web Charlotte

Dec. 18, 2009

Charlotte, NC - Two members of the nationally-ranked Charlotte 49ers men's soccer team were among the 11 student-athletes selected to this year's North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) University Division All-State team. Senior midfielders Luke Exley and Adam Gross represented the 49ers on the NCCSIA All-State team. For the second consecutive season and the third time in the program's history, Charlotte had two players earn NCCSIA All-State honors.

The NCCSIA All-State team is selected annually by the sports information professionals at North Carolina's NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and independent institutions as a means of promoting the various athletics teams within the Tarheel State

Exley and Gross played an integral role in helping the 49ers earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1997. Charlotte was nationally-ranked for a majority of the season. The 49ers, who at one point this season were ranked #9, finished the season with 11 wins including a victory over College Cup participant Wake Forest on the road. The 49ers finished the season ranked ninth in the nation in scoring offense at 2.05 goals per game.

Exley, who was the 49ers' vice-captain, earned second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors. He has been a mainstay for the 49ers as a starting central midfielder for the last three seasons. He scored a career-high five goals with a career-high tying six assists this year. Exley scored the game's only goal in the 49ers 1-0 road win at Furman. He also scored a goal and added an assist in the 49ers A-10 season-opening 6-0 win over George Washington.

Gross, who was a first-team All-Atlantic 10 selection, ranked among the A-10 leaders with a team-leading career-high nine goals with four of them being game-winners. He also is second on the team with six assists which gave him a team-leading 24 points. He scored two goals and added two assists in the 49ers win over George Washington. He has earned A-10 Player of the Week honors twice this season. Gross was also named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's National Team of the Week as well. Gross, who was a 2008 NCCSIA All-State selection, was the 49ers' captain this season.

Gross was Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Student-Athlete of the Year as well as being named first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American. Gross was a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American.