No soccer experience, but she still got a spot on elite UCLA team in college admissions scandal

Lauren Isackson’s athletic credentials were dwarfed by those of her teammates. A university press release quoted head coach Amanda Cromwell saying, “When all is said and done, this class may be one of the best.” Isackson did not play competitive soccer before matriculating at UCLA, prosecutors say, and yet for an entire season she was listed as a midfielder on the roster of a team that finished the 2017 season as runner-up to national champion Stanford. Citing the indictment, Tamberg blamed Jorge Salcedo, UCLA’s men’s soccer coach, for allegedly submitting a “falsified soccer profile” to the university, and said the coach had been placed on leave. Their first choice was USC, but because of a “clerical error,” Isackson’s fake athletic profile was diverted to the normal admissions process in February 2017, foiling Singer’s scheme, according to an FBI affidavit. It describes her as a “standout high school senior” and “captain of her local club soccer team.” Her UCLA biography says she was “team captain for Woodside Soccer Club from 2012-16.” Zak Ibsen, the club’s director of coaching for the last two years, said he spoke with former coaches at Woodside Soccer Club from the years Isackson purportedly played for the club, and that none remembered her.