Lizzie Bendixen '24 Recruiting Profile

Hello! My name is Lizzie Bendixen. I’m a 16-year-old goalkeeper from Highlands Ranch, Colorado. I’m 5’8 and 140 pounds of pure energy. This being my personal statement, let's get personal!

After a hectic summer playing in Showcase tournaments and representing my state in USYS Regionals, I had the opportunity to try out for REAL Colorado’s Elite 64 travel team. Learning that I made the 06 team was easily a top 10 moment! I can’t wait to represent my club in the new league. Together we were able to battle our way through Colorado State Cup and were crowned state champions on September 25, 2022. I will again have the honor to represent Colorado at USYS Regionals in 2023. 

I’m currently a Junior at Highlands Ranch High School and am looking to study Criminology or Psychology in the future. My favorite classes are AP Psychology and US History. As of the fall semester, I am currently at a 3.3 GPA and I plan to go up to a 3.4 by the end of this school year. During my last high school soccer season (March 2022-May 2022) I started 12/14 Varsity conference games for the Falcons. As a sophomore, I was honored to be awarded All-Conference Honorable Mention by the league. Now looking to the 2023 season I’m beyond excited!

Soccer has taught me more than a handful of lessons in the years I’ve been playing. The best thing I’ve learned though is, ‘unity grows in a healthy community. Growing up as a goalkeeper I remember guest playing for many different teams, spending bus rides and flights alone, making me feel isolated. It started an unhealthy obsession with always trying to prove myself and working my body to the limit.

It wasn’t until I was much older I could see how consumed I was.  It took the pandemic to make me take a step back and evaluate why I love to play. Returning back to the field in 2020, I kept my drive for the sport and turned to assistant coaching. I’d spend hours each week helping young goalkeepers learn the basics and build healthy mindsets. It reminded me of why I started to play in the first place.

Ever since then I've fallen more and more in love with the sport every day. Having the opportunity to both study my passion and play collegiately is a dream I plan to make a reality.

See you on the pitch,

Lizzie Bendixen, 2024 Goalkeeper