The Golden Boys of UM's Soccer Team

Story By: Hope Finley

The "Golden Boys" of the Men's Soccer Team

The University of Montevallo’s Men’s Soccer team battles for 90 minutes each game for a win.

And while there are some games that are tougher than others, the players are bringing awareness to campus of another battle being fought for more than 90 minutes once or twice a week.

September is celebrated nationally as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. 

A month long campaign dedicated to remembering the young lives of those taken too soon, standing with the families that are facing the terrible disease and fighting for a cure.

Many show their support by wearing gold ribbons. The Falcon’s home jerseys are gold, but this year, some of the players showed their support in a more unique way than just their uniforms. Nine of the thirty players dyed their hair a golden blonde.

John Evans, Nikola Klacar,
Sergio Gonzalez and Patrick Morton

It started out as a funny idea for team-bonding, but quickly turned into a much bigger purpose.

Senior, John Evans, said, “One of the kids that was at my high school was diagnosed with cancer and passed away two years ago and I was just thinking this was a good way to dedicate it to all the survivors of childhood cancer.”

Head Coach Bruce Dietterle was unaware about what the players had done until the next day. “I didn’t actually find out until John Evans came into my office, and I couldn’t look him in the eyes. I kept laughing and it was very comical. And when they told me about what was going on, it made sense.”

Center backs Austin Petrovich and Nikola Klacar agreed that the experience brought the team closer together.

For more news on UM's Men's Soccer team and a full schedule click here.