The Tigers get psyched up before a 2008 game against North Coast Athletic Conference rival Oberlin.
Springfield, Ohio — As the 2009 "non-traditional" spring season comes to a close for the Wittenberg University field hockey team, the stakes have risen exponentially.
Those stakes have little to do with the results on the field at the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) "play day" scheduled for 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, April 19, at The Ohio State University. The Tigers will battle their league counterparts on the turf, but they will also join together for a much more important cause during the day.
In memory of Kristin Hope Kuser, the niece of Head Coach Diana Goggins who died of neuroblastoma in 2008 at the age of seven, the Tigers are organizing an Alex's Lemonade Stand during the play day festivities. Wittenberg team members and coaches will sell baked goods, beverages and T-shirts that read "NCAC Field Hockey Stand for Hope" throughout the day, while also providing literature on childhood cancer. All proceeds will be donated to Alex's Lemonade Stand from the NCAC schools in honor of Kuser.
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation evolved from a front yard lemonade stand hosted by Alexandra "Alex" Scott to a nationwide fundraising movement to find a cure for childhood cancer. Scott, who died in 2004 of neuroblastoma, set up her front-yard stand in her Connecticut hometown at the age of four and inspired a movement that continues today. Alex's Lemonade Stands and other events tied to the foundation have raised more than $25 million towards fulfilling Scott's dream of finding a cure for childhood cancer.
Goggins said she hopes to host another Alex's Lemonade Stand on campus during her team's fall season.
Written By: Ryan Maurer
Photo By: Brad Tucker