which helped propel the Ravens to the fourth NCAA Division II Final Four appearance in program history. Papageorgiou stopped at least five shots in seven matches during the season.

In addition to the All-America honors, Tabares, Reilly and Papageorgiou were named to the NSCAA All-East Region First-Team. Joining them on that team was senior forward Victor Goncalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Graduate back Daniel Donaldson (Moenchengladbach, Germany) and senior midfielder Paul Latif (Newcastle, England) were named to the East Region Third-Team.

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).