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PAST ISSUES

Franklin Pierce Athletics year in review

by David Vishniac
Exchange Staff

     It has been a long year for Franklin Pierce Athletics. There are so many stories to tell, games to highlight, players to honor. In the institution's first year as a University, the Ravens have continued their successes on and off the field throughout the year.

Men's Soccer wins national championship

     This was by far one of the top highlights of the year for Franklin Pierce. The Ravens fell in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Semifinal to Merrimack in overtime, but rebounded to make it to the Final Four in Orange Beach, Alabama. The Ravens defeated Midwestern State University in penalty kicks, but without the tremendous performances of senior goalkeeper James Thorpe and graduate student David Clifton, Franklin Pierce would not have had a chance to win the National Championship.

     Clifton set NCAA Division II records for career goals scored in the NCAA Tournament as well as most goals scored in one NCAA Tournament. He also scored the game-winning goal for the Ravens against Lincoln Memorial in the National Championship, giving his team the 1-0 and the first Men's Soccer National Championship. Thorpe became the all-time leader in minutes played by a goalkeeper in any NCAA Division against Lincoln Memorial. He finished his career with 49 shutouts and made two tremendous saves in the shootout against Midwestern State University, including one against the points leader in Division II, Daniel Brown. His efforts throughout the season, but especially the NCAA Tournament, earned him NCAA Division II Player of the Year.

     For the second time in three years, both Franklin Pierce soccer teams advanced to the Final Four, with both winning and moving on to the National Championship. The Women's Soccer team defeated Seattle Pacific, 2-0, in the Final Four to advance to their seventh championship match. The Ravens were led offensively by senior Gabriela Demoner, who dazzled opponents and fans alike with her outstanding soccer skills. Demoner was named to the NSCAA/adidas All-America first team for the second straight time following the conclusion of the season, finishing with 28 goals and 12 assists for 68 points. Senior Jenna Giardina was also a great asset for the Ravens scoring 8 goals and collecting 13 assists for 29 points. Junior goalkeeper Brittany Ester tied NCAA Division II records for not allowing a goal in the run of play throughout the NCAA Tournament. She moved into second place in program history for shutouts in a season with 13.

     Despite losing to University of Tampa in penalty kicks in the championship match, the Ravens had numerous highlights during their tremendous season. In the Ravens' second game of the season freshman Angelika Johansson scored 4 of Franklin Pierce's first 5 goals in the opening 16 minutes of play against Philadelphia University. Johansson was named to the All-America second team after finishing the year with 11 goals and five assists for 27 points.

     Leading Franklin Pierce to its first Men's Soccer National Championship certainly helped, but the effort by Thorpe through the 2007 season earned him Player of the Year for Division II. He led the conference with 12 shutouts and ranked second (10^th nationally) with a 0.63 goals against average. He also posted a .786 save percentage, ranking fourth. Thorpe earned All-America status for the third time in his career, the only player to do so in program history. He was also named the NE-10 Conference Goalkeeper of the Year for the fourth time, also a program record. In the Final Four he did not allow a goal in 200 minutes of play and made key saves against Midwestern State University in a shootout to help the Ravens advance to the National Championship.

     Thorpe finished his career as one of the most successful goalkeepers in NCAA history. He set the record for minutes played by a goalkeeper in any division with 8,391 minutes played over 93 career matches. His career 0.66 GAA is tops in program history, while guiding his team to an 82-16-17 record over his four-year career. He also made a name for himself defending penalty kicks, stopping 17 career penalty kicks and going 6-1 in shootouts during his career, the lone loss coming against Dowling in the NCAA New England Regional Final his freshman year.

     Thorpe was the fourth player in program history to be drafted into Major League Soccer, with D.C. United selecting him in the fourth round of the supplemental draft. He joins former All-Americans Bojan Vuchovic (1996), Felix Brillant (2004) and Christopher Joyce (2006).

     The Ravens fell at home in the NE-10 Tournament to Bryant University, but had a tremendous run in the NCAA Tournament. In the Northeast Regional in Philadelphia, the Ravens cruised past Dominican, 66-54, stunned NE-10 Tournament Champion Stonehill, 68-56, and defeated top-seeded, number four-ranked, host, and previously undefeated Holy Family University, 88-71, to capture their first Regional Title in program history. Sophomore All-American Johannah Leedham earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the regional after her sensational performance, averaging 28.3 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.5 steals in four NCAA games this season. Her sister, junior Jennifer Leedham, finished second on the team with 346 points and 130 assists this year. Vanessa Power also contributed, finishing third with 230 points and shooting .392 from three-point range. Senior Josie Lidke collected 216 points, shooting .479 from the floor and .481 from three-point range in her final collegiate season.

     The Ravens fell in the Elite Eight in Nebraska to Alaska-Anchorage in overtime, 71-65, but finished the year with the best record in program history, 27-6 (18-4 NE-10).

     Things only got better for the Ellesmere Port, England native following her freshman year. Leedham was named the Division II Player of the Year this year for Women's Basketball, becoming the first player in the NE-10 Conference to receive the award. She was named to the All-America first team as well as the All-Northeast Region, NE-10 Player of the Year and All-NE-10 first team honors. Not only was she successful on the court, she earned All-Academic first team honors for the conference, earning a 3.29 cumulative grade point average.

