LAUREN CHENEY: ALWAYS INDY

Lauren Cheney was born on September 30, 1987, in Indianapolis, Indiana with a congenital heart defect and had open-heart surgery when she was 3 years old. She is a member of the United States women's national soccer team and plays as a forward for Women's Professional Soccer's Boston Breakers.

Cheney attended Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, where she was a Parade All-American and was named the 2006 Gatorade Player of the Year. She graduated midyear to train full-time with the U.S. U-20 team for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.  Helped her club team, the Carmel United Heat, capture five state championships ... Three-year letterwinner and two-time all-conference selection in basketball (guard) at Ben Davis ... Helped the team to an undefeated season as a sophomore.

While playing for UCLA, Lauren became the first player in school history to earn NSCAA/adidas First-Team All-America honors all four years of her career. She was one of three finalists for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy for the second time in her career and one of four finalists for the Honda Award. In her senior year, Lauren broke the school records for points (173) and game-winning goals (28) and also tied the career school record in goals with 71. She ended her college career ranked second all-time in career assists with 31. She was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team, and was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection for the fourth year in a row.

See video about Lauren Cheney's life below