When tragedy strikes in college sports, it lands with a kind of silence before the shock. It\u2019s the pause in a group chat, the unread message you stare at twice, the moment you instinctively say \u201cWait\u2014what?\u201d because your mind needs a heartbeat to catch up. That\u2019s how it felt learning that two young women\u2019s soccer players, Lauren Turner and Mia Hamant, had passed away within weeks of each other.<\/p>\n
It felt impossible. Because in our world, this is SO not normal. Thank God this is rare.<\/p>\n
But when it does happen, everything stops and nothing really makes sense.<\/p>\n
The story of Lauren Turner has been sitting heavy with me. She was just 19, a sophomore at Cal State Fullerton which feels local as a resident of LA. She was just riding scooters with a teammate near campus one night in late September. A collision with a box truck left her in critical condition. She fought for nearly six weeks. Her teammates described her as the funniest, most charismatic, most loving person on the roster\u2014the kind of teammate who makes long bus rides shorter and training days lighter. The kind who walks into a room and lifts everyone else\u2019s shoulders an inch higher. Those are the players teammates never stop talking about, even years later.<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s the heartbreaking news out of Washington. Goalkeeper Mia Hamant. Another young woman whose life ended far too soon after a hard-fought battle with kidney cancer. Another program grieving. Another team learning the awful truth that no one is prepared for this. Two losses so close together is something this sport has rarely had to process.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2245397455-1024x683.jpg\")