Penn State Brandywine Hosts Soccer Saturday

Penn State Brandywine’s women’s soccer team welcomed Chester Upland Youth Soccer and its friends from Chester Eastside as special guests at its November 4 conference playoff game.

The youngsters were invited to visit campus, walk the players and their opponents onto the field, cheer them on, play at halftime and prepare to return for a soccer clinic, and hopefully do it all again for years to come. "This is so much fun!" exclaimed one youngster, Lloyd, in the midst of the action.

Coach Brad Fielder has expressed that he is enthusiastic about building the relationship between the programs and introducing his players as role models for the kids.

“It was such a pleasure to host this group of young kids. I want to express my sincere pleasure for allowing us to host you guys for our match,” said Brad Fielder, Head Women's Soccer Coach at Penn State Brandywine.

There is definitely an appetite for such relationships, and one child, Jeremiah, came prepared to connect. Unexpectedly, upon meeting the players, he reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a handful of stickers, and began giving one to each. Apparently, he had brought them to the game to give away to the team for good luck. And it worked! The Brandywine Lions pulled out the victory on Saturday, making a great day even better. “When are we making our good luck video for the finals?!" asked another participant, Avery.

“Needless to say, Chester Eastside, Inc. had a wonderful time and appreciated Coach Brad’s warm welcome. Memories were made. We look forward to continuing these partnerships,” remarked Whitney Wright, Director of Education for Chester Eastside, Inc. and one of the chaperones for the day.

CUYS is grateful to Eastern PA Youth Soccer for covering the event’s expenses as part of its inspiring See It! Be it! program. Previously, the program allowed CUYS to visit Widener University and Swarthmore College. More such programming is the works.