On Friday, September 30, the Holyoke Girls Soccer team traveled to Hampshire Regional to take on the Raiders. At the end of the hard fought (and extremely cold) game, the Holyoke girls presented the Hampshire girls with red carnations with purple ribbon.

The flowers were to celebrate the bravery and strength of Hampshire Regional in wake of the tragic loss of a student, Thomas Bisbee.

Hampshire girls soccer team continued to play with heart, even in the face of cruelty. They did not allow their sadness or the ignorance of other towns to stop them from playing the sport they love. They are great examples of the strength and sportsmanship soccer players- and fan sections- should have.

In light of recent events in Western Mass, the Holyoke Girls team hopes this gesture will inspire other schools to be kinder, and not allow fan sections to harass players or poor sportsmanship to become the norm at high school sporting events.