The team lines up to show support for Tessie Thompson Sylvester, who is battling Stage 4 cancer. The team hosted Cancer Awareness Day and a fundraiser for Sylvester. (Davis Narey/TommieMedia)
Forward Megan Zickert kept possession for a shot attempt as the game clock was winding down. The game went into double overtime and ended in a tie of 1-1. (Davis Narey/TommieMedia)
Forward McKenna Peplinski jukes an Auggie defender near the sideline. (Davis Narey/TommieMedia)
Forward Mallory DeBoom protects the ball from an Auggie defender. DeBoom was a dominant force late in the game while trying to score the winning goal. (Davis Narey/TommieMedia)
Forward Paige Cater sets up for a goal attempt in the second half. Both teams increased their shots on goal in the second half. (Davis Narey/TommieMedia)
Midfielder Emma Thies handles the ball near midfield shortly into the second half. The Tommies pushed early to attempt to tie the game. (Davis Narey/TommieMedia)
Midfielder Brie Bourdage heads the ball towards the goal off of a sideline pass. (Davis Narey/TommieMedia)
Midfielder Emily Michaelson fights for possession as St. Thomas looks to score late in the first half. Both the Tommies and Auggies had one shot on goal in the first half. (Davis Narey/TommieMedia)
Forward Megan Zickert takes a shove out of bounds as they race for the ball she races an Auggie to the Tommie goal. (Davis Narey/TommieMedia)
Midfielder Brie Bourdage handles the ball on the goal line to set up for a shot attempt late in the game. (Davis Narey/TommieMedia)
Forward McKenna Peplinski battles for the ball near the Auggie goal. The Auggies scored late in the first half while St. Thomas remained scoreless until the 56th minute of the game. (Davis Narey/TommieMedia)
The St. Thomas women’s soccer team tied Augsburg 1-1 in double overtime Wednesday at home as both teams honored a 2003 graduate and Hall of Fame athlete with cancer.
Donations were collected at the game for St. Thomas alumna Tessie Thompson Sylvester, a St. Thomas Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, All-American and 2002 MIAC Player of the Year. Sylvester, who did not attend the game, is battling inoperable Stage 4 cancer that has spread to her lymph nodes and liver.
Augsburg coach Mike Navarre lost his mother in August to cancer, making the cause meaningful for both teams.
“I was really glad that we were able to come together as the MIAC. It is super important for the girls … to feel that there are big things in their lives that aren’t soccer,” St. Thomas coach Sheila McGill said.
The current leading scorer for the MIAC, Augsburg forward Ashley St. Aubin, scored the first goal of the game, putting the Auggies ahead 1-0.
Forward Brielle Bierman scored the first and only goal for the Tommies (11-3-2 overall, 6-3-1 MIAC) to tie the game in the 56th minute.
At halftime, Augsburg (11-3-2 overall, 7-1-2 MIAC) announced its team and alumni also had been fundraising for the Sylvester Joy and Sunshine Fund, which was set up to support Tessie Sylvester and her two sons, ages 5 and 6, following her diagnosis. The Pioneer Press reported that Tessie, age 36, learned she was diagnosed with cancer on June 16, the same day that her husband, 44-year-old John Sylvester, died from ALS.
Donations to the GoFundMe page have raised about $310,000 of the $500,000 goal since June. Wednesday’s donations at the game raised another $1,500 for the fund.
John and Tessie met while coaching youth soccer in Woodbury. John played professionally for the Minnesota Thunder in the 1990s and later coached for the Minneapolis United Soccer Club. Tessie graduated from the University of Minnesota dentistry school after St. Thomas and worked at a free clinic for homeless and marginalized people, according to the GoFundMe page set up by Tessie’s sister.
Tessie’s father, Joe Thompson, is a long-time employee of the St. Thomas Physical Plant, according to Tommie Sports.
Players from both teams wrote names of people they know that have been affected by cancer on memory boards held up at halftime. McGill led the fans in a prayer and moment of silence while players held hands.
“We all kind of felt it we had to stay focused for the game. We know of the player, once a Tommie, always a Tommie. We played for everyone today that has been affected,” Elvidge said.