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Oni Bernard knew when she arrived at Charlotte two years ago she was joining one of the most successful women's soccer programs in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
So successful, in fact, that Bernard has never tasted defeat in any of the conference games she has played with the 49ers.
"Sometimes we feel like a lot of teams are out to get us, so it's not been an easy time," Bernard said of Charlotte's 25-0-2 record in league play since October 2007. The 49ers' last loss to a league opponent was a 1-0 defeat to Rhode Island on Oct. 27, 2007.
Since then, they've gone through the 2008 and 2009 regular seasons unbeaten, won two consecutive conference tournaments and made two trips to the NCAA tournament.
The 49ers (15-2-2) will try to extend their streak as they open play at 5:30 p.m. today against Fordham in the semifinals of the conference tournament at Charlotte's Transamerica Field.
Charlotte's two ties in its unbeaten streak came this season - against Saint Louis and against tournament No. 1 seed Dayton (14-0-5), which plays Saint Louis in the second semifinal at 8 tonight. The championship is 1 p.m. Sunday.
"In this modern era, I think the streak is phenomenal," said 49ers first-year coach John Cullen. "When we step on the field, we are getting everybody's best game so it brings out the best in us, too.
"I think the streak has taken off on a life of its own. The girls take as much pride in that than anything else. One day the record will go, but today doesn't have to be the day."
By virtue of one less tie in conference play, Dayton grabbed the top seed in this season's tournament, but Charlotte players still led the way in postseason awards.
Senior Hailey Beam was named A-10 midfielder of the year for the second straight season. Junior Whitney Weinraub was named the league's offensive player of the year. Weinraub, Beam and junior Megan Minnix were named first-team all-conference while senior Lauren Brown and Bernard, a sophomore, were named second-team all-conference.
"I think the streak is pretty unbelievable. That just speaks wonders about us as a program," said Beam. "It's not just one individual that is doing it - it's about a whole team accomplishing something.
"I'm a very, very competitive person and I never want to lose."
