Ten Years of Turning It Gold

The Turn It Gold Game began because of the bond shared between Aggie soccer defender Karlie Mueller and a young girl in her hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota – Quinn Pesicka. Ten years later the connection these two made lives on with Texas A&M hosting its 10th Turn It Gold Game.

The friendship started because Quinn’s mom, Kate Pesicka, was Mueller’s algebra teacher freshman year of high school. Mueller became close with the rest of the Pesicka family during her time in high school. She babysat for the family over the years and during Mueller’s senior year, Quinn’s first grade class needed mentors and Mueller volunteered without hesitation. 

Quinn was diagnosed with adrenal cortical carcinoma at 6-months-old in 2006. It is a form of cancer that attacks the adrenal glands that are around the kidneys. But it was treated, and Quinn went into remission at that time. 

In March 2014, Quinn’s cancer came back in the form of a brain tumor. That is when the idea came to life for the Go, Fight, Quinn Game. The team flew the Pesicka family to Texas for the game and they had a welcome party for them at the airport. The Aggies’ SEC opener against Tennessee of Mueller’s junior year served as a fundraiser to assist Quinn’s family and to bring more attention to adolescent cancer. A&M beat Tennessee 3-0 and ended up raising $8,000. All the money went to Quinn’s family to pay for her massive medical bills.

“It truly is hard to put into words how special the ‘Go, Fight, Quinn’ weekend was,” Mueller said. “It was a dream come true for both the Pesicka family and me. To be able to share Quinn and her family with Aggie soccer and the fans, I think that really set us up for the run we made to the College Cup that season. Quinn showed us true resilience, determination and fight. I believe that carried us through that championship season. To this day, that weekend is still my favorite memory.” 

Quinn passed away during the offseason on June 20, 2015. She was given two weeks to live, and she pulled through for two months. Living those two months when she was given two weeks to live exemplifies the kind of fighter and survivor that she was. Quinn is loved and missed by her family, friends and everyone who got the chance to meet her.

Three months later, the Aggies played in the Go Gold Game which was made to raise money for pediatric cancer research. Quinn was honored with a moment of silence and bestowed the Brave Life Award posthumously at halftime. The game went into double overtime, and it was a bittersweet moment for Mueller to score the game-winning goal for the Aggies. It was the only goal of Mueller’s career, and it was the perfect way to tribute Quinn. 

“Scoring the winning goal in our Go Gold Game one year later was Quinn showing us she is still with us,” Mueller stated. “It was like her saying, ‘Hey Aggie soccer, I’m still here cheering you on and supporting you.’ It was truly an emotional moment for me because it had only been a few months since she had passed, but in that moment, I was also like she’s got me, she’s always got me. That was something special.”

The Aggies have continued the tradition of playing what is now termed a Turn It Gold Game. Every year the fundraising work has netted more money for charity.

“This has become a really important cause to all of us,” head coach G Guerrieri. “So many children are taken from us due to cancer and the awareness of childhood cancer is very low when compared to some of the other ailments out there. The players great take pride in the match and the ability to raise funds for this cause.”

The Turn It Gold Foundation mission is fighting for the voiceless youth in the pursuit of elevating childhood cancer awareness and generating bold action through online story sharing, events and media with hopes to change the percentage of dollars invested in childhood cancer research and make a real difference for a cure. Currently, the money raised is donated through Children’s Oncology Group (Cancer Research) & Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute at UT Health Science Center San Antonio (Long-Term Survivorship Research). 

The recent success of the fundraising efforts has been incredible. The Texas A&M soccer team has raised $66,500 over the last four Turn It Gold games. Last year, the Aggies raised $26,000 and they plan to raise even more at this year’s annual game.

The 2023 Turn It Gold Game will take place on September 29 against Ole Miss at 7 p.m. Fans will have the opportunity to purchase an exclusive Aggie Soccer Turn It Gold Replica Jersey for only $15 at the match. There will be Aggie Soccer Turn It Gold scarves available for $10 as well. Donations may also be made through a link at 12thMan.com/TurnItGold.

“This just absolutely warms me,” Mueller said. “The continued passion Aggie soccer has for childhood cancer awareness just proves the impact Quinn has had and continues to have on this program. It is crazy to me because Quinn would be the same age as the freshmen on the team this year and to know her legacy has carried on for this long is incredibly special. I still have current players text me every year around the Go Gold Game and again, it just proves the legacy Quinn left on Texas A&M soccer. That’s something I’ll hold onto forever.”