Soenksen Named To IWLCA All-Regional Team
GRAND LAKE, Colo. – University of Colorado standout Paige Soenksen was named to the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association West All-Region Second Team on Monday.
Soenksen was one of 128 Division I student athletes selected to one of the 2014 All-Regional teams. These student-athletes are now eligible for inclusion on the IWLCA All-American teams, which will be announced on Monday, May 19.
In total, 12 student-athletes competing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation were named to the West All-Region teams, with Stanford leading the way with four. Denver and USC each had three, while Oregon and Colorado each had one.
Soenksen, a goalie from Encinitas, Calif., racked up several major honors in her debut collegiate season. Soenksen was named the MPSF Rookie of the Year, an All-MPSF First Team selection and a two-time MPSF Rookie of the Week. She was also recently named to the MPSF All-Tournament Team.
During the Buffaloes’ inaugural season, Soenksen was the team’s defensive anchor and one of the nation’s top shot blockers. Soenksen started all 19 of CU’s games, helping the Buffs to 11 wins, including six in conference play and one in the postseason. She led the conference and ranked second in the nation in saves (203), saves per game (10.68) and save percentage (.525). She posted a 10.08 goals-against average in 1095:17 minutes between the pipes, while also grabbing 14 ground balls and contributing an assist.
She earned MPSF ROW titles in consecutive weeks during the regular season. First, she combined for an incredible .609 save percentage in a California road trip against UC Davis and then-No. 8 Stanford, recording a career-high and MPSF season-high tying 19 saves against the Cardinal. The following weekend, she had 27 saves in back-to-back overtime wins against USC and San Diego State, scooping up a career-high four ground balls against SDSU.
She combined for 26 saves in CU’s first ever conference tournament. She had 10 saves against SDSU, grabbing seven in the first half alone. She had a ground ball, a caused turnover and 16 saves against No. 18 Stanford.