Full name LaKeysia R. Beene Role Soccer player Playing position Height 1.70 m | Years Team Position Goalkeeper Name LaKeysia Beene | |
Date of birth (1978-03-09) March 9, 1978 (age 37) Place of birth Shaw Air Force Base, United States 1996–1999 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Nominations Best Female Soccer Player ESPY Award | ||
LaKeysia R. Beene (born March 9, 1978) is an American former soccer goalkeeper who played for the United States women's national soccer team and the San Jose CyberRays of Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA).
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College
Beene attended and played college soccer as goalkeeper for the University of Notre Dame. She graduated in 1999 having majored in environmental geoscience. With the Fighting Irish, Beene was a two-time All-American and backstopped the team to a runners-up finish in the 1999 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship.
Club
In 2000, Beene became one of the 24 founding players of the Women's United Soccer Association, (WUSA), the first official professional women's soccer league in the United States. From 2001–2003, she played for the San Jose CyberRays. In 2001 Beene was named WUSA goalkeeper of the year, as the CyberRays won the championship game, beating Atlanta Beat on a penalty shootout.
Beene previously played for pro–am Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) team California Storm. She returned to the Storm when WUSA collapsed after the 2003 season.
International
Beene's first appearance on the United States women's national soccer team was on January 7, 2000, in an 8–1 win over Czech Republic in Melbourne, Australia. She collected a total of 18 caps over the following three years, but was not included in the US squads for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, or the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Personal life
Beene was a teenage Tang Soo Do champion.
She was admitted to The State Bar of California in 2009 and currently practices environmental law in Sacramento.