Former Colorado standout Paige Soenksen has been drafted by the Philadelphia Fire, the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League announced on Thursday.
“Paige is a great athlete who is as strong inside the crease as she is outside. After a dominant collegiate career at Colorado, she will transition well at the next level,” Philadelphia Fire head coach Ricky Fried said.
Soenksen will be a part of the inaugural season of the WPLL which will start play this summer. The league will be comprised of five teams: the Baltimore Brave, New England Command, New York Fight, Philadelphia Fire and Upstate Pride. Each team currently has a roster of 20 that will increase to 25 after the college draft in April.
“To have this opportunity to keep playing lacrosse means a lot to me,” Soenksen said. “Lacrosse has always been a huge part of my life and I am incredibly excited to be able to continue to play the sport I love. I’m looking forward to competing in the WPLL for the Philadelphia Fire!”
Soenksen had an outstanding four years playing for the Buffaloes, capping off her career as one of CU’s first IWLCA All-Americans in 2017. She started in every game that she played in (74) and was a strong defensive leader from the net. As a captain in both her junior and senior seasons, Soenksen was a key factor in growing the young CU program into a nationally recognized team.
The Encinitas, Calif. native recorded an impressive 606 saves in her career, and as a freshman her 203 saves led the conference and was the second highest mark in the nation. She was consistently a dominant force for the Buffs, receiving conference honors every year. She was an MPSF First-Team recipient in 2014, 2015 and 2017, and earned Second-Team recognition in 2016. With outstanding performances in the MPSF Tournament, Soenksen was named to the all-tournament team from 2014-2016. She was an IWLCA All-West/Midwest Region second team member in both her freshman and sophomore seasons, and was a first team member in her final campaign.
As a senior, Soenksen helped lead the Buffaloes to their best season yet, starting the year with an 11-game win streak. CU beat four ranked teams and made its first conference championship game in addition to receiving its first bid into the NCAA tournament. After her 19 save performance in the team’s season-opening upset win over No. 9 Northwestern, Soenksen was named the Alpha Lacrosse and NIKE/U.S Lacrosse Magazine National Player of the Week.
