Amy Jensen

By Tara Sowle
UW-RF Sports Information

Senior Amy Jensen began her career with the Falcons four years ago, but she has made her time valuable by being a strong member of the team from the beginning.

The 5-5 midfielder from Plymouth, Minn., came to UW-River Falls because she was attracted to the elementary education program. But before she made the journey from Plymouth she was busy making a name for herself back home.

Jensen began playing soccer like many youngsters do. "When I was four my mom signed me up and I've loved it since then," said Jensen. She learned her basics before stepping into her role as the high school three-sport athlete playing golf and hockey also. During high school she earned all-conference and all-conference honorable mention honors at Bloomington Kennedy High School and was also name to the All-Metro team. She also worked hard academically as a member of the National Honor Society.

Jensen started as a freshman at UW-RF wasting no time helping her team. She finished tied for second in scoring helping the Falcons win the WIAC championship. She started and played in 20 games and earned the team's Offensive Player of the Week award for her game-winning goal on a penalty kick against Con.-St. Paul in overtime.  

Jensen came to the University planning on playing both soccer and hockey, but a broken leg during the second to last game of her first year made her decide not to pursue the second sport.

She continued to improve through her sophomore year earning a sport on the first All-WIAC team and finishing third in scoring. She played and started in 16 games. Twice she was the team's Offensive Player of the Week and continued her academic work ethic she had in high school by being named to the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and to the UW-RF Dean's List after the spring semester.

Again, during her junior year she appeared on the All-WIAC team. She played and started in every game and led the team with 10 goals. She was second in points on the Falcon team and seventh in scoring in the WIAC. Out of her team leading 77 shots, 36 were goal. She repeated her academic success with the WIAC Scholastic Honor roll and being named to the UW-RF Dean's List after the spring semester.

Falcon Coach Sean McKuras sees his star midfielder as, "fresher, smarter and more team orientated" this year. "She has great vision and can see the play ahead." Jensen also has great leadership skills with her strong mental and physical presence. "She is a strong leader. She sets the tone on and off the field. She's always in the mix," said McKuras.

Jensen sees her leadership role as something that comes from having a connection with her teammates. "We all have a good relationship and have fun which makes it easier. Working hard during practice shows the girls what it takes to be a leader," said Jensen.

Her talent on the field will be missed, as McKuras believes that, "If I had four of five players like Amy we'd be national competitors."

But when Jensen is not scoring goals, you can find her at the on-campus day care where she has worked for the past four years. "I want to be a kindergarten teacher after graduation," said Jensen, "and maybe one day coach soccer for little kids; I like that primary age group."

That doesn't mean that she's hanging up her spikes after college, however. "I've been playing since I was four, I can't quit now. I'll probably be on a women's league team after college."  

During the past four years, Jensen has had a major impact on this team both on and off the field, but what is important to Jensen is that she knows she's walking away from the field with something that will last long after the season is over.