United Soccer Coaches All-East Region selections

RINDGE, N.H. (November 29, 2017) – An All-East Region First Team selection for senior back Gabriella Braga (Porto Alegre, Brazil) highlighted four United Soccer Coaches All-East Region selections for the Franklin Pierce University women’s soccer team, as announced on Tuesday night by the organization. In addition to Braga, both junior back Marta Turmo (Barcelona, Spain) and junior midfielder Nathalia Maria da Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) landed on the All-East Region Second Team, while junior midfielder Bruna Tavares (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) took home All-East Region Third Team accolades.

It marked the first career All-Region selection for each of the four Ravens. Braga, Turmo and da Silva each earned All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team honors earlier this fall.

Braga served as one of the team’s two senior captains, and helped anchor a back line which ranked among the very best in the NE10. As a unit, the Ravens finished third in the league defensively and allowed just 0.87 goals per game, as one of only four teams in the 15-team NE10 to surrender less than one goal per game. Braga started all 19 games for Franklin Pierce this fall, and recorded four points on a goal and two assists. She attempted 17 shots, including nine on goal, and went 1-for-1 in penalty kicks.

Turmo was another key piece of the Ravens’ successful back line, alongside Braga. The Spaniard started in all 19 games in the middle of the defensive unit, and often pushed forward to serve as a weapon on corner kicks or set pieces. To that end, she scored twice on the season to tally four points, and attempted 23 shots, including 10 shots on goal.

For da Silva, the All-Region accolade comes at the end of a year in which she scored seven times, which was tied for fifth in the NE10. She tallied 14 points while appearing in 17 games, including 15 starts, had a trio of game-winning goals, and went 2-for-2 on penalty kicks. She led the team in both shot attempts (60) and shots on goal (32). She also served as a popular option for the Ravens on free kicks near the penalty area.

Working out of the midfield and also starting in all 19 games, Tavares served as the team’s main distributor. She piled up seven assists, which was good enough to tie for the NE10 lead. Tavares added one goal along the way to finish with nine points, which ranked fourth on the team. Her one goal was a game-winner, and she attempted 35 shots on the year, which included 10 shots on goal.

The Ravens finished the season at 12-5-2 and returned to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2010. The team finished fourth in the NE10, returned to the postseason for the first time since 2014 and made its first appearance in the NE10 title game since 2010.

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).