Dec. 14, 2006

FULLERTON, CA - Cal State Fullerton senior forward Lauryn Welch was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Scholar All-West Region First Team the organization announced.

She becomes the second Titans women's soccer player to receive such an honor, joining former goalkeeper Laura Janke, who was named to the second team as a senior in 2003.

Welch, a kinesiology major, started the team's first 10 games in 2006 before her season was prematurely ended due to a knee injury after scoring a goal on Sept. 28 against No. 24 Arizona. She finished the year with five goals and two assists - still good for second on the team in scoring.

In her career, Welch scored 17 goals (tied for sixth on the school's all-time list) and assisted on 12 others (tied for ninth on the all-time list) while ranking tied for seventh all-time in school history with 46 points.

Welch started all 73 matches of her Cal State Fullerton career and was a three-time All-Big West honoree - including first-team laurels in 2005 and second-team honors as a senior.

She was one of five Big West Conference players honored by the NSCAA, joining a quartet of players from Pacific.

Student-athletes must have at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average, be at least a junior in academic standing (or in the second year at the school if a transfer), and start more than 50 percent of the team's games and be a significant contributor.

Fullerton finished the season 12-8-2 overall (4-2-1 in the Big West Conference for third place) and its second-consecutive Big West Conference Tournament title.

The Titans, who earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last six seasons, advanced to the second round, defeating Loyola Marymount, 3-0, before falling to eventual national semifinalist UCLA, 3-1.