Demian Brown wants you to know a few things about Lauren Turner.
The Cal State Fullerton women’s soccer coach wants you to know she was a game-changer on the recruiting front, that landing her from Beckman High School and the nationally recognized Slammers FC club in Newport Beach was “a massive uptick in our recruitment.”
Brown wants you to know why Turner was such a recruiting coup. He can’t remember her missing a tackle in two years, talked with awe dripping from his voice about how she won every ball in the air and possessed brilliant vision that made her a scintillating passer of the ball.
“She made the hard things look really easy,” he said. “God didn’t gift her with blazing speed, but you would never know it because of her positioning and the way she read the game.”
But Brown wants you to know that Turner was more than the owner of a savant-level soccer IQ, more than a slick-passing holding midfielder, center back or fullback —and yes, Brown wants you to know she was that versatile. That she would play anywhere, anytime.
“I started her at holding midfielder. Then, I pulled her over and said, ‘I need you to play center back.’ She said, ‘OK.’ I told her, ‘I need you to get out wide and play there.’ She said, ‘OK.’ If I asked her to play up front, she’d say, ‘OK.’ Nothing was too big an ask for her,” he said.
He wants you to know Turner was a great conversationalist and owner of a world-class sense of humor. If there was humor to be shared — by her or at her — Turner was typically either the prankster, or the prankstee. Turner was as versatile with her humor as she was on the soccer field.
And Brown wants you to know Turner’s personality and values meshed perfectly with the team culture Brown works so hard to maintain. On her recruiting visit, Turner immediately bonded with Brown’s daughter, Dalia, the two conversing like they had known each other for years. That was a moment the Titans’ coach never forgot.
Brown wants you to know Lauren Turner was more than a standout soccer player, more than the 1,471 minutes she played in her two seasons. More than her 12 starts. More than a typical No. 5, a number traditionally given to one of a team’s best defenders.
He wants you to know Lauren Turner was a presence. A presence who will be missed in so many ways.
By so many people.
When the call from CSUF Police Department Chief Anthony Frisbee came the morning of Sept. 28, Brown wasn’t prepared on any level for Frisbee’s message.
There was an accident involving Turner and sophomore forward Ashlyn Gwynn. Electric scooters, a box truck, north of the campus on Associated Road. The Fullerton Police Department news release about the accident reported that officers found two women “in the roadway with significant, life-threatening injuries.”
“You think it’s a couple scrapes and bruises. You don’t expect or think or imagine something of this nature,” Brown said, remembering his initial reaction to Frisbee’s call. “Reality turned out to be a lot more than that.”
Turner and Gwynn were on their way to watch the Titans’ men’s team take on San Diego State. They were driving their scooters down Associated Road when they were hit by the box truck.
Reality, indeed, turned out to be a lot more than that. Turner and Gwynn were taken to a local hospital. They spent significant weeks in ICU; Gwynn spending a month and Turner six weeks.
On Nov. 7, Christopher Turner, Lauren’s father, shared this message on a GoFundMe page established to help with Lauren’s medical expenses. As of Nov. 23, more than $111,000 was in the fund.
“Early this morning, our sweet Lauren fell asleep in the Lord. Our hearts are broken, and our family is forever changed. We will miss her beyond measure, yet we take great comfort in knowing she is now in the loving embrace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Brown now had the unenviable and unimaginable task of telling his team. CSUF Athletic Director Jim Donovan ensured he wouldn’t be alone in this task, summoning the entire athletic department to support Brown, his staff and his team, then putting the university’s formidable mental and emotional health resources at everyone’s disposal.
“Jim Donovan has been amazing through all of this,” Brown said, adding that he believes that players have made use of those resources. “We did as good a job as we possibly could have in a situation where there’s no good way to do it. We did a good job supporting the players and making sure they had the resources to deal with this kind of adversity.”
On Nov. 12, the university held a candlelight vigil for Turner at Titan Stadium that brought approximately 1,100 people. Attendees placed tea lights on the field forming the number 5—Turner’s number. Brown said this further illustrates what kind of person Turner was — and the presence she was among everyone who knew her during her 19 years.
Two weeks ago, Brown brought the team together, rolled out the balls and turned them loose in an informal practice that stretched the meaning of the word. They kicked the ball around, worked up a sweat and bonded over the sheer act of togetherness. He wanted them to remember what brought them together, what kept them together and what this game meant to Turner and Gwynn, who is expected to survive as she undergoes an extensive rehabilitation process.
On Gwynn’s GoFundMe page, which raised more than $68,000 as of Nov. 23, her parents updated her condition, saying that after spending that month in ICU, she has been transferred to a “Step Down” unit, where she will receive daily occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy, the first steps on that lengthy process. Her parents described her recovery as “nothing short of miraculous.”
“The biggest aspect is dealing with our players and our program and keeping Lauren alive through what she loved to do and what we get to do,” Brown said. “I’m dealing with the top 1% of athletes in terms of soccer players, and soccer is what brought them together, soccer is what they love and they love the opportunity to be together.
“Our team is close, and we were close prior to this. For them to be on the field is something that allows them to be in their happy space. That may sound corny, but that’s what it is.”
Brown met again with his team in mid-November, and he said they declined to speak about Turner. They did speak in a statement issued by the CSUF Athletic Department that read, “Lauren was the funniest, most charismatic, and loving teammate you could ever ask for. She was the first to celebrate other people’s wins. She is the true definition of an amazing person. She always carried herself with compassion, kindness, and happiness. The impact she made on the Titans women’s soccer program is immeasurable.
“She will be dearly missed by everyone but forever remembered by her Titan family. We love you Lauren, our No. 5 Forever.”
Above all, that’s what Brown wants you to remember about Lauren Turner.