Welcome named Player of the Year, Cheadle earns Defensive Player of the Year

RINDGE, N.H. (November 4, 2002) - Franklin Pierce sophomore forward Meghan Welcome (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) and senior back Nicole Cheadle (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) highlighted the eight Ravens honored with All-Northeast-10 Conference selections, by the Conference coaches, announced at the NE-10 Championship banquet in Smithfield, R.I., over the weekend.

Welcome earned the school's second-straight Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year award - the eighth Conference Player of the Year award in program history. The sophomore took on a more offensive role this season after playing mostly the left back and left midfield positions as a redshirt freshman in 2001.

Welcome leads the Northeast-10 in scoring with 44 points and 19 goals to go along with six assists. Her 44 points this season has set a new school record for points in a single-season by a US-born player, surpassing the previous record of 41 by Beth Ondrick in 1990. She has netted a team-best seven game winning goals this fall and earns All-Northeast-10 Conference accolades for the second-straight season after earning a spot on the second team last year.

Welcome had a career day in the Ravens 10-0 victory over American International College in which she totaled ten points (two shy of the school single-game record) on four goals (one shy of the school record) and two assists. She currently ranks 21st in program history with 65 career points and 15th all-time with 27 career goals (2nd all-time among US-born players).

Cheadle 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). 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. She netted both goals in the top-seeded Ravens 2-1 win over third-seeded Merrimack College in yesterday's Championship match and netted the game winning goal in Tuesday's 3-0 quarterfinal round win over eighth-seeded Pace University while back boning 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 a Verizon Academic All-America candidate. Including her four goals and assist for nine points this fall, she has totaled 36 career points with 16 goals and four assists.

Joining Welcome and Cheadle on the All-Northeast-10 first team are seniors Angela Verdoes (Katwijk Aan Zee, Holland) andAnumari Ylemaki (Vantaa, Finland).

Verdoes earned All-Conference honors for the third time (second NE-10 pick) as she ranks among Conference leaders with 23 points on ten goals and three assists after moving up to forward this season after serving in more of a playmakers role in the central midfield the last three years.

Verdoes, two-year captain, earned All-America accolades last season and is a two-time All-New England selection. She currently ranks sixth in program history with 138 career points and 48 career goals. Her 42 career assists is good for fifth in program history. The 1999 New England Collegiate Conference Rookie of the Year set an NCAA Division II record that season with 24 assists in helping guide the Ravens to its fifth NCAA Division II National Championship.

Ylesmaki, the 2001 NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year, 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.

The All-NE-10 selection for the Ravens tri-captain is the second of her career and she also claimed All-New England status last fall. A Verizon Academic All-America candidate, Ylesmaki currently ranks 19th in program history with 67 career points and 12th all-time with 27 career assists.

Earning second team All-Northeast-10 Conference honors are senior midfielderKamille Rosenfalck (Borup, Denmark), junior goalkeeper Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway) and sophomore back Martta Makila (Vantaa, Finland).

Rosenfalck earns second-team honors for the second-straight year since joining the Ravens. This fall, she has been a key playmaker in the central midfield as her nine assists ranks second on the team and among NE-10 leaders to go along with a goal for 11 points.

Rosenfalck also earned All-New England status last season as well as a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament team. She currently has totaled 26 career points with four career goals and 18 career assists.

Kibsgaard, a transfer from Champlain College, earns her first All-NE-10 selection. She leads the Conference and ranks among Division II leaders with a 0.42 goals against average and .848 save percentage to go along with eight shutouts this season, which is good for eighth among career leaders at the College. She established a career-high with five saves in a 2-0 win at Pace University on October 5, a mark she matched two other times during last week's Northeast-10 Conference Championship run.

Makila also earns her first All-Northeast-10 selection. A two-year starter on the Ravens defense she has teamed 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. A Verizon Academic All-America candidate, 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.

Senior midfielder Andrea Caesar (Visby, Sweden) is the Ravens lone representative on the All-Conference third team. The two-time All-NE-10 selection leads the Conference with 12 assists to go along with six goals for 24 points this fall. Caesar had an outstanding Conference Tournament, 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.

A first team All-Conference selection in 2000, Caesar currently ranks 22nd in program history with 51 career points and 14th with 23 career assists.

Franklin Pierce (16-0-2, 12-0-2 NE-10), ranked No. 4 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, awaits imminent news regarding its 11th-straight NCAA Division II Tournament selection on November 11. The Ravens will be the top-seed in the New England region and receive a first round bye and host the New England regional title match on Saturday, November 16, at 1 p.m.