Lauren Crandall (born March 17, 1985) is an American field hockey player. At the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics, she competed for the

United States women's national field hockey team The United States women's national field hockey team represents the United States in international field hockey. The team is currently coached by David Passmore. It made its first international appearance in 1920 when a touring team visited En ...

in the women's event, serving as team captain in 2012 and 2016. She played for the national team from 2005 through 2016. Before joining the national team she played field hockey for

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

, winning the NCAA field hockey championship twice.

Early life

Crandall was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and grew up in

Doylestown, Pennsylvania Doylestown is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough population was 8,300. Doylestown is located northwest of Trent ...

, with 3 siblings. She attended Holicong middle school from 1997 to 2000. She began playing field hockey in 1998. She began attending Central Bucks East High School in 1999, playing both field hockey and soccer for the school. Crandall was named team captain of the field hockey and soccer team two times for each sport. As a high school senior, her team won the

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. (PIAA) is one of the governing bodies of Secondary school, high school and middle school athletics for Pennsylvania. PIAA's main office is located in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harri ...

field hockey State Championship. That same year, Crandall was selected as an All-American player and named Southeastern Pennsylvania Field Hockey Player of the Year. She was named her school's top female athlete in 2003, the year she graduated.

College

Crandall attended

, where she played on the field hockey team as a midfielder. She was named Division I All-American from 2004 to 2006. She was named team captain in 2005 and again in 2006. She was a Honda Award Finalist in 2006. During her time at Wake Forest, the team won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

field hockey championship twice, in 2003 and 2004. She graduated from Wake Forest in 2007

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

with a communication major and a minor in

international studies International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

. She went on to earn a graduate degree from DeVry University Keller Graduate School of Management.

United States women's national field hockey team

As part of the USA Junior World team, she scored 10 goals in the 2005 World Cup, leading the team to its best ever finish of seventh place. Crandall joined the

in 2005. She played defense for the team. A broken hand in 2006 forced Crandall to sit out the 2006 World Cup. The

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

marked Crandall's Olympic debut. The team finished the Olympic tournament in 8th place. At the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

, the team won gold, defeating then reigning World Cup champions Argentina. By 2012, Crandall was named team captain. The team finished a disappointed 12th place out of 12 teams at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Crandall scored a goal against Germany in the team's opening game. Having failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, the team finished fourth in the 2014 World Cup. Crandall was part of the US Team that repeated as gold medal champion at the

2015 Pan American games The 2015 Pan American Games (), officially the XVII Pan American Games () and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (Toronto 2015), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, ...

and won the bronze medal at the 2016 Champions Trophy. The team went into the 2016 Summer Olympics ranked fifth in the world, the highest ever ranking for the program. Crandall was again part of the U.S. team for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in Rio de Janeiro, her third Olympic games with the team. The team placed 5th overall. Over the course of her field hockey career, Crandall played 279 games with the Us National team. She announced her retirement in November 2016. Upon her retirement, US women's head coach

Craig Parnham Craig Daniel Parnham (born 13 July 1973 in ) is an English field hockey defender and coach. He represented Great Britain in two Summer Olympics in 2000 and 2004. Biography Parnham played club hockey for Cannock in the Men's England Hockey Lea ...

praised Crandall as an "international powerhouse." In June 2014, Crandall was inducted into the Holicong Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crandall, Lauren American female field hockey players 1985 births Living people Olympic field hockey players for the United States Field hockey players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Wake Forest Demon Deacons field hockey players Field hockey players at the 2011 Pan American Games Field hockey players at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in field hockey 21st-century American sportswomen