BLOOMSBURG—This Saturday, October 9, the Bloomsburg University men's and women's soccer teams will be raising money and awareness for cancer research by participating in the Red Card Cancer program. Throughout this weekend's doubleheader against Shippensburg University, the teams will be accepting donations for the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

Bloomsburg men's soccer coach Paul Payne started Red Card Cancer after the cancer-related death of former University of Scranton women's soccer coach Joe Bochicchio. “Cancer is a leading killer in the world, and soccer is the leading sport in the world. If we can harness our resources in soccer to support cancer research, we could make a significant impact,” said Payne. The goal of the fundraiser is to use the soccer coaching community to spread awareness of the global fight against cancer.

Currently in its second year, Red Card Cancer raised over $5,000 last year to support cancer research. This season, the program has been elevated to the national level through a partnership with Major League Soccer's DC United and the United States Youth Soccer Association. A handful of other teams at the college and high-school levels have also joined the campaign.

The Bloomsburg teams will raise awareness by warming up for their respective games in official Red Card Cancer shirts. In addition to collecting donations, they will be selling shirts ($20) and bracelets ($2) at the games to support the cause. The men's team kicks off at 5 p.m., while the women's game begins at 7:30 p.m.

To learn more about Red Card Cancer, please visit http://redcardcancer.org/.

VIDEO: Men's Soccer Head Coach Paul Payne discusses Red Card Cancer