Thief steals Minneapolis City Soccer Club's trailer: "I was just sick to my stomach"
MINNEAPOLIS -- Thousands of dollars worth of equipment was discovered missing just hours before a minor league soccer game.
Now, a Minneapolis team is fighting to get back on its feet.
It wasn't the kind of steal that the Minneapolis City Soccer Club had trained for.
"I was just sick to my stomach," said Sarah Schreier, the team's director of operation. "I knew pretty quickly what had happened."
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Two hours before game time on Sunday, volunteers showed up at the soccer field at Augsburg University in Minneapolis to set up.
"There was just nothing here, and we saw a couple of our wheel blockers and realized that something pretty big was missing for our game day," Schreier said.
Their trailer, packed with equipment, was gone.
"Everything from our tents, and banners, and merch racks," she said. "Everything that we've accumulated over seven years to put on a game day experience for our fans."
The Crows still managed to play their game, but the 501(c)(3) volunteer-driven club is now out $15,000.
"It's pretty ramshackle, really people-powered, so it seems so silly to say, 'Oh that ticketing table really matters,' But it does. You know, that first banner, yeah that kind of hurts," said club co-founder Dan Hoedeman.
He says donations and the community's support have been overwhelming for the grassroots club, as they now work to get back on their feet.
"When people come and support you at the level they have, you know you can't help but feel like a new burst of energy," Hoedeman said. "Like we want to make it even better just to say thanks to everyone for having our back."
The soccer club has an online fundraiser to collect donations. Or they say you can come support them by going to their game this Wednesday night.