Monmouth men's soccer raise goals, donate to cancer research
The efforts of the Monmouth College men's soccer team came to fruition this week with their donation of nearly $1,600 to the national Red Card Cancer program benefitting cancer research.
The team gathered Friday with a check earmarked for the Red Card Cancer program. The program gets its name from the red card in soccer which, when issued to a player or coach, eliminates that individual from the game.
"Our goal is to give cancer the red card," said Fighting Scots' coach George Perry. "We hope that in some small way, our efforts will eventually lead to a cure and eliminate cancer altogether."
Throughout the fall season, the Scots took pledges from players, parents and fans for goals, assists, shutouts and shots. Monmouth enjoyed its best season since 2002, finishing with an 8-6-2 record and tying for fourth in the Midwest Conference's regular season. After a 1-4 start, the Scots fashioned an eight-match unbeaten streak.
"The ball kind of got rolling when (former player) Chris Anderson's sister was diagnosed with cancer," explained Perry of the fundraiser. "The team saw how that affected the family and felt we needed to do something, anything."
The money raised from the Scots' participation will benefit cancer research at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Research Center.
The Red Card Cancer program was founded by Paul Payne, the men's soccer coach at Bloomsburg University. He is currently the president of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Payne developed the program in honor of a coaching friend who was lost to cancer.
