Clifton named NE-10 Player
of the Year Thorpe first four-time NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year in
Conference history Ettienne earns second-straight Defensive Player
of the Year award Koolman collects NE-10 Coach of the Year honors
for second time
RINDGE, N.H. (November 3, 2007) – A program-record
nine members of the Northeast-10 Conference Regular Season Champion
Franklin Pierce University men’s soccer team have earned
All-Northeast-10 Conference recognition by a vote of the
Conference’s 14 head coaches.
Grad student David Clifton (London, England) was
also selected as the NE-10’s Player of the Year, while senior
All-American James Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass./Bridgton
Academy) earned Goalkeeper of the Year for the
fourth-straight year and senior All-American Bisharra
Ettienne (East Elmhurst, N.Y./Dominica State College)
collected Defensive Player of the Year honors for the
second-straight season. Head Coach Marco Koolman capped the Ravens
major award winners by being voted Coach of the Year for the second
time in three years by his peers.
Clifton is the third Franklin Pierce player in the last four years
to be named NE-10 Player of the Year, joining Craig Stewart (2004)
and Christopher Joyce (2005). Clifton leads the NE-10 with 35
points (3rd in Division II) and 16 goals (4th) to go with three
assists in just 14 matches played this season for the Ravens after
returning from a preseason injury. He also earned the NE-10’s
Gold Ball Award, presented by Select Sport America, for netting a
Conference-best 16 goals during Conference play and is one of five
Ravens named to the All-NE-10 first team. His four match-winning
goals are second best on the team and ranked fourth among
Conference leaders.
Clifton, an All-Conference selection for the second-straight year
after earning third team honors in 2006, has also earned ESPN The
Magazine Academic All-District I and NE-10 All-Academic first team
honors this season. He ranks 12th in program history with 24 career
goals, while his 52 career points are good for 16th in program
history through 30 career matches played over two seasons.
Thorpe has earned NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year honors each of his
four seasons at Franklin Pierce. A two-time NSCAA/adidas Division
II All-American, earning second-team honors in 2006, Thorpe leads
the NE-10 with nine shutouts to go with a 0.69 goals against
average (3rd NE-10, 13th nationally) and .764 save percentage (7th)
while playing all 1,684:16 in the Ravens goal this season. In
Conference play, Thorpe posted a Conference-low 0.52 GAA with a
Conference-best eight shutouts to go with a .816 save percentage
(2nd).
Thorpe, also now a four-time first team All-NE-10 selection, is a
three-time first team All-New England Region pick and has
re-written the goalkeeping record books at Franklin Pierce. His
7,920-minutes, 11-seconds played in goal over his career is a new
NCAA Division II record for goalkeepers, while his 46 career
shutouts is good for second in NCAA Division II history as well as
program and Northeast-10 records. Thorpe is on pace to shatter the
career goals against average with his 0.68 mark, while his .809
career save percentage is good for second all-time.
Ettienne is the only NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year in Franklin
Pierce history – earning the award for the second-straight
year. He is the backbone of a Ravens defense that ranks second in
the Conference with a 0.69 team goals against average (11th
nationally) and nine shutouts (10th). The three-time first team
All-Northeast-10 and NSCAA/adidas All-New England selection leads
all Raven defenders with three goals for six points, netting one
match-winning goal this year.
The 2006 NSCAA/adidas first team All-American has been a key member
of a Franklin Pierce defensive unit which has ranked high among
NCAA Division II leaders in each of his three seasons. The Ravens
led Division II with a program-record 0.44 goals against average
and 15 shutouts in 2006. In 64 career matches played (all starts),
Ettienne has netted 13 goals (five match-winners) to go with an
assist for 27 career points.
Koolman earns NE-10 Coach of the Year honors for the second time
after also collecting the award in 2005. He guided Franklin Pierce
to its program-record third-straight NE-10 regular season crown.
The Ravens completed its first unbeaten run through a conference
regular season schedule since 1995 (9-0-1 New England Collegiate
Conference) with an 11-0-2 mark. The team leads the NE-10 in
scoring, averaging 2.61 goals per match, and is second in team
goals against average (0.69).
Koolman, who earned his 100th victory over his Franklin Pierce
career this season, has posted a 108-37-18 (.718) record in his
eight seasons at the Ravens helm – including a 77-18-9 (.784)
clip in NE-10 regular season play. Franklin Pierce is in position
to earn a fifth-straight NCAA Tournament bid under his leadership.
