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By Kent Larsen
LDS Soccer Phenom Helps US National Team Win Nordic Cup
GJOVIK, NORWAY -- Freshman BYU star Aleisha Cramer scored two goals Tuesday
to help the under-21 US women's national soccer team win its third
consecutive Nordic Cup title. The competition is considered the world's most
prestigious for the age group, but in spite of the high level of
competition, the US team outscored its opponents 14-2 in four matches.
Both of Cramer's goals came in the first half of the final game against
Sweden, helping the US national team build a 4-1 halftime lead. The team
played without eight key players, due to injuries and summer school
commitments, but the team drew on six alternates before heading to Norway
for the tournament.
Cramer, who was a freshman at BYU last year, has been a fixture on US
national teams for many years and at every age level. A native of Lakewood,
Colorado, she has played in eight games for US national teams, six of which
came before she joined BYU's teams. At age 16 she became the third-youngest
player, behind superstars Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly. to appear with the US
team in a match against Ukraine in Los Angeles, California. Last year she
was part of the US women's national team that beat Brazil in a game in
Colorado's Mile High Stadium, joining the team after Hamm was injured.
A devout member of the LDS Church, Cramer is not the only member of her
family to make a BYU team. Her brother, Steven, played on BYU's basketball
team before leaving to serve a mission in Sweden.
Sources:
USA pounds Sweden for third straight Nordic Cup
USA Today 1Aug01 S2
By Christopher Lawlor: USA Today
Cramer Scores in Under-21 Nordic Cup Title Game.
BYU Women's Soccer Press Release 31Jul01 S2
By Norma Collett: BYU Athletic Media Relations
Y soccer player heads to China
BYU Newsnet 9Jan01 S2
By Seth Lewis: NewsNet Sports Editor
Cramer fights for spot on national team
colorado.ihigh.com 3Jul00 S2
By Michael Kaylor: iHigh.com Correspondent
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