Out of the Darkness
OHS Boys Soccer honors teammate
The Owatonna Boys Soccer team wore special warm ups for Dylan Lauwers’s memorial game.
Dylan Lauwers would have been a junior this year and was involved in soccer since an early age, unfortunately Lauwers passed away due to suicide. September is National Suicide Prevention Month. On Thursday, Sept. 15 The Owatonna Boys Soccer team and community gathered together to honor and celebrate the life of Dylan Lauwers. The game looked to bring suicide prevention awareness and bring the community together.
Before the game t-shirts were available to purchase for fans. The design of these shirts had ‘Out of the Darkness’ in purple printed on them to promote suicide awareness. Owatonna players and coaches wore “Out of the Darkness” shirts pre- game. All the money made from the shirt sales was donated to a suicide awareness institution AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention). There was a total of $760 raised.
During the game, Owatonna players wore purple socks to keep the suicide prevention awareness theme in game. Head coach Bob Waypa said, ”I believe this game is special because we recognize, we remember, we don’t forget. This game is just one way to show Dylan will always be with us and our program.” Before the starting lineups were announced both teams and the fans shared an emotional minute of silence to honor the life of Lauwers.
The Huskies battled hard all night against their Big 9 opponent Winona. The Winhawks scored an early goal against the Huskies and took an early lead to start off the first half. The Huskies responded back in the second half with a goal by senior captain Benny Bangs. After the end of regulation time the score was still 1-1. This sent the game into overtime where two five-minute halves were added. Even after a grueling overtime both teams were unable to score, ending the game at a 1-1 draw.
After the game the team captains presented one of the game balls signed by the team to the parents of Lauwers. While the game might have ended in a draw, the student section and the Huskies supporters had an amazing turnout, and they were heard from the stands. Junior Adrian Trevino said, “It was nice seeing everyone gathered there to remember Dylan and seeing how many people he made an impact on.” The supporters showed the individual impact Lauwers made on them by supporting the cause at the game.
There was evidence that Lauwers’s life had an impacting effect on many on the soccer field and at OHS. Junior Jaedynn Tjon said, “I don’t know if he realized how many people loved to see his smiling face in the classroom, the soccer fields and even in the halls.” This event brought awareness to Suicide Prevention Month. More information regarding awareness of tools for suicide prevention can be found at AFSP.
Jose Rosas is a senior at the OHS this year. This is his third year in Magnet. He joined because he enjoyed journalism his freshman year and thought Magnet...