Sports
Kings Park Stands "LaurenStrong" in Her Memory
Lauren Lenardi, a late Kings Park student-athlete, paid tribute to in memorial game.
Kings Park girls varsity soccer team paid a touching tribute to a former teammate Thursday and brought home victory in her honor.
Kings Park played their third annual "LaurenStrong" soccer game for Lauren Lenardi, a student-athlete diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer in December of 2010, Newsday reports.
It is the first time the event has been held since Lenardi's death on March 1. More than 300 students and their families came out to pay tribute to her memory.
The girls soccer team wore black and yellow jerseys, inverse of prior years, that had Lenardi's initials, jersey number "40" and the phrase "LaurenStrong" printed on them.
"Lauren is an amazing person with tremendous spirit, optimism, courage, strength and wisdom beyond her years," said girls varsity soccer coach, Bridget Keenan in an email to Patch last year.
During halftime, the players gathered around a memorial to Lenardi made on the sideline, each one of her former teammates pressing their fingers to lips in a kiss, then touching the large rock that served as the base of the memorial.
Read more on Newsday [subscription required] on the LaurenStrong game played on Thursday afternoon.
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