As the fall sports teams commence their seasons, the Men’s Soccer team will be participating in more than their scheduled soccer games. Like last fall, the team will be supporting Night of Nets, but they have also put their support behind a program called “Kick for Dana-Farber.”
“Kick for Dana-Farber” is a fundraising program in which soccer teams throughout the Boston area are raising funds to help with cancer care and research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
While the fundraising efforts of the Men’s Soccer team means something different to each player, it is something very personal for sophomore Noah Roberts.
When Roberts was just five years old, he had soft tissue sarcoma in his right hand. When asked if there was a significance to playing on Friday and Saturday, Roberts replied modestly, “There was a little more significance because an organization is watching you, not just the school, so you want to kind of impress a little bit. There are also a lot of nerves that the freshman had because we have such a young team.” While Noah has had no affiliation with this specific organization, he was still honored to play and represent something much bigger than himself. He hopes that in the future more people will be able to attend.
Knowing that one of their brothers has had to deal with something so hard at such a young age hits home a little more for the men’s soccer team. Sophomore Victor Mendoza spoke about Noah and the game, saying “Noah did play with a little bit more mojo, it was motivational for the team. When you play any sport for a specific cause it just makes it that much more special and gives you that extra motivation to work harder.”
The team had a concession stand at the awareness game to raise donations, and by the end of the night they. The team and fans raised $380 dollars from the concession stands and an additional $250 from their online donation page.
Another awareness night that has been on the hearts of the soccer team is the Night of Nets foundation. Night of Nets is a global campaign focused on ending malaria. The date has not been set yet for the next “Kick for Dana-Farber” awareness night yet, but Night of Nets will take place on October 2.