On Oct. 2, Temple’s field hockey and women’s soccer teams took to the fields of the Temple Sports Complex with something different about their uniforms. Their shoelaces were gold.

The teams added the flair to their footwear as part of an effort to raise funds for a good cause—the Go4TheGoal Foundation's Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer initiative. The foundation is an organization that strives to improve the lives of children battling cancer by providing financial support, developing and implementing unique hospital programs, funding innovative research and granting personal wishes.

To date, the teams have raised more than $1,700—well on their way to their goal of $2,016— ranking them third among teams participating in the challenge.

Marybeth Freeman, field hockey head coach, relishes the opportunity for student-athletes to grow through philanthropy.

“We all started playing our sport at a young age and we have all grown through the experiences garnered through athletics,” she said. “[Field hockey’s] collaboration with … Temple women's soccer is about our athletes and our families giving back to the children and families affected by pediatric cancer.”

Seamus O'Connor, women's soccer head coach, is proud that his team is helping to support and raise awareness for these diseases.

“I am so lucky to get to coach the leaders of tomorrow's world and we need to make sure that they are aware of their responsibility to the children of the world to try and make it a better place for them to live in,” he said. “We chose pediatric cancer as it is a terrible emotional struggle for families, but also very difficult financially for families to pay bills while they are worried about the health of their child.”

Freeman agreed.

“Donating through Go4TheGoal and providing aid to these families in need, knowing how much the activities we did in our own childhoods directly impacted where we are now, is a wonderful chance for us to give back."