Colorado University Athletics
Photo by: Chip Bromfield, ProMotion Ltd.
Buffs Earn First National Ranking; Soenksen Tabbed USL Player of the Week
February 13, 2017 | Lacrosse
BOULDER — The firsts keep coming for the Colorado women's lacrosse team. Just one day after defeating a ranked team for the first time in program history, the Buffaloes have catapulted into the NIKE/USL Division I Women's Top 20 Poll at No. 11 and senior goalkeeper Paige Soenksen was named the Epock/USL Player of the Week.
"We are very proud of our defensive efforts yesterday versus Northwestern," head coach Ann Elliott said. "Northwestern has so many weapons on offense that we just wanted to try our best to contain them and contest any shots we could. Paige did an incredible job keeping us in the game. She is incredibly consistent in goal and came up with some huge saves that allowed us to keep the game close throughout."
CU shocked then-No. 9 Northwestern, 11-10, in overtime on Sunday afternoon to open up its fourth season. Soenksen played a huge role in the victory, recording a career-high 19 shots. She stopped 10 of 16 shots in the first half and then made another nine saves on 13 attempts in the second half. (She was not tested in the overtime period as teammate senior Katie Macleay scored the game-winning goal just 55 seconds into OT.)
Seven different Buffaloes scored goals in the win. Sophomore Miranda Stinson led the way with her second career hat-trick and Macleay and junior Darby Kiernan each added a pair of goals. Colorado went 4-9 on free-position shots. The Buffs put 16 shots on goal and recorded 14 ground balls while winning 10 draw controls in the game. CU was also responsible for four of Northwestern's 12 turnovers.
"Sure, we are excited about the start to our season and I am proud of this team's fight but we still have a lot to prove and we know that it was just one game," Elliott said. "We will stay focused on what is important and that is getting better every day and preparing to play another great opponent in UMass this Friday. That is all that matters to us right now."
The Buffs hit the road this week for a pair of games in DeLand, Fla. CU will take on UMass on Friday, Feb. 17, at 11 a.m. MT and Stetson on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 10 a.m. MT. Both games will be streamed live at gohatters.com.
"We are very proud of our defensive efforts yesterday versus Northwestern," head coach Ann Elliott said. "Northwestern has so many weapons on offense that we just wanted to try our best to contain them and contest any shots we could. Paige did an incredible job keeping us in the game. She is incredibly consistent in goal and came up with some huge saves that allowed us to keep the game close throughout."
CU shocked then-No. 9 Northwestern, 11-10, in overtime on Sunday afternoon to open up its fourth season. Soenksen played a huge role in the victory, recording a career-high 19 shots. She stopped 10 of 16 shots in the first half and then made another nine saves on 13 attempts in the second half. (She was not tested in the overtime period as teammate senior Katie Macleay scored the game-winning goal just 55 seconds into OT.)
Seven different Buffaloes scored goals in the win. Sophomore Miranda Stinson led the way with her second career hat-trick and Macleay and junior Darby Kiernan each added a pair of goals. Colorado went 4-9 on free-position shots. The Buffs put 16 shots on goal and recorded 14 ground balls while winning 10 draw controls in the game. CU was also responsible for four of Northwestern's 12 turnovers.
"Sure, we are excited about the start to our season and I am proud of this team's fight but we still have a lot to prove and we know that it was just one game," Elliott said. "We will stay focused on what is important and that is getting better every day and preparing to play another great opponent in UMass this Friday. That is all that matters to us right now."
The Buffs hit the road this week for a pair of games in DeLand, Fla. CU will take on UMass on Friday, Feb. 17, at 11 a.m. MT and Stetson on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 10 a.m. MT. Both games will be streamed live at gohatters.com.
Players Mentioned
Monday, May 04
Monday, May 04
Sunday, April 26
Saturday, April 18