Koolman has posted a career coaching record of 182-66-24 (.713)
over 14 years, which includes his six seasons at Gannon University
before taking over at Franklin Pierce. He earned NSCAA National
Coach of the Year honors in Division II in 1993 and is a three-time
NSCAA Region Coach of the Year honoree.
Joining Clifton, Thorpe and Ettienne on the All-Northeast-10 first
team are senior midfielder Peter Petropanagos (Mississauga,
Ontario/York University) and senior back Michel
Vitulano (Montreal, Quebec/College de Maisonneuve).
Sophomore forward Henning Comé (Göteborg,
Sweden) has been selected to the All-NE-10 second team,
while junior midfielder Marek Hawrylik (Olsztyn, Poland/The
Winchendon School) and freshmen Johan Torstensson
(Falköping, Sweden) and Shaliek Dawkins (St.
Catherine, Jamaica) were all named to the All-NE-10 third
team.
Petropanagos, an All-Conference pick for the third time, earns a
spot on the first team for the second-straight year. The holding
midfielder is a key member of the Franklin Pierce defensive unit
which ranks second in the NE-10 with a 0.69 team goals against
average (11th nationally) and nine shutouts (10th). Petropanagos
has contributed a goal (first of career) and two assists for four
points this season.
Petropanagos, one of just two two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-Americans in program history – earning first team honors
in 2006, is the first three-time ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-District first team honoree in program history. He is a
three-time NE-10 All-Academic pick and also earned NSCAA/adidas
All-New England Region honors last fall. Petropanagos has played 89
of a possible 91 matches over his four-year career and totaled a
goal and eight assists for ten career points.
Vitulano, an all-NE-10 selection for the second-straight year,
earns first team honors for the first time. The Franklin Pierce
captain leads the team with eight assists (4th NE-10) for eight
points and is one of three Ravens (along with Ettienne and Thorpe)
to play all 18 matches so far this season. He is a key member of a
Ravens defensive unit that ranks second in the NE-10 with a 0.69
team GAA and nine shutouts.
Vitulano, who joins Petropanagos as the only two three-time ESPN
The Magazine Academic All-District honorees in program history with
his three-straight second team selections, is a two-time NE-10
All-Academic pick. In 73 career matches played, he has totaled five
goals and ten assists for 20 career points, netting three
match-winning goals.
Comé earns All-NE-10 honors with his second team selection
in his first year at Franklin Pierce after transferring from
Lambuth College in Tennessee. He is second only to Clifton among
NE-10 and team leaders with his 34 points (16th nationally) and 15
goals (15th) to go with four assists. Comé leads the Ravens
with five match-winning goals (2nd NE-10) and has totaled ten goals
and three assists for 23 points in Conference play this year.
Comé appeared in the “Faces in the Crowd”
section of the October 29 issue of Sports Illustrated after earning
NE-10 Player of the Week honors the same week younger brother,
Marcus, a freshman at Dowling College earned Player of the Week
honors in the East Coast Conference.
Hawrylik earns a spot on the All-Northeast-10 third team for the
second-straight season. He is third on the team with 11 points and
four goals (one match-winner) go with three assists this fall.
Hawrylik has split his time this season between the midfield and
wing back positions.
In 66 career matches played, Hawrylik has totaled ten goals and 14
assists for 34 career points. He has netted four match-winning
goals over his career and earned All-Tournament team honors at the
2006 NCAA Division II New England Regional.
Torstensson earns third team All-NE-10 honors in his first
collegiate season. He leads all Franklin Pierce freshmen with two
goals (one match-winner) and three assists for seven points in 17
matches played (all starts). Torstensson was named NE-10 Freshman
of the Week on one occasion this season.
Dawkins is also a third team All-Conference pick in his first
collegiate season. He has played 16 matches, with ten starts, for a
Franklin Pierce defensive unit that ranks second in the NE-10 with
a 0.69 team GAA (11th nationally) and nine shutouts (10th) this
season.
Franklin Pierce (13-2-3, 11-0-2 NE-10) is ranked fourth in this
week’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America
(NSCAA)/adidas Division II poll and first in the New England
Region. After seeing their bid for a second-straight NE-10
Tournament title cut short in the semifinal round, the Ravens are
on target to earn their fifth-straight NCAA Tournament berth (13th
overall) when bids are announced on Monday.