Elliott Named MPSF Coach Of The Year, 8 Players Selected to All-MPSF Teams

BOULDER — After guiding the Colorado lacrosse team to a 15-2 record in the regular season, and a 7-1 mark in league play, head coach Ann Elliott has been named the 2017 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year.

Colorado has a single-season program record 15 wins entering the postseason, four of which have come against ranked opponents. The team turned in its best MPSF season in their four years in the conference at 7-1, and placed a conference-high of eight players on the All-MPSF teams. Colorado has allowed an NCAA second-best 7.05 goals per contest this year, while scoring a 12th-ranked 15.12 per game. On March 27, while the squad was off to a program-best 11-0 start (and record 11-game win streak), Colorado climbed to No. 4 in the nation in all three major polls as one of two unbeaten NCAA DI teams at the time. Elliott earned her 50th career win following the regular season finale at California on April 23.

Colorado had four athletes earn a spot on the All-MPSF First Team: junior Darby Kiernan (attacker), sophomore Miranda Stinson (midfielder), junior Sarah Brown (defender) and senior Paige Soenksen (goalkeeper).

This is Kiernan's second all-conference honor. She leads the team in points, goals, assists and draw controls. Kiernan is second in the conference with 6.18 draw controls per game, which is the 13th best in the NCAA. In total, she has 105 draw controls on the season, which is tied for fourth all-time in a single season. She recorded an MPSF record 19 against Stetson, which earned her MPSF Offensive and NCAA National Player of the Week honors.

Stinson is making her first appearance on the all-league team. She has recorded at least one point in all but one game this season, which includes a 9-point single game performance (a CU record) in the win against No. 6 Penn State where she had five goals and four assists. She was named the Alpha Lacrosse and IWLCA Offensive Player of the Week for that performance and has been named the MPSF Offensive Player of the Week twice this season. Stinson is tied for third on the team in assists, is third in shots and shots on goal, is fourth in points and is fifth in goals.

Brown is a two-time selection on the All-MPSF team. She ranks fourth in the MPSF with 1.47 caused turnovers per game and her team-best total of 25 is tied for second in the league. Brown is second for the Buffs with 31 ground balls and ranks third in draw controls. She has recorded three goals and one assist this season. Brown is a major player in CU's transition game, which has cleared at an 86.5 percent, and had marked up some of the nation's top scorers.

Soenksen is the only athlete in CU history who has earned all-conference honors all four seasons, three times on the first team and once (2016) on the second team. She leads the MPSF with a .545 save percentage, which is fourth in the NCAA, and is first in the league with 7.31 goals against average, second in the NCAA. In 17 games, she has allowed five goals or less four times, 10 goals or less 14 times. Soenksen tied a career-high 19 saves in CU's 11-10 OT win against No. 9 Northwestern, which is tied for fifth in the NCAA this season. This season she was named the MPSF Defensive Player of the Week twice and earned the Alpha Lacrosse National Player of the Week award.

The Buffs also placed another four on the second team. They are senior Johnna Fusco (attacker), senior Marie Moore (midfielder), junior Kelsie Garrison (defender) and Carly Cox (attacker).

This is Fusco's third all-conference honor. She is second on the team in points, goals, draw controls, free-positon goals and shots on goal and is the team and MPSF leader in total shots (115). Fusco averages 2.87 goals per game and 3.47 points per game while tallying at least one goal in all but one game played this season. She was named the Alpha Lacrosse Player of the Week as well as the MPSF Offensive Player of the Week after recording five goals against DU (a 14-3 win for the Buffs).

For the third time in her career, Moore has been selected to the All-MPSF team. She is third on the team in ground balls, is fourth in draw controls and is fifth in caused turnovers. Moore is one of four captains and has played a huge part in CU's transition game, which has cleared at an 86.5 percent (263-304).

Cox is also making her first appearance on the all-conference squad. She is tied for third on the team in assists and is fifth in points. Her 46.2 shot on goal percentage ranks fourth on the team. Cox has scored in 15 of 17 games this season, which includes a career-best five goals against Oregon. Cox has also had five other multi-goal games this season.

