USCAA Names Banks, Bearden All-Americans

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.  -- Penn State Brandywine sophomores Brianna Banks (Philadelphia, Pa./Parkway Center) and Samantha Bearden (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) both earned women's soccer all-American awards from the United States Collegiate Athletic Association last week as Banks was named to the first team and Bearden was selected to the second team.

Banks, a two-time Penn State University Athletic Conference Player of the Year, earned first team laurels for the second-straight season. Also a two-time First Team All-Conference selection, Banks topped the PSUAC and ranked fifth nationally with 20 goals this fall. Her 44 total points tied Banks for seventh in the USCAA and were 17 greater than her closest competitor in the conference.

In 14 matches, Banks registered at least one goal in 10 games with a trio of three-goal efforts and seven multi-goal performances overall. She became the first Brandywine women's soccer player to reach 100 career points, accomplishing the feat in her 25th career game with a three-goal, two assist match against Penn State Beaver on Oct. 14.

Banks' goal in Brandywine's USCAA Tournament match against Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences gave her an even 50 for her career. She owns 113 total points in 30 matches over the last two seasons.

A two-time all-conference honoree who gained first team accolades this fall, Bearden started all 14 games in the midfield for Brandywine. She tied for third in the conference and second on the team with five assists, while also tallying five goals.

Bearden tallied 10 of her 14 points in matches against USCAA opponents, including a goal during the Lions' 2-2 tie with Johnson & Wales at the USCAA Tournament last week.

In two seasons at Brandywine, Bearden owns 29 career points as she has totaled nine goals and 11 assists in 27 matches.