By Emily Vose
Reporter
CSU Bakersfield men’s soccer coach Richie Grant, and his team took on UCLA in an exhibition match. Despite the CSUB men’s soccer team losing 2-1 to UCLA, they were really happy with the day as a whole. Every year CSUB Soccer does some kind of fundraising event to raise money for young boys and girls soccer teams in Kern County.
Before the game, Grant said he had a very positive outlook on the boys and their inspiring attitude towards the younger generation. Grant stressed how important it is to give back to the community and that both he and the team are very grateful for all the support they received and in return they enjoy participating in events like these.
“For us it’s about engraining our players with the community” said Grant.
At this event there was a soccer clinic for the younger kids, the kid’s response when they had an opportunity to be around student athletes and gain knowledge from the boys was very inspiring also. CSUB’s top players, sophomore forward Julian Zamora and Brian Charles, junior midfielder, both have a lot of experience on the field, and were very excited for the game against UCLA.
For the team, it got a chance to give back to the community, but they also got the chance to promote the team’s successes to the community.
“Every time we do an event we usually hear back from those who worked behind the scenes,” said Charles.
The players are constantly getting positive feedback about their community services.
Zamora said he wants the younger generation to know that they have the ability to play in college, and that soccer is a good way to get in to college. Both Zamora and Charles have taken part in a few events like this, and they both say it benefits the Boys and Girls Club around Kern Country as well as the CSUB men’s soccer program.
Jamie Carey Morrell, sophomore defense, is an international student athlete from Stevenage, England who plays on defense. Morrell also has a very positive outlook on not only the fundraising event but soccer in general. He is very passionate about the sport, and he is aiming to be a professional soccer player in the future.
“I would love to inspire people and to have people look up to me in the future,” said Morrell.
Morrell comes from a supportive family that push him to be the best he can be, and he wants to make sure young upcoming athletes can achieve their dreams with hard work and dedication.