Garrison, another first-time selection, leads CU's defense with four goals and two assists this season. She is second on the team in caused turnovers and is third in ground balls. Garrison too is a huge part of CU's transition play, which has cleared at an 86.5%. During the season, she had been responsible for marking up some of the nation's top scorers.

The Buffs, who are currently ranked eighth in one poll and ninth in the other two, are headed to the MPSF Tournament in Los Angeles, April 27-30. They earned the No. 2 overall seed, which secured a first-round bye. CU will play in the semifinals on Friday, April 28, against the winner of the Stanford/California quarterfinal.

All-MPSF First Team
Student-Athlete                  No.    Year                 Position            School                     Hometown/Last School
# Michaela Michael (POY) 2        Senior              Attacker             USC                           Hillsborough, CA/Menlo School
^ Darby Kiernan                 25     Junior              Attacker           Colorado                 Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood HS
^ Kelsey Murray                    21     R-Junior           Attacker             Stanford                   Wilamette, IL/New Trier HS
Shannon Williams                36     Sophomore     Attacker             Oregon                     Bel Air, MD/Bel Air HS
Miranda Stinson                 17     Sophomore    Midfield            Colorado                 Manakin Sabot, VA/Trinity Episcopal
^ Taylor Cuenin                     6        Sophomore     Midfield            UC Davis                 Danville, CA/San Ramon Valley HS
Kristen Hickey                       38     Senior              Midfield            San Diego State      Dedham, MA/Ursuline Academy
^ Lydia Sutton                        20     Junior               Defender           USC                           Minnetonka, MN/Blake School
^ Sarah Brown                     24     Junior              Defender          Colorado                 Boulder, CO/Boulder HS
Madison O'Leary                   16     Junior               Defender           Stanford                   Gainesville, FL/Oak Hall School
Meredith Haggerty                7        Junior               Defender           California                Bel Air, MD/John Carroll School
% Paige Soenksen              1        Senior             Goalkeeper      Colorado                 Encinitas, CA/La Costa Canyon HS
Bella Pyne                               14     Senior              Midfield            Oregon                     Edgewater, MD/South River HS
Gabby McMahon                   32     Senior              Midfield            USC                           Bardonia, NY/Immaculate Heart
Kerrigan Miller (ROY)          19     Freshman        Midfield            USC                           Bayport, NY/Bayport-Blue Point
# Gussie Johns                       3        Junior               Goalkeeper       USC                           Washington DC/St. Stephens & St. Agnes

All-MPSF Second Team
Student-Athlete No. Year Position School Hometown/Last School
^ Cambi Cukar                       22     Junior               Attacker             Oregon                     Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS
% Johnna Fusco                  16     Senior             Attacker           Colorado                 Marietta, GA/Lassiter HS
Jena Fritts                               4        Senior              Attacker             California                Darien, CT/Darien HS
Tiffiny Wallace                      9        Freshman        Attacker             Fresno State            Sandy, UT/Brighton HS
^ Dillon Schoen                     22     Junior               Midfield            Stanford Darien,    CT/Darien HS
% Marie Moore                   2        Senior             Midfield            Colorado                 Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial HS
Kelsey DeJesus                      14     Junior               Midfield            UC Davis                 San Diego, CA/Scripps Ranch HS
Mackenzie Lech                     5        Junior               Defender           San Diego State      Milton, GA/Milton HS
# Nina Kelty                           47     Senior              Defender           USC                           Palo Alto, CA/Palo Alto HS
Kelsie Garrison                   6        Junior              Defender          Colorado                 Westlake, CA/Agoura HS
Kyleigh Westgarth                18     Senior              Defender           Fresno State            Carlsbad, CA/La Costa Canyon HS
Katrina Reeves                       21     Senior              Goalkeeper       San Diego State      Granite Bay, CA/Granite Bay HS
Carly Cox                                9        Junior              Attacker           Colorado                 Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore HS
Sarah Bloise                           23     Sophomore     Attacker             Fresno State            Davis, CA/Davis HS
# Kylie Drexel                        23     Senior              Attacker             USC                           Davis, CA/Davis HS
Elizabeth Cusick                   1        Senior              Attacker             Stanford                   Westfield, NJ/Westfield HS

% Four-Time All-MPSF Selection
# Three-Time All-MPSF Selection
^ Two-Time All-MPSF Selection