Tom Reilly Named Northeast-10 Men's Soccer Player of the Year; Craig Stewart Named NE-10 Coach of the Year

Seven other Ravens earn NE-10 honors

RINDGE, N.H. (November 1, 2010) -- Franklin Pierce junior back Tom Reilly (Wallasey, England) was named the 2010 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Soccer Player of the Year, as announced on Monday by the league. It marked the first time a Raven took home the league's top individual award in the sport since 2007 when David Clifton earned player-of-the-year honors.

Reilly has had an oustanding year helping to anchor one of the top defensive units, not just in the conference, but in the country. Franklin Pierce has allowed just nine goals this season for an average of just 0.55 tallies a contest, while also posting nine shutouts. The Ravens rank fourth in the nation in goals against average and eighth in shutout percentage.

Reilly started all 16 matches during the regular season. In addition to earning player-of-the-year honors, he was awarded a spot on the All-NE-10 First-Team. It marked the second-straight season Reilly earned all-conference accolades as he was placed on the all-league second-team in 2009.

Reilly was not the only Raven to earn all-conference recognition on Monday as seven of his teammates earned NE-10 honors, including: junior midfielder Paul Latif (Newcastle, England) on the first-team; junior midfielder Diego Tabares (Seekonk, Mass.) on the first-team; senior back Shaliek Dawkins (Kingston, Jamaica) on the first-team; junior forward Victor Goncalves (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) on the second-team; junior goalkeeper Vinny Papageorgiou (Wilmington, Mass.) on the second-team; sophomore midfielder Samuel Kelley (Bedford, N.H.) on the third-team; and graduate back Jeff Hay (Dudley, Mass.) on the third-team.

Latif earned all-conference honors for the first time in his career after he had a solid regular season. Latif leads the team in points with 19 and is tied for second on the squad in goals scored with five. He was a major factor in Franklin Pierce's seven-match winning streak during the middle portion of the season as he factored into the game-winning goal in each contest, including scoring four times and assisting on the other three tallies.

Tabares earned All-NE-10 honors for the second-straight year as he was also placed on the league's second-team last season. Tabares has scored five goals and assisted on three others for 13 points, while also scoring a goal in each of the last two matches. He is tied with Latif for second on the team in goals scored.

Dawkins earned all-league accolades for the fourth time in as many seasons, but this season was the first time he was placed on the first-team. He earned third-team recognition as a freshman in 2007 and earned second-team honors each of the last two seasons as a sophomore and a junior. Dawkins has played at the center-back position this season and teamed up with Reilly and Hay to serve as one of the top defensive units in the country by posting nine shutouts.

Goncalves was named to an all-league team for the third-consecutive year. He was named the NE-10 Freshman of the Year in 2008, while also being named to the first-team that year and in 2009. Goncalves has been one of the top offensive players in the league this season as he has recorded four goals and two assists for 10 points.

Papageorgiou landed on an all-conference team for the second time in three years as he also earned a spot on the 2008 all-rookie team. He played his way onto the second-team this season after turning in a strong regular season in net by posting a 14-1-1 record, a 0.55 goals against average, an .842 save percentage and nine shutouts.

Kelley continued his progression of solid play during his sophomore season, which came a year after he was named to the league's all-rookie team in 2009. He assisted on two goals this season for two points and has been a strong defensive player at the midfield position.

Hay was placed on the third-team during his first season in a Ravens' uniform. A graduate transfer from Brown University, Hay has provided a huge offensive spark from the backfield this season as he leads the team with seven goals. A dependable defensive player, Hay has also played a big part in the Ravens ranking fourth in the nation in goals against average.

The other honor that went Franklin Pierce's way on Monday was head coach Craig Stewart being named the 2010 Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year. In just his second season as a head coach, Stewart has guided the Ravens to a 14-1-1 overall record, a 12-0-1 mark in league play, a conference regular season championship and the No. 1 ranking in the Division II national top-25 poll. Those honors come one year after Stewart had a successful head coaching debut in 2009 as he guided the Ravens to a 13-5-3 record and a trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

The top-ranked Ravens kick off their post-season run on Tuesday night when they play host to Merrimack in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Championship. The match will begin at 7 p.m. in Sodexo Field. The winner will advance to the conference semifinals on Friday where it face either Le Moyne or Southern New Hampshire. Franklin Pierce is the top-seed and owns home-field advantage throughout the league playoffs, while Merrimack is the eighth-seed.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men's soccer, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).