Women’s Soccer Puts Four on All-NE10 First Team
RINDGE, N.H. (November 3, 2017) – After a season in which it has returned to the top third of the Northeast-10 Conference standings and put together a strong case for an NCAA Championship berth, the Franklin Pierce University women’s soccer team was rewarded with a quartet of All-NE10 selections on Friday. Sophomore midfielder Gabi Pereira (Belo Horizonte, Brazil), senior back Gabriela Braga (Porto Alegre, Brazil), junior midfielder Nathalia Maria da Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and junior back Marta Turmo (Barcelona, Spain) have all been named to the All-NE10 First Team, as announced by the Conference office. In addition, freshman back Evaline Rodrigues (Rehoboth, Mass.) has landed on the All-Rookie Team.
For da Silva, it marks the third straight All-NE10 selection, as well as her first time being named to the First Team. All other Ravens honored earned their first career postseason NE10 accolades.
Pereira has been one of the key midfield cogs which have kept the Ravens’ machine moving this year. While starting in all 17 games, she is currently third on the team in points, with 12, on five goals and two assists. Of her five goals, a team-best four have been of the game-winning variety. Pereira has attempted 48 shots, including 16 on goal. She is the team’s primary option for taking corner kicks and free kicks.
Braga is one of the team’s two senior captains, and has helped anchor a back line which ranks among the very best in the NE10. As a unit, the Ravens rank third in the league defensively and are allowing just 0.74 goals per game, one of only four teams in the 15-team NE10 to surrender less than one goal per game. Braga has started all 17 games for Franklin Pierce this fall, and has recorded four points on a goal and two assists. She has attempted 17 shots, including nine on goal, and is 1-for-1 in penalty kicks.
The first career First Team selection for da Silva comes in a year in which she has scored seven times, which is tied for fourth in the NE10. She has tallied 14 points while appearing in 15 games, including 13 starts, has a trio of game-winning goals, and is 2-for-2 on penalty kicks. She leads the team in both shot attempts (55) and shots on goal (30). After Pereira, da Silva serves as another popular option for the Ravens on free kicks near the penalty area.
Turmo is another key piece of the Ravens’ successful back line, alongside Braga. The Spaniard has started in all 17 games in the middle of the defensive unit, and often pushes forward to serve as a weapon on corner kicks or set pieces. To that end, she has scored twice on the season to tally four points, and has attempted 23 shots, including 10 shots on goal.
Rodrigues has emerged as the lone freshman to earn a starting spot on the 2017 squad and has started all 17 games, also on the back line. She put home her first collegiate goal at Stonehill on Sept. 27 and has tallied three shot attempts on the season, all of which have been on goal.
The Ravens (12-3-2) return to action later on Sunday, when they travel to Southern New Hampshire for the final round of the NE10 Championship. Opening kickoff in the title game is set for 1 p.m. at Larkin Field in Manchester, N.H.
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 soccer apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics’ online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).