Last Monday, April 19, all of San Antonio's soccer fans came to Paul McGinlay field at Trinity University to watch the Haiti Men's National Team play the Trinity University Men's soccer team. Over 3,500 people showed up for the event, most of them non-Trinity Students. San Antonio Sports promoted the event, so there was more than enough coverage by the media across the state of Texas. The event started with a presentation by the CEO of San Antonio Sports, the organization that took great interest in the event, giving the Haitian team housing during there trip, while also donating merchandise to their program.
As the world knows, Haiti experienced a devastating earthquake months ago. Lucky enough for the players, they were on the practice field when it happened, however their federation lost 32 members under the rubble of their office building that collapsed. While the lives of Haiti National Soccer Federation are much more important, they also lost all their equipment, and a place to practice when their field was inhabited by refugees’ tents. Having received a large donation of gear from San Antonio Sports, the game was underway.
In the first half, Haiti held the ball for 80% of the time, however the Trinity Tigers held them off from scoring any goals. Haiti had many chances to score, while Trinity only had one, which failed. In the second half Haiti turned it up a notch, scoring two to put themselves ahead of the Tigers. When the game ended, Haiti’s fans rushed the field, and after the social the Haiti men’s National Team and Trinity Tigers had dinner together.