Four Ravens Collect NE-10 Weekly Honors
Vitulano and Thorpe earn men’s soccer awards, while McConnell and Franklin honored in volleyball and women’s soccer, respectively
Michelle McConnell has been named Northeast-10 Conference Libero of the Week. |
RINDGE, N.H. (October 23, 2006) –
Four Franklin Pierce student-athletes received weekly honors in
their respective sports from the Northeast-10 Conference on
Monday.
Junior Michel Vitulano (Montreal,
Quebec/College de Maisonneuve) earned Player of the Week
honors, while classmate James
Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton Academy) was named
Goalkeeper of the Week for men’s soccer. Senior Michelle McConnell (Elora, Ontario/Centre
Wellington) was named the volleyball Libero of the Week,
while Shona Franklin (Leicester,
England) earned Freshman of the Week honors in women’s
soccer.
Vitulano collects Player of the Week honors for the first time in
his career after leading the Franklin Pierce men’s soccer
team to a 2-0 week to clinch its second-straight Northeast-10
regular season championship. Vitulano led the Ravens to a key 2-1
victory at No. 12 Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday,
which clinched the top-seed for this week’s NE-10 Tournament.
He set up the Ravens opening goal in the 25th minute and then
netted the winning goal in the 81st.
Vitulano, who also collected first team NE-10 All-Academic honors
for the first time last week, is a key part of a Franklin Pierce
defensive unit which leads all of Division II with a 0.35 team
goals against average (six goals allowed) and 12 shutouts through
17 matches. The Ravens conceded just three goals in Conference play
this season with ten shutouts in 13 NE-10 matches. Vitulano has
also produced three goals (two match-winners) and an assist for
seven points in 12 matches played.
Vitulano, a three-year starter as the Ravens holding midfielder,
has been a key part of a defensive unit which has ranked among NCAA
Division II leaders each of his three seasons. He has also
contributed on offense with five goals and two assists for 12
points in 50 career matches played. Vitulano also collected ESPN
The Magazine Academic All-District second team honors as a
sophomore.
Thorpe, who earns Goalkeeper of the Week honors for the third time
this season (13th career), returned after a two-match absence due
to injury to stop six of the seven shots on goal he faced in a 2-0
week as the Ravens clinched their second-straight NE-10 regular
season crown. He made three second half saves in Franklin
Pierce’s key 2-1 victory at No. 11 Southern Connecticut.
Thorpe posted his Conference-leading ninth shutout of the season
with three saves (all first half) in Saturday’s regular
season finale, a 3-0 win over the College of Saint Rose.
Thorpe leads all of Division II with a 0.34 goals against average
and .906 save percentage to go with his NE-10-best nine shutouts.
In 15 matches played, the Ravens are 14-0-1 and he is averaging 3.2
saves and has played 1,316:49 minutes.
Thorpe, a third team All-American in 2005, is the program’s
all-time leader in shutouts (34) and minutes played (5,746:55) also
currently on pace to shatter the program records with his 0.67
career goals against average and .827 career save percentage.
Thorpe has also collected NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year honors in
2004 & 2005 and is a two-time first team All-New England
selection.
Top-seeded Franklin Pierce (15-1-1, 11-1-1 NE-10), ranked No. 4 in
last week’s NSCAA/adidas Division II poll and first in the
New England region, is back in action tomorrow when it hosts
eighth-seeded Saint Anselm College in a Northeast-10 Tournament
quarterfinal at 7 p.m.
McConnell earns Libero of the Week honors for the second time this
season. She helped the Franklin Pierce volleyball team to a 3-2
week, averaging 6.53 digs per game. McConnell posted a career-high
38 digs in a key 3-2 Northeast Regional victory over Bryant
University on Friday. On Saturday, the senior libero posted 28 digs
in a 3-0 sweep of UMass Lowell. McConnell opened the week with 20
digs in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Saint Michael’s
College.
This season, McConnell has played in all 24 matches and is
averaging a team-high 5.46 digs per game (3rd NE-10), which ranks
29th among NCAA Division II leaders.
Franklin Pierce (16-8, 8-4 NE-10) is back on the court on
Wednesday when it hosts Bryant University for a key Northeast-10
match at 7 p.m.
Franklin earns Freshman of the Week honors for the second time
this season after helping lead the Franklin Pierce women’s
soccer team to a win in its lone match of the week. Franklin netted
the match-winning goal 4:13 into the second half to spark the
Ravens to a 2-0 victory at Southern Connecticut State in their
regular season finale on Saturday.
Franklin is third on the team with five goals (two match-winners)
and two assists for 12 points while starting all 16 of Franklin
Pierce’s matches in her first collegiate season. Three of her
five markers this fall have been opening goals in matches.
Second-seeded Franklin Pierce (14-2-0, 12-2-0 NE-10), ranked 11th
in last week’s NSCAA/adidas Division II poll and second in
the New England region, is back in action tomorrow when it hosts
seventh-seeded Stonehill College for a Northeast-10 Tournament
quarterfinal match at 4 p.m.