Women's soccer team places four on first team, two men claim first team honors 

RINDGE, N.H. (November 4, 2004) - Six members of the Franklin Pierce men's and women's soccer teams were named to the inaugural Northeast-10 Conference All-Academic Team for their respective sports. The teams are selected by the sports information directors from the 15 Northeast-10 Conference institutions and announced recently by the Conference office.

Four members of the Franklin Pierce women's soccer team earned a spot on the All-Academic women's first team, while two members of the men's squad were named to the men's All-Academic team.

Senior back Martta Makila (Vantaa, Finland) heads the list of women's soccer players honored with a 3.77 cumulative grade point average in mass communication at the College. Makila is a four-year starter in the Ravens defensive unit and has appeared in 86 of a possible 87 matches over her career and 

helped lead a defense that has yielded just 0.74 goals per match with 40 shutouts. A two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, Makila has also totaled 13 goals and eight assists for 34 career points.

This season, the two-time All-New England and All-Conference pick has registered two goals and two assists for six points in 18 matches. Makila and the Ravens defensive unit have yielded a Conference-low 0.50 goals per match with ten shutouts.       

Junior midfielder Elizabeth Allen (Durham, N.H./Oyster River) has recorded a 3.93 cumulative GPA in sports and recreation management at Franklin Pierce. A three-year starter, Allen is a two-time Northeast-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll Gold Scholar and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors a year ago as well. She has totaled two goals and three assists for seven points in 54 career matches. Both goals in her career are match-winners, including the deciding goal in the Ravens 3-0 victory over No. 25 Texas A&M-Commerce on August 30.

This season, Allen has registered a goal and assist for three points from her defensive midfield position. In addition to her match-winning goal, Allen's assist came on the game-winning marker against Saint Anselm College in the Ravens regular season finale.            

Junior midfielder Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland) has registered a 3.52 cumulative GPA in psychology. An All-New England and NCAA All-Tournament pick in her first season with Franklin Pierce after transferring from Virginia Intermont College, Hughes ranks 23^rd on the program's all-time scoring list with 63 career points on 17 goals and 29 assists (11^th) in 43 career matches at the College. She has also earned 26 caps for the Republic of Ireland women's national team, helping it to a first place finish in its group in recent European Championship qualifying.

This fall, Hughes is third on the team with 28 points (6^th NE-10), while her ten assists (4^th) are second on the team, to go with nine goals in 18 matches.       

Sophomore back Mia Makarainen (Espoo, Finland) has posted a 3.83 cumulative GPA in management at the College. A Northeast-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll Gold Scholar last year, Makarainen has been an integral part of a Franklin Pierce defensive unit which has yielded just 0.71 goals per match with 19 shutouts in her first two years at the College.

This season, Makarainen has been the backbone to a defense that ranks first in the Northeast-10 with a 0.50 team goals against average to go with ten shutouts. She has also dished a pair of assists, including the helper on the Ravens match-winner in a key 3-0 victory over Bryant University on October 6.

Franklin Pierce (17-1, 13-1 NE-10) has advanced to its fifth-straight Northeast-10 Championship match and will host third-seeded Assumption College for a fifth-straight title on Sunday at 1 p.m.     

Senior back Kyle Miller (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) has earned a 3.31 cumulative GPA in environmental science at the College. The two-year captain has been an integral part of a Franklin Pierce defensive unit that has yielded 1.22 goals per match over his four years as a starter with 30 shutouts. Miller was an NSCAA Scholar All-Region selection in 2003 and earned All-Northeast-10 Conference accolades as a freshman. He has also registered three goals (two match-winners) and five assists in his career.

This season, Miller and the back line have had a record setting season. The team has set a program record with 14 shutouts, shattering the previous record of ten set by Franklin Pierce's lone Final Four team in 1991. The team ranks third in the NE-10 with a 0.64 team goals against average this year and are on pace to break the program record for fewest goals allowed as its 13 goals against are six below of the previous record of 19 set in 1995. Miller has also dished three assists for three points this fall, with one of those assists coming on a match-winning goal.            

Senior back Troy McColl (Sydney, Australia) has also recorded a 3.31 cumulative GPA while majoring in sports management. A two-year starter for Franklin Pierce since transferring from North Country Community College in upstate New York, McColl has played a key role for a defensive unit, which has allowed just 1.08 goals per match with 21 shutouts. He was an All-Northeast-10 selection last fall when the Ravens returned to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time since 1998.

This fall, McColl ranks third on the team with seven assists to go with a goal for nine points in 19 starts. He has shifted between the midfield and defense for the Ravens and played a part in the defensive unit's record-setting year. McColl has totaled four goals and ten assists for 18 points over his two-year career at the College.

Franklin Pierce (15-5, 10-3 NE-10) has advanced to the Northeast-10 Championship match for the first time since joining the Conference in 2000. The Ravens, who upset top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Southern Connecticut State in the semifinal, while face defending tournament champion UMass Lowell on the road on Sunday at 1 p.m. Franklin Pierce must win the match to have a shot at its tenth NCAA Tournament bid in program history.