Every State High sports team’s senior night has a different meaning, but this year for girls’ soccer, senior night had even more significance. This senior night also included the girls’ soccer “Goals for Good” fundraising reveal, an initiative students started in 2018. 

Goals For Good is now an annual fundraiser held by the girls’ soccer team to benefit a charity or beneficiary of their choice. They have been holding a Goals for Good game for two years now and held a pink out to support breast cancer awareness prior to that. 

This year the beneficiary of the Goals For Good fundraiser was Jack Sylves, a 4-year-old boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia which affects his blood and bone marrow. 

All ten seniors on the State High Girls’ Soccer team were very passionate about Goals for Good and have built a strong bond with Jack, his parents, and even his little sister.

Through all of their efforts throughout the season, they raised over $24,000 for Jack and his treatment. They sold over 900 bracelets during the year leading up to this game. They also did independent fundraising. They created bracelets that said Goals For Good and #Jackstrong. They sold these Bracelets during school and at State High football games.

“I am looking forward to celebrating with my fellow seniors and celebrating everyone’s successes,” senior Savannah Schoonmaker, a defender, said. “I am most excited for the #JackStrong ceremony at half time and honoring his very important part on this team” 

“I’m looking forward to playing with these girls on home turf one last time and cheering all the JV players on,” senior Megan Stoltzfus said. “I hoped to score a goal because I scored the first goal of the season, and I thought it’d be cool to score the last. And I did, so that’s kinda awesome!”

The seniors have worked all through their high school soccer journey to make a difference in the community and they looked forward to demonstrating this at the senior night game.

Due to the deep meaning that this game holds, it brought a lot of nerves for the seniors. “I was kinda nervous because it was the last time I played for a big crowd at the high school, and it was the last time in the regular season that I had to show that I really am a good, hardworking player,” Stoltzfus said. 

“I was extremely nervous for the game because, since it was our celebration game, I knew we had to play well for the Sylves family,” senior Alison Houtz said. “I personally didn’t want to let them down in any way that night.” 

Senior night was a night full of emotions for the seniors–from joy for what they have done for Jack, to nostalgia because this was their last home game as a team.