Paige Soenksen

Photo by: John McGillen

Photo by: Chip Bromfield, ProMotion Ltd.

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

Position:
Goalie
Height:
5-10
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Encinitas, Calif.
High School:
La Costa Canyon

2014 MPSF Rookie of the Week (April 7)
2014 MPSF Rookie of the Week (April 14)
2014 All-MPSF First Team
2014 All-MPSF Rookie of the Year
2014 MPSF All-Tournament Team
2014 IWLCA West All-Region Second Team
2015 MPSF All-Academic Team
2015 All-MPSF First Team
2015 MPSF All-Tournament Team
2015 IWLCA Midwest/West All-Regional Second Team
2015 MPSF Defensive Player of the week (March 23, April 7, April 23, April 27)
2016 MPSF All-Academic Team
2016 MPSF Defensive Player of the Week (March 28)
2016 CU Female Athlete of the Week (March 28)
2016 All-MPSF Second Team
2017 MPSF All-Academic Team
2017 Alpha Lacrosse National Player of the Week (Feb. 14)
2017 Nike/U.S. Lacrosse Magazine Player of the Week (Feb. 13)
2017 CU Female Athlete of the Week
2017 CU Career Achievement Award
2017 MPSF Defensive Player of the Week (Feb. 13, March 13)
2017 IWLCA All-West/Midwest Region First Team
2017 All-MPSF First Team
2017 Inside Lacrosse Media All-American Third Team
2017 IWLCA All-American Third Team

SENIOR (2017): Soenksen played a significant role in Colorado’s success her senior season. The Buffs recorded an 11-game win streak, a national ranking of fourth in late March in all three polls, a school record 16 wins and their first NCAA Tournament appearance. The goalie led the defense to its best year on record, which was the third highest scoring defense in the nation and had the sixth best scoring margin (6.35). Soenksen made 143 saves of the 382 shots she faced; her percentage of 0.491 led the MPSF and ranked 12th in the country. In the 19 games she started, the senior recorded 33 groundballs and two caused turnovers. She only let in 148 goals, giving her an average of 8.46 goals against that ranked fourth in the nation. Soenksen opened the season with a whopping 19 saves against No. 9 Northwestern on Feb. 12; which resulted in an exciting overtime victory for the Buffs in their first win against a top-10 team. Soenksen earned CU its first national player of the week honor from Nike/U.S. Lacrosse Magazine (Feb. 13) and Alpha Lacrosse (Feb. 14) in addition to her sixth MPSF Defensive Player of the Week (Feb. 13) honor. The goalie continued to prove the Buffs could compete with highly ranked opponents when she had 16 saves and six groundballs against No. 6 Penn State on March 12. Soenksen shut down Penn State’s offense and gave her team the momentum to come out with a 16-11 victory to once again earn the MPSF Defensive Player of the Week on March 13. Soenksen had another standout game in the battle against Delaware; her 13 saves, one caused turnover and one groundball, allowed the Buffs to win 9-7 on March 29. Their record of 11-0 broke the school’s single season wins record. She was one of Colorado’s first players named to the IWLCA All-American Third Team and Inside Lacrosse Media All-American Third Team. Soenksen received IWLCA All-West/Midwest Region First Team, All-MPSF First Team and the CU Career Achievement Award. She was also named to the MPSF All-Academic Team for the third time.

JUNIOR (2016): Soenksen led the Buffs to the second-best scoring defense in the MPSF and the seventh best in the nation at 7.00 goals allowed per game. She earned second-team all-MPSF honors as a result of her strong play. She saw action in goal in 1,045:16 of the team’s 1,081:35 of game action. She had 109 saves, a .464 save percentage, 7.23 goals-against average, and a 13-5 record, while starting all 18 games. Soenksen also had a team-high 49 ground balls and caused one turnover. She ranked second in the MPSF and 10th nationally in GAA; second in the MPSF and 21st in the nation in ground balls per game (2.72); fourth in the MPSF and 33rd nationally in save percentage; fifth in the MPSF and 62nd nationally in total save; and sixth in the MPSF and 72nd nationally in saves per game. She led the Buffs to their first-ever win over Denver to open the season, making six saves. She had a season-high 10 saves at No. 7/6 Notre Dame on Feb. 26 and made nine stops with seven ground balls in a 10-8 win two days later at Marquette. Soenksen guided the Buffs to a 15-3 win with four saves against Central Connecticut on March 5 and had four saves in a 19-4 win over Marist on March 21. She stopped six shots in 10 attempts in an 11-4 win at Michigan on March 27. Her efforts against Michigan earned her CU Female Athlete of the Week on March 28. Soenksen made eight saves, while allowing just three goals in a 14-3 win at UC Davis on April 1. Her seven ground balls matched a season high against No. 7/6 Southern California on April 8. Soenksen allowed just seven goals in a three-game stretch from April 10-17, making eight saves in a 16-3 win over San Diego State, three saves in 30 minutes in a 23-0 shutout over Saint Mary’s (Calif.), and two saves in a 16-4 win over California on April 17. Soenksen stopped nine shots in an 11-3 win over Oregon in the first round of the MPSF Tournament. With her 3.94 grade point average, she earned MPSF All-Academic honors.

