Box Score 

Purchase, NY (Oct. 22, 2013) – The Purchase College and Mount Saint Mary women's soccer programs played with extra purpose Tuesday night.

The two teams took to the field at Purchase in support of Rett syndrome and one local little girl affected by the disease. And both clubs showed a tremendous amount of fight on an evening when first-place MSMC would narrowly edge the Panthers 1-0. There was "fight" both on and off the soccer pitch, with Purchase hosting the event to raise awareness for Rett. All proceeds for the evening will be donated to the cause with 5-year-old Eva Fini in mind.

At three, Fini was diagnosed with Rett, a neurological disorder that is manifested as repetitive hand-to-mouth movements, coupled with loss of speech and motor control, severe digestive problems, seizures, anxiety, scoliosis, and irregular breathing and sleeping patterns.

This disorder strikes at random in early childhood, affecting little girls almost exclusively. 

On Tuesday, the Panthers and MSMC hosted a "Purple Game" to raise awareness and honor the Fini family in their battle with the debilitating disorder.

The program for the evening was put together by Purchase men's soccer head coach James Bruno and women's soccer head coach Stephanie Janasiewicz. Bruno is a friend of the Fini family. 
 
For Eva, the symptoms of Rett did not strike until she was 18-months-old. Aimee and Albert Fini used the word "normal" to describe the first year and a half of their daughter's life. Eva was able to feed herself, walk up and down the stairs, drink from her own sippycup, hold onto toys, and babble the words "apple juice" and "bus stop."

Then, little by little, these milestones seemed to vanish into thin air. Eva no longer held her sippycup, she stopped walking up and down the stairs, couldn't feed herself, and was unable to pick up a toy to play with it.  

Purchase acknowledged the cause during a brief pregame ceremony. T-shirts and a 50-50 raffle were used to generate donations for the cause.
The cause itself paved the way for a terrific soccer game. The Knights, which improved to 13-4 overall and a perfect 7-0 in the Skyline Conference in the one-goal win, scored on a Shanice Robe goal in the 25th minute. The unassisted breakaway score was just enough.

Robe, who has won three straight Skyline Player of the Week awards, netted her 22nd tally of the fall.

Lost in defeat was the play of Purchase's defense and Panther keeper Jess Lindsay (SR/Rochester, NY). Lindsay was brilliant in goal, stopping 10 shots for 10 saves.

The Panthers were also without two of their best defenders and captains in Amanda Maertz (JR/Holbrook, NY) and Alexis Trainor (SR/Lake Ronkonkoma, NY) – both of which are sidelined by injury. Nonetheless, the Panthers showed their mettle, trying every which way to upend a challenging opponent on a night that meant so much to them, says Janasiewicz.

"There were no losers tonight," the Panther head coach said afterward. "It was a great game. MSMC is a great team and we were happy to put on a great show for a great cause. We appreciate those that came out to support. We plan on doing many more 'Purple Games' for Eva and in support of Rett syndrome.

"So many people didn't know what Rett is and I feel like we have raised awareness," Janasiewicz added. "I have been part of many causes for charity before and it feels good to know that we are educating people that weren't aware."      

-With Stephanie Janasiewicz, Assistant SID