An estimated 3,500 fans greeted junior left-defender Bri Franklin as she walked onto the soccer field at Livestrong Stadium on Thursday, April 19.
“The crowd was so loud,” Franklin said. “We couldn’t even hear each other on the field. It was insane.”
The team beat district rival De Soto High School 4-0.
Receiving the opportunity to play at the stadium came from the Canadian and Mexican Olympic soccer teams needing a practice facility for upcoming prequalifying games and the school fields were most similar to a professional stadium. A trade off was made and the school team was able to play at the stadium in return for the use of the school’s fields.
The $1,500 in proceeds from the Kick for a Cure game went to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer awareness.
Head coach Arlan Vomhof said that he was most excited for the girls to have a chance to experience something new.
“The girls had an opportunity to play in a complex that is really nice,” Vomhof said. “The crowd size makes a huge impact too, because it’s bigger than normal.”
Sophomore forward Abby Sieperda was elated when she heard that the team would be playing at Livestrong.
“I was kind of in shock that we were going to play at such a new, perfect stadium,” Sieperda said. “The stadium is so amazing and I knew there was going to be such a huge crowd.”
The varsity game began at 6:30 p.m., and the first goal scored was a rebound off the goal post, which was headed in by junior midfielder Kayla Hamner.
Senior midfielder Lauren Gibson scored the second goal of the game. She used a step-over move to fake out the girl she was going up against, maneuvered around her, and took a shot to score.
The third goal was scored by junior stopper McKenzie Koch off a free kick from a foul.
Sieperda scored the fourth and final goal of the game after dribbling through numerous players trying to block her and then shooting.
Franklin said that the best part of the game was the atmosphere and the experience of it all.
“The field was so big and so nice,” Franklin said. “It was a one time chance to play at a facility like this and I’m glad I was able to be a part of it.”
