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La Grange, IL —
Steph Condon was on a recruitment visit at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee last year when she saw two things she liked.
One was the school, which the Lyons Township senior has since committed to and will play soccer at next year.
The other was a Pink Out, a fundraiser where fans dressed in pink at a Panthers’ game to benefit breast cancer research. Condon and LT teammate Kelsey Holbert, who will also play for the Panthers next year, talked about the idea and had a revelation.
Hey, we should do that too.
So Condon and Holbert started planning the event and approached their coaches about the idea before the spring season began. The plan was two-fold. Part 1 was a clinic the LT team helped run for girls ages 4-13 on May 8. The second part, obviously, was the game, which was held May 11.
“It is important to me because it is a great way to raise money for a good cause while getting the entire community involved in our soccer game,” Condon said. “(The clinic) was a way to reach out to the community even further and really connect with the little soccer players.”
The game got all the support Condon could have hoped for, but did not end the way she wanted. After leading York 2-0 in the first half, the Lions gave up two goals in the final seven minutes of the game. The Dukes then scored the game-winning goal in double overtime to win the game and the West Suburban Silver conference title.
The Lions sold nearly 800 “PINK OUT” T-shirts for the game, and all proceeds from those sales, the clinic and the game were to be split between LT Relay For Life and the Karen Dove Cabral Foundation, which is a breast cancer foundation. LT coach Bill Lanspeary said the team raised $5,040.
Lanspeary also said Condon’s spearheading the Pink Out plan was just one example of the leadership she brings to the team.
“She has been instrumental in our team chemistry this year,” Lanspeary said. “You can really see the difference on and off the field with how close-knit this team has become.”
Steph Condon was on a recruitment visit at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee last year when she saw two things she liked.
One was the school, which the Lyons Township senior has since committed to and will play soccer at next year.
The other was a Pink Out, a fundraiser where fans dressed in pink at a Panthers’ game to benefit breast cancer research. Condon and LT teammate Kelsey Holbert, who will also play for the Panthers next year, talked about the idea and had a revelation.
Hey, we should do that too.
So Condon and Holbert started planning the event and approached their coaches about the idea before the spring season began. The plan was two-fold. Part 1 was a clinic the LT team helped run for girls ages 4-13 on May 8. The second part, obviously, was the game, which was held May 11.
“It is important to me because it is a great way to raise money for a good cause while getting the entire community involved in our soccer game,” Condon said. “(The clinic) was a way to reach out to the community even further and really connect with the little soccer players.”
The game got all the support Condon could have hoped for, but did not end the way she wanted. After leading York 2-0 in the first half, the Lions gave up two goals in the final seven minutes of the game. The Dukes then scored the game-winning goal in double overtime to win the game and the West Suburban Silver conference title.
The Lions sold nearly 800 “PINK OUT” T-shirts for the game, and all proceeds from those sales, the clinic and the game were to be split between LT Relay For Life and the Karen Dove Cabral Foundation, which is a breast cancer foundation. LT coach Bill Lanspeary said the team raised $5,040.
Lanspeary also said Condon’s spearheading the Pink Out plan was just one example of the leadership she brings to the team.
“She has been instrumental in our team chemistry this year,” Lanspeary said. “You can really see the difference on and off the field with how close-knit this team has become.”
