Ellen Falender

Kansas State

Sep 18 (Thu)

7 p.m.

Position:
Forward
Height:
5-4
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
Aspen, Colo.
High School:
Aspen

2002 Big 12 All-Academic first team
2003 Big 12 All-Academic first team
2004 Big 12 All-Academic first team

SENIOR (2004): Falender played in all 23 games and made 14 starts, helping the Buffs to 15 wins and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She scored two goals and had four assists for eight points on just seven shot attempts. She assisted in CU's 1-0 win over Air Force on Aug. 29 and again in back-to-back wins over Wake Forest and Utah on Sept. 10 and Sept. 12. Falender had a career-high three points with a goal and an assist in a 7-0 win over Texas Tech on Oct. 17. She scored her final goal in a 3-0 win over Utah in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

JUNIOR (2003): While her game time was down from the 2002 season, Falender was only one point shy of her sophomore year line with 3. She played all but one game, and had a goal, an assist and three points off eight shots. Her lone goal of the season was the game’s first against Kansas when she came off the bench to break a scoreless game in the 38th minute when she took a pass from Jen Thais in the center of the box for the one-timed score. During spring play she netted the game’s only score in a 1-0 CU win over Denver

SOPHOMORE (2002): Falender scored on her first shot of the season, in the 73rd minute vs. Eastern Illinois in CU’s Soccer Classic. She sat out of the first four games of the season while nursing a stress fracture, then came off the bench in four games prior to starting the last 10 at the left wing where she had a single goal off 21 shots.

FRESHMAN (2001): She recorded her first career goal vs. perennial national power Texas and first assist at Texas Tech on a Jessica Wollow goal. In 14 games she received the starting nod in two of the biggest matches of the season, at Colorado College and vs. No. 4 Nebraska.

HIGH SCHOOL: A four-year letterwinner at midfield for the Skiers, Falender graduated with three school records to her name. Her career goals (77) and assists (53) is an Aspen all-time best as were her single season goals (29) and assists (24) her senior year. She led all 3A state players in assists and was second in goals that same season. Falender was an All-Western Slope Conference performer her freshman through senior seasons, and was an Honorable Mention 3A All-State player before making the first-team as a senior. She was the Western Slope Player of the Year in 2001. She also played basketball (guard) and ice hockey at Aspen.

IN THE CLASSROOM: At Colorado, Falender has the department’s sixth highest grade point average among its student-athletes, carrying the team’s best, 3.878, into her senior season. She has eclipsed the 3.9 semester mark twice, has spent five semesters on the Dean’s List, and the spring ?04 on the President’s List with a perfect 4.00 in finance.

PERSONAL: Born Nov. 3, 1982 in Carmel, Ind., Ellen Falender is the daughter of Steve and Debra Falender of Aspen. Her oldest brother, Phill, graduated from CU and her twin brother Mark is also a junior (and one of her roommates) on the Boulder campus. Her hobbies include skiing, basketball and biking.