BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Just 12 hours after defeating Binghamton in its home opener Friday night, the Lehigh women’s soccer team ran in the 5K Race For Freedom Saturday morning. The event was held in Lehigh Parkway in honor of Ashly Moyer, who was an Army soldier killed in Baghdad in 2007.

 

“We want to be more involved with the community outside Lehigh,” said head coach Eric Lambinus. “I think it’s good for the community itself to see our tremendous group of student-athletes. It’s good for the community to get to know them and it’s good for us to see what’s in the Lehigh Valley beyond Lehigh and Bethlehem. It was a great opportunity to go out there, meet some people and run for a good cause.”

 

Senior co-captain and Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award candidate Jana Basubas spearheaded the team’s involvement.

 

“Jana wanted us to become more involved and thought it would fit perfectly with our training and our schedule,” said Lambinus. “We replaced our practice with it. The kids had a great time and really enjoyed themselves.”

 

The 5K is put on by Moyer’s mother to raise money for victims of families who died in the war, and those still fighting overseas.

 

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve never gotten around to doing something together as a team in the community,” said Basubas. “Coach Lambinus and I thought a 5K would be a great opportunity. We wanted it in-season, so it’d also serve as team bonding.

 

“When I was interning over the summer, we’d have organizations come in monthly,” Basubas continued. “This one organization, similar to Wounded Warrior, talked about how much military veterans need support. It inspired me, so when I found this race and saw it was supporting the military and remembering the 21-year old girl that had died in Baghdad, I thought it’d be great to get involved.”

 

The 5K was a great community service initiative while also serving as a good recovery run, especially with a full week between games. The Lehigh coaching staff ran in the 5K as well, so it was truly a team bonding experience across the board.

 

“We didn’t have a game on Sunday, so it was a good opportunity the day after a game to get a good run in, get the legs recovered and get a little bit stronger,” said Lambinus. “It’s good to stretch our legs a little bit after the game. It helps increase our fitness level over the period of a season.”

 

“It was a fun event for our team to take part in, something different,” said Basubas. “Not just practice every day. It’s a good workout.”

 

This 5K was not only a team, but also a community bonding experience.

 

“I’ve done a lot of 5Ks in the past, but this was especially local,” said Basubas. “It wasn’t really big. There weren’t major corporations sponsoring it; it felt very much like a hometown, grassroots based event. For us to go and bring 30 of us, it made an impact. It was really fun. We’d like to do something like this again.”

 

The Mountain Hawks helped raise $435 for the cause, with a portion of the proceeds going to the “Ashly Moyer Memorial Scholarship Fund,” established at Emmaus High School (Ashly’s alma mater). The majority of proceeds will be donated to The Lehigh Valley Blue Star Mothers, a group that supports our troops and veterans.

 

All-in-all, it was a very unique opportunity to come together as a team, take a step back from soccer and most importantly, make an impact in the community.

 

“One thing that was awesome was just seeing the opening ceremony,” said Basbuas. “Ashly’s mom organized the whole event and her mom spoke at the beginning. That touched a lot of people and made people consider and appreciate what you have and understand that freedom isn’t free. That was good for our team to take a step back and think about those types of things.”