In Aggieland, every team has an opportunity to pick a charity for a fundraising ‘cause’ game each year.
The Texas A&M soccer team didn’t select a cause. The cause selected the Aggies and it selected the Aggies from a thousand miles away.
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. Thirteen years later, the connection between the two from the Mount Rushmore State lives on with Texas A&M continuing its cause game to help fight pediatric cancer.
The friendship started because Quinn’s mom, Kate Pesicka, was Mueller’s algebra teacher her freshman year of high school. Mueller became close with the rest of the Pesicka family during her time in high school and served as a babysitter for the family.
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. It was treated and she went into remission at the 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 during Mueller’s junior season. The team flew the Pesicka family to Texas for the Aggies’ SEC opener against Tennessee and they had a welcome party for them at the airport. The contest served as a fundraiser to assist Quinn’s family and to bring more attention to children’s cancer. On a magical evening, Shea Groom’s hat trick led A&M to a 3-0 victory, and the team raised over $8,000 for Quinn’s family in a time of need.
“It truly is hard to put into words how special the ‘Go, Fight, Quinn’ weekend was,” Mueller said on the 10th anniversary of the event. “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 one of my best memories.”
Quinn passed away during the offseason on June 20, 2015. Three months later, the Aggies played in what was then 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 – the only goal of her career.
“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.”
If she was cancer free, Quinn would be a college student. Her love of Karlie Mueller and Aggie soccer may have brought her to Texas A&M. She may be anticipating picking up her Aggie ring in a few weeks and navigating life as an upperclassman anticipating graduation. She may have spent years coming to Aggie soccer camp honing her skills and developing into an elite player. She may have earned a spot in the Maroon & White starting XI as an outside back, like her friend lifelong friend Karlie.
“We aren’t just playing for a result, but something bigger,” current Aggie Makenna August said. “We are playing for children who deserve the chance to be able to grow up, live a healthy life, and accomplish all their dreams.”
And that’s why we play the game. A belief that our efforts could one day help those children fight the battle and continue on the path towards their dreams in adulthood.
The Turn it Gold Foundation mission is fighting for the voiceless youth in 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. Texas A&M soccer has raised over $100,000 over the last seven Turn It Gold Games.
To do your part to help the effort, donate here – 12thMan.com/TurnItGold.
