All About the Goalies

September 15, 2015 at 1:56 pm Ryan Jones 1 comment

Sunday was “Mack the Jeff” day at Jeffrey Field, the now annual men’s soccer game that doubles as a tribute to, and fundraiser in the memory of, Mack Brady. The son of Communications Arts & Sciences lecturer Elizabeth Brady and Schreyer Honors College dean Christian Brady, Mack was 8 when he died suddenly of a blood infection in December 2012. We’ve written previously about Mack, who was a huge soccer fan and aspiring goalkeeper, and this annual event remains a terrific thing.

This year’s Mack Brady Day provided a chance to honor the memory of another goalie lost too soon: Connor Darcey, the men’s lacrosse player who died in a car accident in June. The mood was brightened somewhat Sunday by a celebration of their memories, and by the result: A 1-0 Nittany Lion victory over 10th-ranked Indiana. The result wouldn’t have held if not for a first-half penalty save by senior goalkeeper Matt Bersano, captured above by photographer John Cobes.

Inspired by Mack Brady’s memory, and by the scholarship fund that bears his name, the men’s soccer program has claimed the aspirational title “Goalkeeper U.” Both in the game and in the bigger picture, Bersano’s save couldn’t have been better timed.

Ryan Jones, senior editor

1 Comment Add your own

1. Dan Sheerin | September 16, 2015 at 1:06 pm

Excerpts from a poem I wrote in memory of Mack Brady.

Mack Brady and we fervent few
are forever one true team,
ever to excel as goalkeepers
living out the Penn State dream …

To build the bold tradition
of State’s Goalkeeper U,
Mack’s tough tenacious teamwork
shall all our ‘keeps imbue

WE ARE … PENN STATE gentlemen and scholars
we seek Mount Nittany’s crest
we know true victory only comes
with God’s blessings on our best

For Mack and his keepers know no defeat,
saving whatever may come our way,
for we will soar forever more
whenever our Penn State teammates play

Entire poem posted here: http://on.fb.me/1ihuLh3

The Penn Stater Magazine