COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Western Colorado's
Caileen Sienknecht has been voted onto the 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women's Soccer All-Academic First Team, as announced Thursday afternoon by the league office.
Requirements for first-team consideration include a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.500, the student-athlete must have completed at least two consecutive semesters at their current institution and must have used a season of competition.
Nominations for the all-academic team are submitted by and voted on by the sports information directors of RMAC institutions.
A graduate student in her first semester in the English department's master's program, Sienknecht earned a 3.774 GPA as an undergrad in the department.
Sienknecht led the Mountaineers in scoring with 10 points from 4 goals and 2 assists, despite a move from her projected midfield spot to a middle back position early in the season.
She notched the first game-winning goal of her career in the October 20 RMAC game at Regis University, converting a header off a corner kick in the early moments of the 87th minute of Western's 3-2 upset of the Rangers. Her timely accomplishment helped Sienknecht earn the league's defensive player of the week award.
Earlier this postseason she earned second-team all-conference honors, only the second time in her career Sienknecht has picked up an all-league award including her honorable mention selection after the Spring 2021 COVID season.
Over her career that spanned the 2019 through 2023 seasons, Sienknecht played in 75 games while earning a starting nod 61 times; scored 10 goals and 2 assists for a career total of 22 points; earned 1 game-winning marker; and accumulated 5,494 minutes on the pitch.
Earning inclusion on the 2023 RMAC Women's Soccer Academic Honor Roll – minimum GPA of 3.300 -- from Western are:
   Mercer, Morkunas and Pelino were also voted to the all-conference honorable mention team.
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