ELON, N.C. – While Elon University women's soccer came up short in its conference opener against Towson, the team succeeded in a special partnership for Thursday night's match at Rudd Field. 

The team dedicated Thursday's match to Vs. Cancer, a signature fundraising campaign through the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation which provides any sports team, athlete or community the ability to help kids with cancer. The team also raised money for Vs. Cancer in the leadup to the match. 

Senior defender Kerri Coffman and freshman forward Maddy Baird both were diagnosed with skin cancer earlier in their lives. Coffman had malignant melanoma and has been in remission for two and a half years while Baird had squamous cell carcinoma and has been in remission for six years. 

Coffman said it was great to see the whole Elon team take the pitch for a reason bigger than the game of soccer.

"It's really special," Coffman said. "I think it's also just really fun to play for something more than just our team." 

The team created a fundraiser page that has raised over $1,000 for Vs. Cancer since it was posted Wednesday. The money from the campaign will go toward finding a cure for pediatric brain tumors. 

Coffman said being able to raise money to support a cause like Vs. Cancer is important to her because she does not want young kids to have to endure experiences similar to her own. 

"I can't imagine a five-year-old or a seven-year-old having to go through even what I went through and receiving that diagnosis," Coffman said. "That's just really scary." 

Every Elon player and coaching staff member sported yellow ribbons in their hair or on their shirt against the Tigers. Coffman said finding a stable support system is what was able to take some of the burden off her during a difficult time in her life. 

"Obviously, receiving that news is really hard and it can be really discouraging," Coffman said. "But I had my teammates, my parents, my family and my friends from home, and everybody supported me. It was just really helpful in keeping my head, especially when I couldn't play soccer." 

To help the Elon University's women's soccer team raise money for Vs. Cancer, visit https://team.curethekids.org/fundraiser/4840668. 
 

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'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.

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