Photo by: Maggie Still
Buffs Add Five On National Signing Day
February 07, 2018 | Soccer
BOULDER – University of Colorado soccer coach Danny Sanchez announced five student-athletes that will join the team's program for the 2018 season on Wednesday.
"Although this is a small class, we feel that we have five players that will help us move our program even further forward," Sanchez said. "I want to give a lot of credit to our recruiting coordinator Dave Morgan and associate head coach Jason Green for all their work in identifying and bringing in these excellent student-athletes. Each of them are outstanding students and people that will fit in well with the culture and standards we have set within our program. Although we only lose two starters and four seniors overall from last year's squad, each of them is capable of coming in on Day 1 and having a huge influence on our program. Each recruit has the winning mentality and professional approach that we really search for. I know our Buffs supporters will love seeing them play over the next four years."
Groark is an attacking center midfielder/forward from the St. Louis area and has played a high level of club soccer throughout her youth, earning invites to the ECNL Player Development Program from 2015-17. Her senior season is yet to come this spring, but she will be on varsity for the fourth time in her career this year and has been named both Class 3 Region Player of the Year and all-state twice, while being an all-conference selection three times. Last year she had 13 goals and 10 assists, leading Incarnate Word Academy to its third consecutive district championship. Groark is ranked No. 38 in the IMG Academy 150 and is a four-star recruit by Top Drawer Soccer. She also has played for the St. Louis Scott Gallagher club team for the past 11 years and qualified for the ECNL Champions League with the U-17 team.
Sanchez on Groark:
"Emily is this coaching staff's first recruit out of the Scott Gallagher club in St. Louis, which is one of the top clubs in the Midwest. Emily can play anywhere along the front line or as an attacking midfielder. She is very creative and has a fantastic goal scoring mentality, but she is also willing to do the work on the defensive side of the ball. Emily has had tremendous success with her high school and club teams and we love her winning mentality."
Kingsbury is a forward from Windsor, Colo., and will earn her fourth letter in soccer this spring. She has been a member of the Olympic Development Program regional camp several times throughout her youth. She has already been named all-state three times in her career and was the conference player of the year in 2017 when she had 10 goals and 14 assists as a junior. She has also led Windsor to the state tournament semifinals all three seasons and is her school's career assists leader with 46. Kingsbury has also lettered in basketball and track, and finished fourth at the state track meet as a sophomore in the 100 meters, finishing in 12.31 seconds. In club soccer, she competed for Colorado Storm ECNL for the past six years and was the Storm player of the year for the U-15 team.
Sanchez on Kingsbury:
"Chaynee is a very athletic and fast striker who will be able to compete immediately physically in the Pac-12. She is very good taking on players 1v1 and is equally talented scoring goals as she is setting them up. Chaynee has tremendous upside and we feel she will only get better in our training environment. She was playing club soccer for our current assistant Dave Morgan a few years ago at Colorado Storm, so we will know she will be prepared for college soccer."
Loren is a midfielder from Redondo Beach, Calif., and has been named first-team All-Bay League each of her first three years, and was the league's offensive player of the year as a junior in 2017. She plays for LAFC Slammers in club soccer and led her team to the ECNL national championship in 2016 and a third-place finish in 2017. She has also been in the ODP from 2011-15 and the ECNL PDP in 2017.
Sanchez on Loren:
"Jesse is a player that we feel can have an immediate impact on our program. She can play anywhere as a deep-lying midfielder, but has also played all four spots along the backline. Jesse is very composed on the ball and is fantastic in the air. She strikes the ball well with both feet and is a great distributor. Jesse has led her team to an ECNL national championship and is a winner. She is always doing extra work to improve her game, and her professional mentality will suit her well as she transitions into Pac-12 soccer."
Webb is a center midfielder from San Marcos, Calif., and has been a three-year letterwinner at San Marcos. She was named first-team All-CIF as a junior after scoring 15 goals and tallying 10 assists in 27 matches, leading her team to a 22-2-5 record and the Division II finals. In club soccer, she has played for LA Galaxy San Diego for 12 years (formerly Carlsbad United) and won the USYS national championship in 2016. Webb was named to the USYS national championships Best XI in 2014 and 2016. She is a three-star recruit by Top Drawer Soccer and is ranked No. 116 in the IMG Academy 150.
