Republic’s soccer game against Bolivar didn’t go nearly as well as the Tigers had hoped. But their annual charity fundraiser blew past expectations.
Despite a 5-1 loss to Bolivar on a cold, windy night Thursday, the Tigers raised nearly $5,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project. That’s beyond the $3,500-$4,000 coach Mike Hines had hoped his team would raise. And it’s the biggest one-night total for the boys soccer program in four years of charity fundraisers.
“In broad terms, this game doesn’t mean anything compared to what we’re raising the money for. So let’s keep that in perspective,” says Hines.
Hines says the team hopes to donate a portion of the money raised directly to the surviving family of Sgt. Joseph M. Peters, a 2007 Republic graduate who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan earlier this month.
“We can still walk out of here and be unhappy, but let’s make sure that we keep our priorities straight. We did a good thing tonight, and that’s what I’m going to try to remember when I go home.”