Makila, Hughes highlight record-matching four Academic All-District selections 

RINDGE, N.H. (November 23, 2004) - Four members of the Franklin Pierce women's soccer team earned spots on the ESPN The Magazine Academic District I College Division Women's Soccer Teams as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The teams are selected by sports information directors from New England and New York in all three NCAA Divisions as well as the NAIA.

Senior back Martta Makila (Vantaa, Finland) and junior midfielder Sonya Hughes (Balbriggan, Ireland) both were selected to the Academic All-District first team, while junior midfielder Elizabeth Allen (Durham, N.H./Oyster River) and sophomore back Mia Makarainen (Espoo, Finland) were named to the third team. The four Academic All-District selections matches the program record set in 2002.            

Makila is the first three-time Academic All-District honoree in program history after earning first team honors for the second-straight season. She has earned a 3.77 cumulative grade point average in mass communication at the College while a four-year starter in the Ravens defensive unit. Makila has appeared in 90 of a possible 91 matches over her career and helped lead a defense that has yielded just 0.75 goals per match with 42 shutouts. She has also totaled 14 goals and eight assists for 36 career points.

This season, the three-time All-Northeast-10 Conference and two-time All-New England pick has registered three goals and two assists for eight points in 22 matches. Makila and the Ravens defensive unit have yielded a Conference-low 0.63 goals per match with 11 shutouts. In addition, she was a member of the inaugural Northeast-10 All-Academic squad this fall and a two-time All-NCAA Tournament team selection over her career.            

Hughes, an Academic All-District pick for the first time in her career, has registered a 3.52 cumulative GPA in psychology at the College. Hughes is a two-time All-Northeast-10 Conference honoree, who also earned a spot on the Conference's inaugural All-Academic squad this fall. The 2003 All-New England selection ranks 21^st on the program's all-time scoring list with 69 career points on 19 goals and 31 assists (11^th) in 47 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 34 points (5^th NE-10), while her 12 assists (2^nd) are second on the team, to go with 11 goals (7^th) in 22 matches.         

Allen, who has earned Academic All-District honors for the second-straight year, has recorded a 3.93 cumulative GPA in sports and recreation management at the College. A two-time Northeast-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll Gold Scholar, Allen also earned a spot on the inaugural NE-10 All-Academic squad this fall. 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 in 18 matches (nine starts) 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.            

Makarainen, who earns her first Academic All-District selection, 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 0.75 goals per match with 20 shutouts in her first two years at the College.

This season, Makarainen was the backbone of a defense that ranked first in the Northeast-10 with a 0.63 team goals against average to go with 11 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. Makarainen earned All-Northeast-10 Conference honors this fall as well as a spot on the inaugural NE-10 All-Academic squad.

Franklin Pierce finished its season with a 20-1-1 overall record to go with a 13-1 mark in the Northeast-10 to capture its fourth-straight regular season title before claiming a fifth-straight NE-10 Tournament title earlier this month. The Ravens made a record 13^th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and advanced to the quarterfinal round where it was upset by Adelphi University in a penalty shootout (6-5) after the two sides played to a 2-2 double-overtime draw. Franklin Pierce also claimed a record ninth NCAA New England Regional title.