Sara Erskine

Kansas State

Sep 18 (Thu)

7 p.m.

Position:
Goalkeeper
Height:
5-5
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
Highlands Ranch, Colo.
High School:
Highlands Ranch

2001 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 11)
2002 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 29)

Senior (2002): Erskine started 12 games and made 15 appearances at goalkeeper as a senior, posting a 1.24 GAA and .754 save percentage in 1,163 minutes. She had four solo shutouts and one combined clean sheet, recording a 7-3-2 record on the year. She made three saves in a season-opening 3-0 shutout of Fresno State on Aug. 30. Erskine turned away three more shots in a 1-0 blanking of Iowa State on Oct. 11. She also had two more shutouts in 1-0 victories late in the year against Oklahoma and Missouri (Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals) and earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 29.

Junior (2001): In a pair of starts in five games, Erskine owned a respectable 1.73 goals against average and an even more impressive save percentage (.750). She turned in a shutout performance when the Buffs blanked in-state foe Colorado College late on the schedule, securing a fourth-straight win over the Tigers. She fractured her right middle finger as Colorado’s lone keeper in spring ball. Following nonsurgical repair, she rehabilitated the injury during the summer months.

Sophomore (2000): Erskine was the second-string goalkeeper behind Whitney Peterson for the season-opener, coming off the bench to relieve the injured starter against Denver. She went on to start in five games, allowing 12 goals and pulling in 44 saves for a 2.29 goals against average. She earned her first career shutout in the home opener against Cornell, a 1-0 win for the Buffs. For her efforts in that game, she was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week.

Freshman (1999): Erskine’s collegiate initiation began when she earned her first career start in the season opener against then-top ranked North Carolina. She responded with three acrobatic saves in her 19+ minutes of play. In all, Erskine saw action in three games for a total of 91 minutes played. She was credited with her first career win when she replaced an injured Dani Bassett at Oklahoma State to give the Buffs a 3-1 win. She received her true collegiate initiation against Nebraska, when the Huskers went for five goals in the second half, giving Erskine a GAA of 4.92 on the season. She faced a total of 15 shots on the season and made six saves.

High School: Erskine was a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at Highlands Ranch, which claimed its first-ever Continental League title in 1999. Erskine started all 16 games as the netminder for the Falcons, and owned a 0.31 goals against average in her senior campaign, pulling in 47 saves and registering 12 shutouts en route to that stellar GAA. Ranch went 14-1-1 her senior year, which saw her earn honorable mention all-state honors from the Denver Post and Denver Rocky Mountain News, as well as a spot on the Continental League first team, a feat she accomplished as a junior as well. That year Highlands Ranch went 7-2-5 to claim third place in the league, with Erskine grabbing seven shutouts with 72 saves and a 0.80 GAA in 1998. Her career total of 20 shutouts set a Highlands Ranch record, and she also led the state in goals against average both years she was the starting varsity keeper. Her D.C. Blast recorded 95 wins and 17 losses. Erskine served as team captain and starting netminder for those squads, who also took second in the Pikes Peak tournament as well as the Diadora Cup in Seattle. She was all-state in Choir in 1998 and 1999, lettering all four years.

In The Classroom: A double major in psychology (speech language and hearing science) at CU, Erskine barely missed Dean’s List recognition with a 3.471 spring grade point average.

Personal: The daughter of Roy and Debra Erskine, Sara was born in Akron, Ohio on Feb. 9, 1981. Erskine is also an accomplished singer and regularly sings the national anthem at Buff volleyball and basketball games.