Saturday's match will be designated as Testicular Cancer Awareness Day at the Gustie Soccer Field. Photo courtesy of AJ Dahm - Sport PiX.
St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s soccer team will host the University of St. Thomas Saturday afternoon on what is Testicular Cancer Awareness Day at the Gustie Soccer Field. Both the Gustavus and St. Thomas players will wear orchid shoelaces and orchid armbands to help raise awareness and honor those victims, patients, and survivors of testicular cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), 2011 estimates for testicular cancer in the United States indicate approximately 8,290 new cases, and about 350 deaths. In our country alone, one out of every 270 young men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer. Due to the lack of early detection, far too many deaths will occur. The Testicular Cancer Society (TCS) indicates that testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in men ages 15 to 35 and that, on average, every hour of every day, a man is told they have testicular cancer.
Testicular cancer has a very fast onset and tumors are extremely aggressive. Survival rates significantly increase if detected and treated early.
For more information on testicular cancer and prevention, please follow the links below.
http://testicularcancerawarenessfoundation.org/
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/testicularcancer/index
About The Match
The Gusties and Tommies enter Saturday’s match in a tie for first place in the MIAC with 19 points each. Gustavus has played one more conference match than Tommies and sit at 6-1-1 in the MIAC and 11-2-1 overall. St. Thomas is currently 6-0-1 in the MIAC and 10-2-3 overall.
According to the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) North Region Poll released Oct. 16, St. Thomas ranks third, while Gustavus ranks fifth. The Gusties and Tommies are two of five MIAC teams rated in the top 10 along with Carleton (1), St. Olaf (6), and Augsburg (9).
Saturday’s match will be the second time since the turn of the century that Gustavus and St. Thomas have met in St. Peter as the top two teams in the MIAC. On Oct. 11, 2006, Gustavus sat in first place in the conference standings with a league record of 5-1-0, while St. Thomas was in a tie for second place with a league mark of 4-1-1. The Gusties went on to win the match by the score of 2-0 thanks to a pair of goals by future 2007 MIAC Most Valuable Player Mike Butterworth `08.
The Gusties, who are on a four-match win-streak, enter Saturday’s bout coming off a 7-0 win over Buena Vista on Tuesday afternoon in St. Peter. St. Thomas will come into the match fresh after being off the past week following a 2-2 tie with Saint John’s on Saturday, Oct. 13. Gustavus is averaging 2.2 goals per game (3rd/MIAC), while St. Thomas averages 2.1 goals per game (4th/MIAC).
Fans can follow the live stats of the match through the Gustavus athletics website.