Franklin Pierce Leads NE10 with Three Academic All-Americans
MANFIELD, Mass. – Franklin Pierce's Carlos Ferrando Felis was honored as the CoSIDA Division II Men's Soccer Academic All-America Team Member of the Year to highlight five CoSIDA men's and women's Academic All-Americans from the NE10 as announced by the organization last week.
Felis was the lone men's First-Team Academic All-American from the NE10 and is a graduate student who finished with a 3.67 grade-point average as an undergraduate student, and now has a 3.98 GPA as a graduate student. He led fourth-ranked Franklin Pierce to a berth in the sweet 16 for the second straight time and an overall record of 20-1-1 while spearheading a near impenetrable defense. Earlier this year he was named then Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year while earning first team All-Conference Honors and Second-Team All-America honors.
Also earning First-Team Academic All-America honors is Saint Rose's Marika Laurendau. Laurendeau, an MBA student, posted a 3.81 GPA as an undergraduate and owns a 4.00 currently. He led her team to the NCAA Championship game this year, falling in overtime to defending national champion Grand Valley State. She finished the year with an 18-2-4 record with an .861 save percentage and was named a First-Team All-American by United Soccer Coaches. She is also a two-time NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year.
Adelphi's Rodrigo Descalzo Rocca was selected to the Second Team, while his teammate Paolo Marciano was named to the Third Team. The duo were both All-Conference and All-Region selections this year while ranking second and fifth in the league in scoring, with 31 and 22 points respectively. Kosta Maniatis of Franklin Pierce was also honored with a Third Team selection as the goalie anchored the Franklin Pierce defense and earned NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year honors. On the women's side, Viridiana Vazquez Kloss of Franklin Pierce was selected to the Third Team after appearing in 17 games with 11 points.
| (Team) Name | GPA | Major |
| (1) Carlos Ferrando Felis | 3.98/3.67 | Health Science |
| (1) Marika Laurendeau | 3.81/4.00 | MBA |
| (2) Rodrigo Descalzo Rocca | 3.82 | Management |
| (3) Kosta Maniatis | 3.75 | Accounting |
| (3) Paolo Marciano | 3.83 | Sport Management |
| (3) Viridiana Vazquez Kloss | 4 | Business Management |
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
