HOUSTON - Houston Dynamo might have lost to the Chicago Fire 1-0 Sunday night at Robertson Stadium, but the MLS Cup champions were proud of themselves for something they did off the field.
Dynamo raised more than $16,000 for the Virginia Tech University's Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund through an online fundraiser and auction of the maroon jerseys the Dynamo wore during the match with Chicago.
Virginia Tech head men's soccer coach Oliver Weiss was at the game as an honorary Dynamo captain. Houston defender Eddie Robinson was a member of the University of North Carolina soccer team when Weiss was an assistant at UNC, and before the match, he gave Weiss a hug.
"It's fantastic to raise that much money," said Robinson. "I knew (Weiss) really well, so to be able to contribute to that in anyway whether you knew someone who was effected by it or not was something that hits home, and to be able to contribute meant a lot to us.
"It's fantastic to have Weiss here. For him to get away and be here was fantastic. The team and the front office, to do what they could to make sure that he got here and do the presentation before the game showed good class on behalf of the front office."
All of the proceeds raised will go directly to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.
"I told the guys after the game how great it was to contribute to the Virginia Tech Fund," said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. "After the game, I told them that if I was going to say one thing to them, it's thank you for doing this. I think it's nice that coach Oliver Weiss was here tonight.
"We might not all have a personal connection to that, but we are all Americans and we've all gone through college and probably all have had loved ones pass away, so we know how that feeling is. I think anything you can do to help, you have to do. I think it was a great idea by our front office. I told them that's why I think that locker room is a special locker room."
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