Sanchez on Webb:
"Kayleigh comes to CU from the same club that produced current Buff Kelsey Aaknes. Kayleigh has all the tools to step in from Day 1 with our soccer program and compete. She never stops working on the field and is very strong in the tackle. Kayleigh is a true box-to-box midfielder, who scores goals with both feet and is strong in the air. She is another player in this recruiting class that has led her club teams to national prominence. Her commitment to winning and working is contagious amongst her teammates as she leaves it all on the field every match."
Weiner is a native of Evergreen, Colo., and is a transfer from the University of Virginia, where she redshirted in 2017. She was a member of the U-18 USWNT in 2016 and competed in the International Cup in Ireland. At Evergreen High School, she was a four-year letterwinner and was the Colorado Player of the Year as a senior and four-time all-state award winner. She led Evergreen to the state championship match as a senior and the quarterfinals as a sophomore and junior. Coming out of high school in 2017, she was ranked No. 73 in the IMG Academy 150.
Sanchez on Weiner:
"Sofia comes home after spending a semester at Virginia. Her time with her club team Colorado Rush was very successful and she led her high school team to unprecedented success. Sofia is another of our recruits that has versatility to play along any of the three lines. She is very technical and tactically smart, and she has had great experiences with U.S. Soccer Youth National Teams. Sofia has joined us for our spring season and has been a great addition to the squad."
CU is coming off a 12-6-4 season when it reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and had a 5-4-2 record in Pac-12 play. The Buffs lose just four seniors, including two starters. The team's top four scorers return, led by Marty Puketapu (8 goals, 2 assists) and Taylor Kornieck (7 goals, 4 assists). All-Pac-12 goalkeeper Jalen Tompkins is also back for her junior season after breaking the school records for goals-against average and save percentage in 2017.
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Yr. | Hometown (High School/Previous School) |
| Emily Groark | F/M | 5-7 | Fr. | St. Peters, Mo. (Incarnate Word Academy) |
| Chaynee Kingsbury | F | 5-7 | Fr. | Windsor, Colo. (Windsor H.S.) |
| Jesse Loren | M/D | 5-10 | Fr. | Redondo Beach, Calif. (Redondo Union H.S.) |
| Kayleigh Webb | M | 5-8 | Fr. | San Marcos, Calif. (San Marcos H.S. |
| Sofia Weiner | M | 5-3 | RFr. | Evergreen, Colo. (Evergreen H.S./Virginia) |
"Although this is a small class, we feel that we have five players that will help us move our program even further forward," Sanchez said. "I want to give a lot of credit to our recruiting coordinator Dave Morgan and associate head coach Jason Green for all their work in identifying and bringing in these excellent student-athletes. Each of them are outstanding students and people that will fit in well with the culture and standards we have set within our program. Although we only lose two starters and four seniors overall from last year's squad, each of them is capable of coming in on Day 1 and having a huge influence on our program. Each recruit has the winning mentality and professional approach that we really search for. I know our Buffs supporters will love seeing them play over the next four years."
Groark is an attacking center midfielder/forward from the St. Louis area and has played a high level of club soccer throughout her youth, earning invites to the ECNL Player Development Program from 2015-17. Her senior season is yet to come this spring, but she will be on varsity for the fourth time in her career this year and has been named both Class 3 Region Player of the Year and all-state twice, while being an all-conference selection three times. Last year she had 13 goals and 10 assists, leading Incarnate Word Academy to its third consecutive district championship. Groark is ranked No. 38 in the IMG Academy 150 and is a four-star recruit by Top Drawer Soccer. She also has played for the St. Louis Scott Gallagher club team for the past 11 years and qualified for the ECNL Champions League with the U-17 team.
Sanchez on Groark:
"Emily is this coaching staff's first recruit out of the Scott Gallagher club in St. Louis, which is one of the top clubs in the Midwest. Emily can play anywhere along the front line or as an attacking midfielder. She is very creative and has a fantastic goal scoring mentality, but she is also willing to do the work on the defensive side of the ball. Emily has had tremendous success with her high school and club teams and we love her winning mentality."