     Leedham led the conference and finished third nationally in scoring with 23.0 points per game, while also leading the conference with 3.4 steals per game. She led the Ravens in all but one of the team's 33 games this year and set program records for points (758), steals (111) and free-throws made (180) in a single season. Her 758 points adds to her career total of 1,336 points, good for sixth place in program history, as well as third with 211 career steals and tenth with 46 career blocks.

     The quick freshman for the Ravens' Women's Lacrosse team put on a show this year in the conference, finishing a whopping 73 goals and 14 assists, both program single-season records, for 87 points. She is the first player in program history to earn major postseason honors from the Northeast-10.

     Also worth noting, freshman Jordan Baillargeon finished second on the team with 39 goals scored and 7 assists for 46 points. She came close to tying a Division II record for goals scored in one game as she led Franklin Pierce with 10 goals (tied for fourth in Division II history) en route to a 25-20 win over Norwich on April 10. The record of 12 goals in a game is held by former Raven Jami Ladakakos '99, who set the record against Castleton State College on April 21, 1999. Baillargeon did break the program record for points in a game with 13, passing Ladakakos' record of 12.

     Senior captain Joe Fields made an impact for the rebuilding Franklin Pierce hockey team, finishing this season with 15 goals and 16 assists for a program-best 31 points, the goal and points totals single-season records for the Ravens. He finished his career as the all-time leader with 37 goals, 49 assists and 86 points. His total of 19 assists between 2006-07 is a single-season program record, as is his three career hat tricks.

     Fields signed a professional contract with the Huntsville Havoc of the Southern Professional Hockey League. He played in 4 games and scored 1 goal and 2 assists after joining the team late in the season.

     Ferreira led the Franklin Pierce Men's Lacrosse team with 25 goals and 29 points this year, finishing his career as the program's leading scorer. After scoring two goals against Bryant on April 13^th to set the program record for career goals, he scored his record 76^th goal in his final game against top-ranked Le Moyne College. He also tied his career record of seven points by scoring six goals and adding an assist in a 13-10 win over Rollins on March 16.

     Junior co-captain Nicole Buchholz was named to the 2007 Daktronics All-Northeast Region second team following a tremendous season for the Franklin Pierce Volleyball team. The selection is the first All-Region pick in program history. She appeared in every match for the Ravens, leading the team with 334 kills and 159 blocks. Her total blocks along with her 1.26 blocks per game led the Northeast-10 Conference. Buchholz was also named to the Northeast-10 All-Conference second team and the NE-10 All-Academic first team.

     Buchholz has worked her way up the career record books through her three years at Franklin Pierce. Over 88 career matches, her 918 career kills are good for third her 381 blocks put her in second place in program history (dating back to Raven players since 1995). She is 29 blocks and 306 kills behind Many Johnson '02, who holds the career records for both statistics.

     Buchholz led the Ravens to the program's best conference record ever (10-4 NE-10, 18-16 overall) and finished fourth in the Northeast-10. Franklin Pierce also finished eighth in the final regular season NCAA Division II Northeast Regional poll and set a school record with 11 home wins.

     During the fall and spring seasons the Franklin Pierce Golf team had several team and individual successes. Senior Craig Jasinski set a program single-day individual record on September 24 at the ECAC Division II Championships in Syracuse, carding an even-par 71. The Ravens also won their Spring Invitational for the second straight time, with junior Corey Dunn leading Franklin Pierce with a round of 78 to finish second at The Shattuck in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Jasinski finished third, carding an 80 to finish his career. The Ravens (348) beat out Elms (359), Worcester State (362) and Green Mountain (470) to win the tournament.

     For the second time in his career, Men's Soccer Head Coach Marco Koolman was named the Division II Coach of the Year after leading Franklin Pierce to its first National Championship. He first won the award when he coached for his alma mater Gannon University in 1993. He is only the second coach in school history to earn the award, joining former women's head coach Mark Krikorian (1994 & '95). Koolman also earned New England Region Coach of the Year honors for the second-straight year and third time overall.

     During his career, Koolman has led the Ravens to a 112-37-19 record in his eight years at Franklin Pierce. He also has a 186-66-25 career record, and entered the 2007 season as the 14^th-ranked coach in Division II all-time for career winning percentage (.716). During his tenure at Franklin Pierce, Koolman has seen 15 All-Americans, 34 All-New England and 62 All-Northeast-10 selections produced from his teams, along with two National Players of the Year and three players drafted by MLS franchises.

     The season isn't over yet for Franklin Pierce, as a late push for the Ravens has put them into the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. The Ravens (36-12, 20-10 NE-10) are led offensively by junior preseason All-American Scott Savastano and senior Keith Renaud. Savastano is batting .384 with 51 runs scored, 15 doubles, 2 triples, seven home runs and 38 runs batted in. He has also boasted a tremendous strikeout/walk ratio, walking 42 times while only striking out 11 times. Renaud is hitting .352 with 36 runs scored, 3 homers and 39 RBI.

     Mike Adams leads the pitching staff for the Ravens, picking up his ninth win of the season on Wednesday against Bentley College. He has posted a 1.00 earned run average with 89 strikeouts. Sophomore Brian Maloney has a 6-1 record while posting a 2.55 ERA and striking out 80. Sophomore Kyle Vazquez has also earned a 6-1 record with a 2.60 ERA and 68 strikeouts. Senior closer Tyler Bishop has a 6-2 record, posting a 0.90 ERA and striking out 43 in 30 innings pitched, collecting six saves.

     The Ravens are back in action on Friday at 1 p.m. against Southern Connecticut State University in Northeast-10 Conference Tournament action. Click here for more information on the Ravens' run in the postseason.