Demoner voted New England Region Player of the Year

RINDGE, N.H. (November 6, 2007) - Five members of the Franklin Pierce University women's soccer team have earned Daktronics All-New England Region honors, as selected by sports information directors in the region.

Senior midfielder Gabriela Demoner (Curitiba, Brazil) heads up the list of All-New England honorees and has been selected as the Daktronics New England Region Player of the Year. Joining Demoner on the All-New England first team is sophomore back Rachel Smith (Chichester, N.H./Bible Baptist School (Pa.)) and freshman forward Angelika Johansson (Falkenberg, Sweden). Senior midfielder Jenna Giardina (Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic) and freshman back Kelly Weygand (Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) were both selected to the All-Region second team.

Demoner, who earns Daktronics first team All-New England honors for the second-straight year, has also collected NE-10 Player of the Year and two-straight All-NE-10 first team selections. The NSCAA/adidas first team All-American in 2006 leads the Northeast-10 with 57 points (4^th nationally) and 23 goals (7^th), while her team-best 11 assists are good for second in the Conference (16^th). Demoner leads the Ravens with three match-winning goals (5^th NE-10) and has scored the opening goal in seven of their 19 matches so far this season. She has notched at least a point in 15 of the 16 matches in which Franklin Pierce has netted at least one goal this fall.

Demoner is just one point shy of becoming the 11^th player in program history to reach 100 career points. She ranks tenth in program history with 38 career goals to go with 23 assists in just 38 matches over her two seasons at Franklin Pierce.

Johansson, the NE-10 Freshman of the Year and first team All-NE-10 pick, earns All-New England honors after making an immediate splash in her first season at Franklin Pierce. She ranks second on the team to Demoner with 27 points (2^nd NE-10) and 11 goals (4^th) to go with five assists (10^th). She earned NE-10 Freshman of the Week three times and Player of the Week once.

Johansson produced one of the top goal scoring outings in NCAA Division II this season with her four goals in the opening 16 minutes of Franklin Pierce's 9-0 win over Philadelphia University on August 25. She also netted a hat trick in the Ravens 4-1 win at No. 24 Merrimack College on September 25.

Smith earns All-New England honors for the first time after claiming All-Northeast-10 honors over the weekend. Smith converted to Franklin Pierce's defensive unit after playing forward her freshman season. Smith is the anchor of a Franklin Pierce defense that ranks second in the NE-10 with a 0.60 team goals against average (16^th nationally) and third with 11 shutouts (14^th). She leads all Raven defenders with eight points and three goals (one match-winner) to go with two assists.

Smith, also an NE-10 All-Academic honoree this fall and Commissioner's Honor Roll Silver Scholar, started 16 of 21 matches played as a forward for Franklin Pierce her freshman season. She ranked fourth on the team, and second among freshmen, with five goals (two match-winners) and 12 points, adding two assists.

Giardina, a second team All-Northeast-10 pick for the second-straight year, earns Daktronics All-New England second team honors for the second-straight year as well. One of six Ravens to start all 19 matches this season, Giardina is second on the team with ten assists (3^rd NE-10) to go with six goals for 22 points (10^th NE-10). Her three match-winning goals shares the team lead. In Conference play, she dished a team-best eight assists (2^nd) to go with three goals for 14 points.

Giardina, a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District and NE-10 All-Academic selection, ranks 27^th in program history with her 52 career points to go with 24 assists and 14 goals in 83 career matches played.

Weygand earns Daktronics All-New England honors for the first time following a strong freshman season. She started 13 of 16 matches played in Franklin Pierce's defensive unit and plays a key role for a defense that ranks second in the NE-10 with a 0.60 team goals against average (16^th nationally) and third with 11 shutouts (14^th).

Weygand contributed a goal and two assists for four points in her first collegiate season. She netted the match-winning goal in the 77^th minute of an eventual 2-0 win over Assumption College on September 12 for her first collegiate points. She dished assists in wins at #24 Merrimack College (Sept. 25) and Saint Anselm College in the NE-10 Tournament (Oct. 28).

Franklin Pierce (13-1-5, 9-1-4 NE-10), ranked 16^th in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll, has earned its 16^th-straight NCAA Division II Tournament berth and the third-seeded Ravens will face sixth-seeded Holy Family University in an opening round game at Bryant University on Friday at 4 p.m.