Women's soccer kicks cancer

Their worlds’ were rocked. Julia Gardner, a senior at Cedarville University, received the news in early August. Sidney Hatfield was diagnosed this past summer.

Just six weeks after 21 year old Gardner got married, life as she knew it was flipped upside down. She was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This disease effect the blood and bone marrow, attacking white blood cells.

Sidney Hatfield was diagnosed with Gleoblastoma. At only 20 years old, she was told that her brain tumor is inoperable.

The women’s soccer team decided to kick cancer to the curb. After two dear friends were diagnosed with cancer, senior Casey Apple and junior Bethany Bogantz decided to spearhead this big event.

They corralled support from local businesses, businesses from their hometown, and family and friends. They held a raffle. They sold shirts. They received incredible donations.

“In the end, we had gift cards donated that we turned into raffle prizes, pizza and concessions donated from Domino’s and Kroger, and t-shirts from Markt Solutions to sell,” senior Casey Apple said.

They encouraged family, fans, and businesses to pledge a donation for every goal scored.

“We raised a little over $4,000 that we are splitting between the two and giving directly to them for their treatment. It was amazing. We were not expecting to raise that much and it was awesome to see the support from everyone around us,” Apple said.

“Both of these girls have been such an amazing testimony in their fight. Even in the midst all of this, the amount of joy both of them have is really so amazing and something I have had trouble understanding,” Bogantz added, “Christ truly shines through both of these girls and they have the most amazing hearts.”

The Lady Cougars went on to win the game against Saint Catherine’s 6-0. But, the real victory goes to Sidney and Julia for their incredible faith, fight, and perseverance.