SOPHOMORE (2015): Soenksen had another outstanding performance with the Buffs in her sophomore season. The goalie started all 18 games, playing 997:05 minutes in total. She faced 385 shots and made 151 saves, while allowing 158 goals for a .489 save percentage and 9.51 goals-against average. Her strong goal keeping abilities helped CU come out of the season with an overall record of 11-7. Soenksen’s success of the field earned her multiple honors in 2015 including All-MPSF first team, MPSF All-Tournament Team, MPSF All-Academic (3.93 cumulative GPA), IWLCA Midwest/West All-Regional second team, and MPSF Defensive Player of the Week (four times). Soenksen led the MPSF in save percentage and saves per game (8.39) and ranked third in goals-against average, and finished sixth in the nation in save percentage, 21st in saves per game and 33rd in GAA. She had seven games with 10 or more saves. Her first came in a 13-5 victory over Marquette on Feb. 14 when she stopped 10 shots. Soenksen led the Buffs to the first shutout in CU history, playing the first half of a 19-0 win over Presbyterian on March 2. She stopped 13 shots against No. 7 Northwestern and made 11 saves in a 10-9 victory over New Hampshire on March 17. Her 17 saves against No. 13 Stanford on April 5 were a season high, starting a three-game streak with double-digit saves. She then turned away 11 shots against Southern California and made 16 saves in a 7-6 win over San Diego State on April 12. That win sparked the best stretch of the season for CU as the Buffs won five of six games. Soenksen made four saves and allowed just two goals in 30 minutes against Saint Mary's (Calif.). She led CU to wins over Fresno State and Oregon at home to wrap up the regular season, allowing just a total of 13 goals in the two contests. She then made seven saves in a first-round win over San Diego State at the MPSF Tournament on April 30 and wrapped up the season with 13 saves against No. 15 Stanford in the semifinals.

FRESHMAN (2014): A defensive dynamo for the Buffs, Soenksen’s outstanding rookie season helped her receive attention both in the conference and nationally. Soenksen led the conference and ranked second in the nation in saves (203), save percentage (.525) and saves per game (10.68). Her goals-against average of 10.08 also ranked in the nation’s top 50. Soenksen started all 19 games, spending 1095:17 in the crease, helping the Buffs to an 11-8 record. Soenksen held 11 opponents to nine or fewer goals, allowing just three goals in just under 53 minutes played in the Buffs’ inaugural game at Stetson. She grabbed 12 or more saves on nine separate occasions. Soenksen earned back-to-back MPSF Rookie of the Week honors during the regular season. For her first honor, she combined for 28 saves and posted an impressive .609 save percentage in a road trip to UC Davis and then-No. 8 Stanford. She began the weekend with nine saves in CU’s 14-5 win over UCD, allowing just two players to score. She had a record-breaking performance at Stanford, breaking career and CU-single game records while tying the 2014 MPSF single-game high of 19 saves. She earned another ROW title after her next two outings. She had 16 saves against USC, grabbing a big save with three minutes left in regulation, keeping the tie intact and eventually helping CU to a 12-11 overtime victory. Soenksen had 12 more saves (five coming in overtime play) and a career-high four ground balls in the Buffs’ 7-6 sudden victory over SDSU. In the postseason, Soenksen grabbed 26 saves and a ground ball and caused a turnover, earning a spot on the MPSF All-Tournament team. In addition to her prowess in net, Soenksen grabbed 14 ground balls, caused a turnover and contributed an assist.

HIGH SCHOOL: A four-year letter-winner, Soenksen grabbed 132 saves and recorded a .512 save percentage in the net. In her final season, Soenksen and La Costa Canyon claimed C.I.F. Open Division and Avocado League Championships, their second consecutive year taking home the league title. Her team’s captain her senior year, she was named to the Western Girls Lacrosse All-American Team and was crowned the Union Tribune and C.I.F. Player of the Year. She was also named an AP Scholar with Distinction and was a first-team Avocado League and California Scholastic Federation selection as a senior. In her final two seasons, she was named her team’s MVP, first-team All-C.I.F. and an Academic All-American, while earning the title of Avocado League Player of the Year. In addition to the league title her junior season, La Costa Canyon posted an amazing 18-1 record and also won the CIF - San Diego Section D1 Championship. The team ended the season ranked No. 1 in the West and No. 24 in the nation, according to Lacrosse Magazine. That year, Soenksen was also named the North County Times Player of the Year, first-team CIF D1 and was a U.S. Lacrosse All-American honorable mention. She further excelled in the classroom with Union Tribune All-Academic and an AP Scholar honors. Soenksen was a two-time CIF Scholar Athlete and was named to the San Diego WDNT team as a junior. She was also a two-time team MVP of her Pacific Falcons club squad that claimed the 2011 Bay Area Bonanza Championship.

IN THE CLASSROOM: Soenksen earned degrees in international affairs and Chinese.

PERSONAL: Paige "Sunny" Soenksen was born on September 12, 1995, to Dirk and Kathleen Soenksen. Her older sister Amy plays lacrosse at Hamilton College. Her older brother Eric plays lacrosse at California. Soenksen plays the saxophone and likes the music of Luke Bryan. She enjoys reading the Harry Potter books and watching movies like The Dark Knight. She's a fan of the San Diego Chargers and the Los Angeles Kings. She felt CU was a good overall fit, and took the opportunity to help build a program over going to other recruiters Harvard, Brown and Cal.