Blixt Named Top Rookie, Four Others Earn All-Conference Nods
RINDGE, N.H. (November 3, 2016) – Franklin Pierce University freshman midfielder Jacob Blixt (Borrby, Sweden) has been named the 2016 Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Year it was announced this morning by the league office.
In addition to his Rookie of the Year selection, Blixt was also chosen as an NE-10 First Team midfielder and an All-Rookie Team selection. Joining Blixt on the NE-10 First Team as a forward is graduate student Marius Preber (Jessheim, Norway). Freshman defender Niklas Laudahn (Olfen, Germany) and goalkeeper Jadel Poon-Lewis (Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago) earned All-Rookie Team nods and sophomore defender Charlie Madden (Newton Abbot, United Kingdom) rounded out the All-Conference selections as a member of the NE-10 Third Team.
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Blixt, a three-time NE-10 Rookie of the Week, started and played in all 16 games for the Crimson and Grey. The freshman ranked second in assists (10), second in shots (60), fourth in points (28) and sixth in goals (9). Blixt had an impressive collegiate debut as he racked up a hat-trick (three goals), one assist which amassed to a total of seven points in the 5-2 season opening victory over Bridgeport on September 3rd. The freshman led the squad with four game-winning goals and recorded four games with three or more points during his freshman campaign.
Preber earned his first ever First Team selection after being named a Second Team member last season. The graduate student led the league in scoring with 13 goals, ranked second in total points (28) and sixth in shots (48). He easily surpassed his single-season career-highs in goals and points that were set last season while adding four contests in which he scored multiple goals. Preber tied with Blixt for the team lead in game-winning goals (4) with his most memorable score coming in the 88th minute during the Ravens signature win of the year, a 1-0 dethroning of the previously no. 2 nationally ranked Southern New Hampshire Penmen on September 28th.
The defensive play of Laudahn and Madden was crucial to the Crimson and Grey's success this year. Last season, the Ravens allowed a 1.62 goals-against average and this year it dropped to 1.16, fifth in the conference. The team also ranked fifth in goals-against, as they allowed only 19 goals on the campaign. Offensively, Madden led Raven defenders in goals (3) and came up big in the Ravens 2-1 2OT victory against SNHU in the NE-10 Quarterfinals as he made a huge defensive save and headed home the game winning score 12 minutes into extra time. Laudahn chalked up two goals on the season including his first career marker in a 3-1 victory against conference foe Southern Connecticut State. Like Blixt and Preber, Laudahn and Madden came through in the clutch numerous times as the duo ranked right behind their teammates in game-winning scores with two apiece.
With the strong defensive unit in front of him, Poon-Lewis turned in a spectacular rookie season and was also a key factor in the Ravens goals-against average decline. Poon-Lewis started and played in 15 games for the Ravens, racked up 1256:44 minutes in net, ranked fifth in the league in goals-against average (1.15), seventh in goals-allowed (16), seventh in save percentage (.746), 10th in saves (47). The freshman finished the year at 11-3, with three of those wins counting as shutout victories. He stopped a career-best seven shots in the Ravens 3-2 win at Molloy on September 10th.
The Ravens head to Adelphi tomorrow for the NE-10 Quarterfinals at 7:00 p.m.
For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce athletic apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).