Kingsbury is a forward from Windsor, Colo., and will earn her fourth letter in soccer this spring. She has been a member of the Olympic Development Program regional camp several times throughout her youth. She has already been named all-state three times in her career and was the conference player of the year in 2017 when she had 10 goals and 14 assists as a junior. She has also led Windsor to the state tournament semifinals all three seasons and is her school's career assists leader with 46. Kingsbury has also lettered in basketball and track, and finished fourth at the state track meet as a sophomore in the 100 meters, finishing in 12.31 seconds. In club soccer, she competed for Colorado Storm ECNL for the past six years and was the Storm player of the year for the U-15 team.
Sanchez on Kingsbury:
"Chaynee is a very athletic and fast striker who will be able to compete immediately physically in the Pac-12. She is very good taking on players 1v1 and is equally talented scoring goals as she is setting them up. Chaynee has tremendous upside and we feel she will only get better in our training environment. She was playing club soccer for our current assistant Dave Morgan a few years ago at Colorado Storm, so we will know she will be prepared for college soccer."
Loren is a midfielder from Redondo Beach, Calif., and has been named first-team All-Bay League each of her first three years, and was the league's offensive player of the year as a junior in 2017. She plays for LAFC Slammers in club soccer and led her team to the ECNL national championship in 2016 and a third-place finish in 2017. She has also been in the ODP from 2011-15 and the ECNL PDP in 2017.
Sanchez on Loren:
"Jesse is a player that we feel can have an immediate impact on our program. She can play anywhere as a deep-lying midfielder, but has also played all four spots along the backline. Jesse is very composed on the ball and is fantastic in the air. She strikes the ball well with both feet and is a great distributor. Jesse has led her team to an ECNL national championship and is a winner. She is always doing extra work to improve her game, and her professional mentality will suit her well as she transitions into Pac-12 soccer."
Webb is a center midfielder from San Marcos, Calif., and has been a three-year letterwinner at San Marcos. She was named first-team All-CIF as a junior after scoring 15 goals and tallying 10 assists in 27 matches, leading her team to a 22-2-5 record and the Division II finals. In club soccer, she has played for LA Galaxy San Diego for 12 years (formerly Carlsbad United) and won the USYS national championship in 2016. Webb was named to the USYS national championships Best XI in 2014 and 2016. She is a three-star recruit by Top Drawer Soccer and is ranked No. 116 in the IMG Academy 150.
Sanchez on Webb:
"Kayleigh comes to CU from the same club that produced current Buff Kelsey Aaknes. Kayleigh has all the tools to step in from Day 1 with our soccer program and compete. She never stops working on the field and is very strong in the tackle. Kayleigh is a true box-to-box midfielder, who scores goals with both feet and is strong in the air. She is another player in this recruiting class that has led her club teams to national prominence. Her commitment to winning and working is contagious amongst her teammates as she leaves it all on the field every match."
Weiner is a native of Evergreen, Colo., and is a transfer from the University of Virginia, where she redshirted in 2017. She was a member of the U-18 USWNT in 2016 and competed in the International Cup in Ireland. At Evergreen High School, she was a four-year letterwinner and was the Colorado Player of the Year as a senior and four-time all-state award winner. She led Evergreen to the state championship match as a senior and the quarterfinals as a sophomore and junior. Coming out of high school in 2017, she was ranked No. 73 in the IMG Academy 150.
Sanchez on Weiner:
"Sofia comes home after spending a semester at Virginia. Her time with her club team Colorado Rush was very successful and she led her high school team to unprecedented success. Sofia is another of our recruits that has versatility to play along any of the three lines. She is very technical and tactically smart, and she has had great experiences with U.S. Soccer Youth National Teams. Sofia has joined us for our spring season and has been a great addition to the squad."
CU is coming off a 12-6-4 season when it reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and had a 5-4-2 record in Pac-12 play. The Buffs lose just four seniors, including two starters. The team's top four scorers return, led by Marty Puketapu (8 goals, 2 assists) and Taylor Kornieck (7 goals, 4 assists). All-Pac-12 goalkeeper Jalen Tompkins is also back for her junior season after breaking the school records for goals-against average and save percentage in 2017.
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