PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley and Creighton men's soccer teams will be “Kickin' It for St. Jude's” when the two Missouri Valley Conference rivals meet in a spring exhibition game April 8 (7 p.m.) at Shea Stadium. The two teams, who also played a benefit exhibition last spring in Omaha, are partnering to raise funds and awareness for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
The proceeds raised from the April 8 exhibition will benefit the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, as well as local youth soccer organizations and other groups. Local soccer clubs are being asked to sell tickets for the game. The revenues generated by a club's ticket sales will be evenly split between the club and St. Jude's. The first first group to sell $1,000 worth of tickets will have the opportunity to play a preliminary game at Shea Stadium prior to the Bradley-Creighton exhibition. Any other group that generates $1,000 in ticket sales will be allowed to play a game at Shea Stadium on a date to be mutually agreed upon by Bradley and the group, and the top two selling groups will join the Bradley and Creighton starters on the field for the pregame introductions.
Groups wishing to participate in the game's presale competition should contact the Bradley Sports Marketing Office at 309/677-3617. Individual, general admission tickets for the April 8 exhibition will be $3 and may be purchased in advance at the Robertson Fieldhouse Ticket Office or the evening of the game at the Shea Stadium box office. Donations to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital also will be accepted at Shea Stadium during the game.
The April 8 exhibition will mark the third time Bradley and Creighton will have joined forces to raise funds for charity. Creighton's regular-season visit Oct. 9, 2004 highlighted Bradley's inaugural “Kicks for Cancer” promotion, and including donations from the players for both teams, more than $2,000 was raised for the Peoria chapter of the American Cancer Society. Last spring Bradley was the visitor for Creighton's “Kicks for the Kids” promotion, which generated more than $10,000 for young cancer victims in the Omaha area.
Bradley and Creighton combined for the Valley's two championships last fall. The Braves won their second MVC regular-season title and finished the season with a 15-6-1 overall record, matching the school record for wins in a season, while earning an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in six years. Creighton (15-5-3) was the runner-up to the Braves during the regular-season league race, then downed Bradley (2-0) in the championship game of the State Farm MVC Tournament Nov. 13 at Shea Stadium. Making their 14th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Bluejays advanced to the Elite Eight.
The April 8 exhibition game will be the first-ever spring game in which Bradley has charged admission. The Braves have been among the nation's leaders in average home attendance during the regular season the last four years, last year finishing 13th nationally in total home attendance (13,727) and 20th in average attendance (1,056).
