U15 Strikers fundraiser drives shared $2,500charitable donation

The Woodstock FC U15 Strikers combined soccer and personal development this season. In conjunction with an Elgin-Middlesex District Soccer League Tier II league cup, the team raised and donated $2,500 to London Sick Kids Hospital and Ronald McDonald House. Cheques for $1,250 were passed over on Sept. 3 at Cowan Park to representatives from both organizations. (Jeff Tribe photo).

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

The Woodstock FC U15 Strikers soccer team combined social awareness and responsibility with a Middlesex-Elgin District Soccer League (MEDSL) Tier II league championship this season.

“It’s an important part of character building,” said coach Kevin Clarke of a $2,500 team donation split between the Children’s Health Foundation (CHF) and Ronald McDonald House Charities Southwestern Ontario (RMHCSO).

The U15 Strikers had a great summer season on the pitch, celebrating a three-year progression beginning in the MEDSL’s third tier. In 2023, the team’s core group took the Tier III league cup and attendant promotion into the second division. Last season, the then U14 Strikers finished second in that loop, taking another significant step forward in 2025 with a 10-1-2 won-lost-tied record including a positive goal differential of 22 (35 for, 13 against) and 32 points, five ahead of second-place Strathroy United.

The fact Woodstock FC topped the division in scoring and fewest goals allowed was underscored by Bella Wilson’s league-leading six shutouts in net and Sydney Haw’s 13 goals.

“We just work well together,” said centre-midfielder and captain Haven Mulloy-Huehn of on and off-field ‘chemistry’ leading to success. “It took a while and a lot of team progress.”

She expects an elevated level of play in Tier I next season but believes the Strikers will be up for the challenge.

“I think the way our team is, we’ll have good attitudes, positive energy and will do well.”

In conjunction with soccer development, the team’s coaching staff (Clarke, assistant Brooklyne Gillespie and manager Mac Robinson) felt it was important to add an element of social awareness. The team has been supported by a much-appreciated group of community sponsors, elevating its competitive abilities through equipment purchase and enhanced ability to attend tournaments.

A bottle drive in support of charity was chosen as one way to highlight the concept of giving back.

“They’re older, going into Grade 10,” Clarke explained.

The search for appropriate recipients was directed by the personal experience of one of the team’s members and her family, served by London Sick Kids Hospital and Ronald McDonald House in that city.

Community support built around the drive when word got out about the U15 Strikers’ initiative and its backstory, said Clarke. Other teams, local restaurants, businesses, and sponsors contributed to the effort.

“And a cash top-up from the club itself,” added Robinson.

It was ‘messy’ collecting beer bottles and cans, said Clarke, but the girls got into the spirit of an eminently worthwhile cause.

“It was a good feeling,” said Mulloy-Huehn of what became a $2,500 donation split between the two entities. Cheques for $1,250 were handed over to representatives from each before a practice/mentoring session on Sept. 3 at Cowan Park’s Palleck Orthodontics Field.

“The community came together for this,” credited Sharon O’Leary of RMHCSO, emphasizing the ‘team’ aspect reflected both in the U15 Strikers and all those contributing. “We can’t all be an island in a sense.”

“It’s always cool to see the impact, especially from young people in the community,” added Maysee McLean of the CHF. “The fact they chose to give back was incredible.”