Four Buffs Named To All-MPSF Teams
BOULDER - Four members of the University of Colorado lacrosse team have earned spots on the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation teams, the league announced Wednesday.
Sophomores Johnna Fusco and Paige Soenksen were named first-team while sophomores Sarah Lautman and Marie Moore were selected to the second-team. This marks the second all-conference honors for Fusco, Moore and Soenksen and first of Lautman's career.
Fusco, an attacker from Marietta, Ga. has tallied at least one goal in every game this year, putting together a program-record 20-game scoring streak, which dates back to the Buffaloes' inaugural 2014 season. She has consistently been a leader on offense, where she ranks second on the team and 51st in the nation with 40 goals and has notched a team-high 19 free-position goals. She averages a league best 1.19 free-position goals per game. Fusco is only one of two Buffs to start in all 16 games this season, scoring at least two goals in 11 contests and has recorded a team-leading nine hat tricks. In a variety of offensive categories -goals per game, points per game and shots per game, Fusco ranks in the top seven of the MPSF.
Soenksen, CU's goalkeeper from Encinitas, Calif. is the only other Buff along with Fusco to start in every game this season and is the anchor on defense each time Colorado takes the field. A four-time MPSF Defensive Player of the Week during the regular season, Soenksen has made 131 saves, which ranks 30th in the country, and is 23rd in the nation and first in the MPSF averaging 8.19 saves per game. She has posted an impressive .491 save percentage, the best in the league while logging over 850 minutes between the posts. Her 9.30 goals-against average ranks third in the conference and she has also picked up a career-high 25 groundballs this season.
Moore, a midfielder from Brick, N.J. and a team captain for a second consecutive season leads the Buffs with 54 draw controls, a mark that ranks 42nd in the nation. She has recorded 29 points on 25 goals and four assists and has also tallied 30 groundballs, second most on the team. Moore has found the back of the net at least once in 13 of the 16 regular season games and seven times she turned in a multi-goal performance, including four hat tricks. The midfielder was also recognized as MPSF Offensive Player of the Week one time during the season.
Lautman, a Reading, Mass. native has earned her first All-MPSF Team selection by playing a key role at on defense, usually tasked with covering some of the opponents' main offensive threats. She has competed in all 16 games, making 14 starts and has forced 12 turnovers this season, which ranks fourth on the team, helping the Buffs record a program-best 117 caused turnovers as a squad. She also is one of 11 Buffs with at least 10 groundballs, picking up 14.
The Buffs begin postseason play on Thursday, April 30 when they face San Diego State in the quarterfinals of the MPSF Tournament. The contest is set to begin at 7 p.m. MDT at Peter Barton Stadium on the University of Denver Campus.