Caesar voted to first team, Cheadle second team, Ylesmaki and Makila third team

RINDGE, N.H. (November 7, 2002) - Four members of the Franklin Pierce women's soccer team, ranked No. 4 in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, have earned spots on the 2002 Verizon Academic All-District I College Division Women's Soccer teams. The teams are selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) members from throughout the Northeast. Senior midfielder Andrea Caesar (Visby, Sweden) was voted to the first team and is now eligible for Verizon Academic All-America honors to be announced on Tuesday, November 26.

Senior back Nicole Cheadle (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) was selected to the second team, while senior midfielder Anumari Ylesmaki (Vantaa, Finland) and sophomore back Martta Makila (Vantaa, Finland) earned third team honors.

The four were among 34 student athletes in Divisions II and III from New England and New York out of over 110 nominees to earn a spot on the three teams. Caesar was the lone Division II student-athlete selected to the first team, while the four from Franklin Pierce make up half of the eight Northeast-10 Conference players chosen to the three teams.

Caesar has earned a 3.71 cumulative grade point average while majoring in advertising with a minor in graphic communications at the College. The two-time All-Northeast-10 selection leads the Conference with 12 assists (11th in Division II) to go along with six goals for 24 points this fall. Caesar had an outstanding Conference Tournament last week, totaling a goal and four assists for six points as she had a hand in all three Ravens game winning goals en route to their third-straight NE-10 title.

Caesar currently ranks 22nd in program history with 51 career points and 14th with 23 career assists. The Dean's Honor List student is the team's representative on the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC). This is her first Verizon Academic All-District selection. Cheadle has earned a 3.54 cumulative GPA in marketing while enrolled in the College's honors program. She collected the school's second-straight NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year honor as well as her fourth-straight All-Conference selection (third NE-10) this season. Cheadle anchors a Ravens defense that leads the Conference and ranks in the top-five in Division II, allowing just 0.39 goals per match. In her four-year career at Franklin Pierce, the Ravens defense has yielded just 0.71 goals per game.

Cheadle earned NE-10 Tournament MVP honors as she led Franklin Pierce to its third-straight Conference Tournament title last weekend. She netted both goals in the top-seeded Ravens 2-1 win over third-seeded Merrimack College in the Championship match and netted the game winning goal in a 3-0 quarterfinal round win over eighth-seeded Pace University while backboning a Ravens defense that allowed just one goal in the three tournament games.

A two-year captain, Cheadle is a two-time All-New England honoree and including her four goals and assist for nine points this fall, she has totaled 36 career points with 16 goals and four assists. A Dean's List student every semester, Cheadle is a member of Pierce Pals, an on-campus program similar to Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and works at several youth soccer camps and clinics near her hometown. This marks her first Verizon Academic All-District selection.

Ylesmaki has earned a 3.46 cumulative grade point average in social service administration, a student-designed (interdisciplinary) major at the College. The 2001 NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year, Ylesmaki moved up to the right midfield position to help with the offensive output this fall. She ranks second on the team and is among Conference leaders with 27 points, ten goals (two game winners) and seven assists.

Ylesmaki, a tri-captain for the Ravens this fall, has earned All-NE-10 honors the last two years, after her first team selection last week, and an All-New England pick last fall. She currently ranks 19th in program history with 67 career points and 12th all-time with 27 career assists. Ylesmaki is active in the community, volunteering her time at Rindge Memorial School and coaching a local U-12 soccer team in the Monadnock, Region, while also a member of Pierce Pals and Pierce Pride. This marks her first Verizon Academic All-District selection.

Makila, a mass communications major with a 3.67 cumulative GPA, is a Dean's Honor List student at the College. She earned her first All-Northeast-10 selection last week and is a two-year starter, teaming with Cheadle in the back to lead the Ravens defense, which set a school record with six shutouts to start the season, and has allowed a Conference-low seven goals this fall.

Makila has totaled a goal (game-tying marker against Merrimack on October 2) and an assist for three points to give her 13 points (5 gls, 3 asts) for her two-year career at the College. A member of the U-20 National Team and a former U-17 member in Finland, she is a Pierce Pride member and writes for the College student-run newspaper, Pierce Arrow.

The Ravens four Verizon Academic All-District honorees is a school-record for one sport at the College surpassing the previous record set by the women's soccer team in 1998 when Pauliina Auveri and Pauliina Miettinen both earned first team All-District honors before being selected to the Academic All-America team.

Franklin Pierce (16-0-2, 12-0-2 NE-10), ranked first in the New England region, awaits official word regarding its 11th-straight NCAA Division II Tournament berth on Monday. The Ravens claimed their third-straight Northeast-10 tournament championship last weekend after capturing the NE-10 regular season crown for the second-straight year. Franklin Pierce is expected to receive the top seed in the NCAA New England Regional and host the regional final on Saturday, November 16, at 1 p.m. The Ravens will be looking to advance to the Division II Final Four a record 11th-straight season and a possible record sixth National Championship.