Clifton earns award for first time with first team selection
Petropanagos named to second team, becomes first three-time Academic All-American in program history

RINDGE, N.H. (November 26, 2007) - Two members of the Franklin Pierce University men's soccer team have earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). It marks the first time in program history that two members of the men's soccer team have been named Academic All-Americans in the same year.

Grad student David Clifton (London, England) has earned his first Academic All-America selection with a spot on the first team, while senior captain Peter Petropanagos (Mississauga, Ontario/York University) becomes the first three-time Academic All-American in program history with his selection to the second team. The duo boost Franklin Pierce's Academic All-America total to six in program history.

Clifton, just the third Academic All-America first team recipient in program history, has earned a 3.618 grade point average in Franklin Pierce's Master's of Business Administration program. He has also earned first team Academic All-District and NE-10 All-Academic honors for the first time this fall and the second-year post grad earned NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll Gold Scholar status in 2006-07. He graduated with First Class Honors from Loughborough University in England in 2006.

Clifton, the Daktronics New England Region and Northeast-10 Player of the Year, leads the Northeast-10 with 51 points (2^nd in Division II) and 24 goals (2^nd) to go with three assists in 17 matches played. The four-time NE-10 Player of the Week has set new NCAA Tournament records with eight goals and 16 points through Franklin Pierce's first three tournament matches, earning Most Outstanding Offensive Player at the New England Regional after netting a pair of hat tricks in the two Raven wins. Clifton has recorded five hat tricks this season and his six match-winning goals lead the team and are good for second among NE-10 leaders. 

Clifton currently ranks eighth in program history with 32 career goals, while his 68 career points are good for 14^th all-time in 33 matches for Franklin Pierce over two seasons. He enters this week's Final Four with nine career NCAA Tournament goals, matching the Division II record set by former Franklin Pierce All-American Christopher Joyce (2004-05) and matched by Fort Lewis University All-American John Cunliffe (2004-06).

Petropanagos, also the first three-time All-District first team selection in program history, has now earned Academic All-America first (2006), second (2007) and third team (2005) honors over his Franklin Pierce career. He was selected as a defender in 2005 & 2006, earning the award as a midfielder this fall. Petropanagos has earned a 3.865 cumulative grade point average as a pre-med major at Franklin Pierce and is a three-time NE-10 All-Academic first team pick and NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll Gold Scholar as well as a member of Chi Alpha Sigma National Student-Athlete Honor Society.

Petropanagos, a tri-captain for Franklin Pierce this fall, has played 91 of a possible 94 matches (90 starts) over his four-year career and has been a key cog in a Ravens defensive unit that has been ranked among NCAA Division II leaders each fall. Franklin Pierce posted a Division II best and program-record 0.44 team goals against average and 15 shutouts in 2006 and ranks tenth in Division II this year with a 0.69 team GAA and 13^th with ten shutouts.

Petropanagos is a three-time All-Northeast-10 selection, earning first team honors as a junior and senior, while also collecting All-New England region honors the last two seasons. This year, Petropanagos has netted a goal (first of career) and dished two assists for four points. He has totaled a goal and seven assists for nine career points from the back line and helped the Ravens compile a 65-16-13 overall record since stepping on campus with four NCAA Tournament berths. The team advanced to the 2005 National Championship match, and has captured a program record three-straight NE-10 regular season championships and the 2006 NE-10 Tournament title. Franklin Pierce is 42-5-5 in Conference play over the last four years.

Franklin Pierce (16-2-3, 11-0-2 NE-10), ranked 4^th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, is back in action on Friday when the Ravens compete in their third NCAA Division II Final Four in program history and second in three years. Franklin Pierce will battle No. 7 Midwestern State University of Texas (19-3-0) in the second of two national semifinals on Friday at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala., at 6 p.m. (EST).