The Rutgers University-Newark men's soccer program will be running a fundraiser on October 5 as part of the Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer initiative started back in 2011.
 
The Department of Athletics will be donating all gate receipts from the Scarlet Raider match against Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham on October 5, and the program will also be seeking donations above and beyond admission to the game that kicks off at 7:30 p.m.
 
Additionally, the men's soccer team will be around campus on October 4, soliciting donations from the Rutgers-Newark staff, students and faculty and raising awareness for the cause.
 
During the game, all R-N players will be wearing gold laces in support as well.

Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer started in 2011 in an answer to requests from youth soccer teams in New Jersey that wanted to show their commitment to the fight against pediatric cancer. The unwavering mission is to improve the lives of children battling cancer by providing financial support, developing and implementing unique hospital programs, funding innovative research, and granting personal wishes. Through first-hand experience with pediatric cancer and our medical background, Go4theGoal provides the best practices to patients, their families, and the hospitals and staff that care for them.
 
Go4theGoal – which is the larger cause that Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer is a part of – was founded in 2006 only weeks after Richard Stefanacci was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer. After a yearlong battle, Richard lost his fight with cancer just a few months shy of his 15th birthday.

Though Richard lost his battle, Go4theGoal's determination to continue our mission remained and was only strengthened when his cousin Blake was diagnosed with another rare cancer, Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, on March 11, 2010. Blake bravely fought her cancer and is now a 4-year survivor enjoying all the normal thrills of being a teenage girl!

Facts:
-15,000 kids in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer in the next year
-40,000 families will continue their battle this year and 50 percent of those families will have to battle bankruptcy  Fans can learn more about Go4theGoal at www.go4thegoal.org.

Rutgers-Newark returns to action Wednesday afternoon with a New Jersey Athletic Conference match at New Jersey City University. Kick-off is slated for 3 p.m. in Jersey City.