October 4, 2007

Cram's new role just the right fit
Former La Mirada soccer star moves forward, thrives
By Steve Ramirez, Staff Writer

Is change good?

It is for Lauren Cram. The former La Mirada High School girls soccer standout, now at Cal State Fullerton, has adapted nicely to a switch in positions this season.

Cram, after three years as a midfielder, has moved to her natural position of forward. The difference is like night and day.

The senior, who scored just one goal in her previous three seasons with the Titans, has scored five goals during the season's first three weeks to help Fullerton to a 6-3-1 record.

"I've always played forward until I came to Cal State Fullerton," Cram said. "They put me at outside-half, which is offense and defense. This last year, they put me at forward, so now my main objective is to score goals."

She's accomplishing her mission. In amassing her five goals, Cram has scored in five of the team's past seven games.

"I love it," Cram said of the switch to striker. "I feel like I'm (playing) the right position now.

"I know what I'm doing (at forward), although I hadn't played in college. It took me a few weeks to find the groove, but now I'm settling in. It took a little while, but I think I've found it."

Now her goal is to help the Titans recapture their success of last season, when Fullerton finished third in the Big West and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament before losing to UCLA.

"I feel like we're starting to get to know each other," Cram said of the Titans, led by first-year coach Demian Brown. "A lot of people don't know that we lost our head coach (Ali Khosroshahin) to USC, so we have a brand new coach, a brand new everything.

"We feel like a new team, but we also have a lot of experience. I think after having a few rough games, I believe we're off to a pretty good start."

The Titans, who have won three consecutive and six of their past eight, appear to be finding their groove. Cram says it should get even better as the season progresses. She also believes this team is capable of repeating what it accomplished the past two seasons, which included a trip to the NCAA tournament round of 16 two years ago and the second round last season.

"I think we can get back to the tournament," Cram said. "To be honest, we just have to play our usual game. The games we lost, we haven't lost because the other teams were better than us.

"We've lost because we gave the game away. Sometimes, we're our own worst enemy. As long as we play our game, we don't think there's a team that can beat us."

KLEIN LEADS SANTA CLARA

Cram isn't the only former area girls soccer standout off to a solid senior season.

The same is true of former Arcadia standout Brittany Klein, now at Santa Clara.

The former California High player of the year has scored four goals and registered an assist to lead the top-ranked Gaels to a 7-1-1 start.

Klein, who plays midfield, was second-team All-West Coast Conference last season and was named WCC Player of the Week in early September.

LEE SHINES AT LONG BEACH

Ashley Lee, who helped Hacienda Heights Wilson to a CIF-Southern Section divisional title last season, appears to be picking up where she left off.

The former All-CIF-SS player, in her freshman season at Long Beach State, ranks third on the team with 165 kills and has helped the 49ers to a 9-5 record.