Nov. 4, 2009

Charlotte, NC -

2009 All-Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Team release

Five members of the Charlotte 49ers women's soccer team have earned All-Atlantic 10 honors. Senior Hailey Beam was named A-10 Midfielder and Student-Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year. Junior Whitney Weinraub was named A-10 Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Weinraub, Beam and junior Megan Minnix earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors. Senior Lauren Brown and sophomore Oni Bernard earned second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors. Beam, Brown and Minnix were named to the A-10 Academic All-Conference team.

"Congratulations to these ladies on their fantastic seasons," Charlotte coach John Cullen said. "They have shown great consistency in their play throughout the season which is reflected by the awards and honors that they have earned. They have represented our team well throughout the season which is a reflection of our team. They have conducted themselves with class on and off the field this season. I am looking forward to seeing them play exceptionally well in this week's A-10 Championship."

For the second consecutive season, Beam was named A-10 Midfielder and Student Athlete of the Year. She ranks second in the A-10 with 10 goals, 10 assists and 30 points. Two weeks ago, she scored her 36th career goal which tied Courtney Cook (1994-97) for the school-record for career goals. She also passed Cook for the program's career record for points with 103. She scored two goals including the game-winner in the 49ers' 5-3 Atlantic 10 season opening win over Duquesne. She earned A-10 Player of the Week honors twice. Beam has also earned TopDrawerSoccer.com and CollegeSoccer360.com National Team of the Week honors this season as well.

Beam, who earned her second straight A-10 Women's Soccer Student-Athlete of the Year award, has a 3.80 GPA in Finance and Marketing. Recently, she was named first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District for the second straight year. In 2008, she was named second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American.

Weinraub joins former 49ers women's soccer standout Jill Currie (1997-00) as the only two players in school history to be named a league's offensive player of the year twice. She is the first player in A-10 history to repeat as league's Offensive Player of the Year. Weinraub finished the regular-season with an Atlantic 10 leading 13 goals and 32 points. She ranks among the nation's leaders in goals and points. Weinraub's 13 goals is the fourth highest single-season total in school history. This year, she scored two goals against Francis Marion, Fordham and Richmond. Against Temple, Weinraub scored a goal and tallied two assists. She earned A-10 Player of the Week honors three times.

Minnix, who earned second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors last year, anchors a 49ers defense which recorded 13 shutouts and limited 15 foes to a goal or less this season. Over the past three seasons, she has been a starter on a 49ers defense that has recorded 37 shutouts and limited 49 foes to a goal or less.

Minnix, who earned A-10 Academic All-Conference honors last season, has a 4.0 GPA in Business. Recently, she earned second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors.

With Beam, Minnix and Weinraub being named first-team All-Atlantic 10, this is the second consecutive season and the third time in school history that three 49ers have earned first-team all-league honors.

Bernard, who earned second-team All-Atlantic 10 and A-10 All-Rookie team honors last season, finished the regular-season amongst the A-10 leaders with seven assists. She added two goals for 11 points. Against Rhode Island, she scored a goal and recorded an assist. She tallied two assists in the 49ers win over Massachusetts including assisting on the game-winning goal.

Brown, who earned second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors in 2007, led a 49ers defense which recorded 13 shutouts and limited 15 foes to a goal or less this season. This year, Brown has a 0.72 goals against average with 58 saves. She holds school career records for goals against average (0.89) and shutouts (26). During her career, the 49ers have recorded 42 shutouts and limited 54 foes to a goal or less.

Brown has a 3.77 GPA in Exercise Science.

Beam, Bernard, Brown, Minnix and Weinraub and the rest of the 49ers women's soccer team are the second seed in this week's Atlantic 10 Tournament which will be played at Charlotte's Transamerica Field, November 5-8. The 49ers, who have earned a first-round bye, begin their quest for their third straight A-10 Championship by facing the highest remaining seed in the semifinals, Friday, November 6.