Payson High School Athlete Leah Sorenson Proves Teamwork is the Ultimate Win in Lacrosse
For the past four years, Payson High School senior Leah Sorenson has been suiting up and playing hard as a key member of the girl’s lacrosse team, and was recently named Athlete of the Week for the Lions.
The nomination came from her coach Nick Miller after her “exceptional performance and leadership on the field.” Her performance and leadership on the field came with scoring six goals and causing 12 turnovers in the space of three games as a midfielder.
“Leah was chosen as Athlete of the Week for Payson High School Girls Lacrosse due to her exceptional performance and leadership on the field,” Miller said. “Her outstanding skills, including precise passing and strategic plays, have been pivotal in her team’s success. Leah consistently shows dedication, sportsmanship, and a strong work ethic, motivating her teammates to perform at their best. Her contributions both offensively and defensively have made a significant impact. Leah also holds the spot as our draw control specialist (the player who gains possession of the ball after a draw).”
Leah’s skills have led her team to some solid performances in the first month of the season, including a 16-0 region win over Orem and a narrow one-point loss to Provo, not to mention some great preseason games. In fact, she had three goals against Orem, two against Woods Cross, and then one against Provo.
Many athletes these days start out young in their chosen sport to ensure success in high school and beyond. This isn’t the case for most female lacrosse athletes in the state, however. With lacrosse only having been a UHSAA sanctioned sport since the 2019-2020 season, many athletes including Leah just started playing in high school.
“The program has only been going on for five years, and I was just a year behind when the program started,” she said. “I am on the mountain bike team, and I didn’t have a spring sport. When I was a freshman in high school, I wasn’t doing anything in the spring, and my sister played lacrosse, so I thought I might as well try it.”
Her dad, Jesse Sorenson said that he remembers watching his daughter play lacrosse that first year, noting how fun it was to see her not only try something new, but excel at it.
“It’s been really fun to see the confidence that she’s gained,” Jesse Sorensen said. “Her very first varsity game she played in was a ninth grader. We were surprised that she got in (as a freshman), and in the first minute or so, she scored a goal. From there her confidence just shot through the roof in so many different aspects of her life.”
Sorensen is also the principal at Payson High School, and admittedly said he knows more about mountain biking than lacrosse. He also said that it has been fun to watch Leah find success in a sport she loves, adding that mountain biking may or may not have played a role in her competitiveness.
“I don’t know where her competitive drive came from,” Jesse Sorenson said. “I don’t know if it was lacrosse first or mountain biking, but they’ve definitely complimented each other.”
Leah may be competitive, but she is also a team player. When asked which one of her goals stands out above the rest, she quickly spoke about one scored by a teammate.
“There was a goal against Orem that I didn’t score, but my friend Miley Miller did,” Leah recalled. “I assisted her, and she scored it within, like two seconds of the game. It was so awesome and so fun, and we had a nice little victory dance for it. … I like to score, but if I’m not open and another girl has a better opportunity, I’m going to make sure she gets it.”
When asked what her goals are for the future, it was also centered around the team.
“Our goal as a team is to be region champs,” she said. “I just love the team and the coaches and they’re just so awesome.”
The Payson girl’s lacrosse team has several games the rest of the season including home games against Uinta (4/10), Provo (4/14), Timpanogos (5/5) and Mountain View (5/8).
