Lauren Marie Sesselmann (born August 14, 1983) is an American-born Canadian soccer player and Olympic bronze medalist who is currently playing as a defender or a forward for the Santa Clarita Blue Heat. She was also a member of the Canada national team from 2011 to 2015, and is also a trainer, producer and host of the fitness DVD program ''Fit As A Pro with Lauren Sesselmann''.

Early life

Sesselmann was raised in Green Bay,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. She starred in both soccer and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

at Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay, winning multiple

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

and helping Notre Dame to an undefeated season and a Wisconsin state championship in girls' basketball in 2001.

Purdue University

Sesselmann played collegiately at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

from 2001 through 2005. She set six records for the

Boilermakers A boilermaker is a tradesperson who fabricates steel, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dep ...

in points, goals, assists, game-winning goals, multiple-goal games, and shots on goal registered. She was also named First Team All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

in 2003 and 2005.

Club career

Following her time at Purdue, Sesselmann remained in the area to play for F.C. Indiana, based in Greater Lafayette. She played in both the

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). ...

in 2007 and W-League in 2008 with the club. She scored nine goals and four assists in 14 games for the Lionesses in 2008, as they were runners-up in the W-League. On January 16, 2009, Sesselmann was drafted by

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) sin ...

with the 44th overall pick in the 2009 WPS Draft. She was waived prior to the season and signed by

Sky Blue FC NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2013 ...

in May 2009. In 2010, Sesselmann attended training camp with

Saint Louis Athletica Saint Louis Athletica was an American professional soccer club that was based in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. Athletica started the 2009 season playing its home games at Ralph Korte S ...

, but was released during camp. She then signed with the Atlanta Beat, where manager Gareth O'Sullivan converted her from forward to defence. Sesselmann debuted with the Atlanta Beat on April 11, 2010 in a match against Philadelphia Independence, earning her first WPS start at left back. In 2013, she joined FC Kansas City in the new National Women's Soccer League. On January 10, 2014, it was announced that Sesselmann was selected by the

Houston Dash The Houston Dash is a professional women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 season, and is affiliated with the MLS team Houston Dynamo FC. History Establishment On November ...

with the third pick in the 2014 NWSL Expansion Draft. However, her role with the Dash has been put into question by a statement from her agent stating it is "in her best interest to explore options as a free agent". Following two years out of the game, Sesselmann joined the Santa Clarita Blue Heat in May 2017.

International career

FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 - Edmonton (18575390581)

Sesselmann acquired Canadian citizenship in 2010 through her father, who is from

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...

, and was called up to the Canada national team for training camp leading up to two friendlies against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in September 2011. She won her first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

on September 17, 2011 against the USA, playing the full 90 minutes. She also started her second game on September 23, 2011. Sesselmann was named to the 18-player Canadian squad for the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

at Guadalajara. She started in four of five matches and appeared as a substitute in the other as Canada went on to win the gold medal. In Canada's run to a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics, Sesselmann started all six matches. Sesslemann represented Canada at the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

. In the quarter-finals against England, she slipped and fell on the turf, which led to a goal for England. Sesslemann was honoured by Canada Soccer in June 2017, along with fellow Olympic bronze medalists Jonelle Filigno, Robyn Gayle,

Kaylyn Kyle Kaylyn McKenzie Kyle (born October 6, 1988) is a former Canadian soccer player who last played as a midfielder for the Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League. She was also a member of Canada women's national soccer team, winning a ...

and

Josée Bélanger Josée Bélanger (born May 14, 1986) is a Canadian retired soccer player who played for Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League and for the Canadian national team. Club career Bélanger signed with FC Rosengård in August 2015. On ...

References

External links

*
Lauren Sesselmann
profile at

*
Purdue player profile

FC Kansas City player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sesselmann, Lauren 1983 births Living people Citizens of Canada through descent Canadian women's soccer players American women's soccer players Canadian people of German descent American emigrants to Canada Sportspeople from Green Bay, Wisconsin Women's association football midfielders Atlanta Beat (WPS) players Footballers at the 2011 Pan American Games Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics National Women's Soccer League players Purdue Boilermakers women's soccer players Olympic soccer players of Canada Olympic medalists in football Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Sky Blue FC (WPS) players FC Kansas City players Canada women's international soccer players Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Houston Dash players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Women's association football forwards Women's association football defenders Soccer players from Wisconsin Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in football F.C. Indiana players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Women's Professional Soccer players