Running For Equality

The Maryland men’s and women’s soccer programs came together Saturday, Feb. 10 to host the 4th annual Maryland Soccer/VOYCENOW Run for Equality in College Park

The event, a 5K run held at Ludwig Field, was held to bring awareness for a fundraiser as the programs attempt to raise $10,000 for youth programming throughout the DMV area. Donations to the fundraiser will support the children of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in the greater Washington D.C. area and Annapolis/Anne Arundel County, the Prince George's County Boys and Girls Clubs and the Cherry Hill district of Baltimore.

Since the inception of the Run for Equality, Maryland Soccer and VOYCENOW have raised over $31,000 to support local students. 

VOYCENOW, founded by Maryland soccer alumni Zack Steffen and Alex Crognale, aims to provide underprivileged families and children both educational and athletic opportunities, regardless of one’s background or demographic. VOYCENOW has raised over $200,000 in its efforts to achieve its objective since the organization’s inception in 2020. 

Maryland men’s soccer head coach Sasho Cirovski conceptualized the event in 2020 following historic civil rights protests across the U.S. and globe. The Terps’ Hall of Fame head coach wanted his program to do more than just talk about institutional inequality, and instead take some type substantive action to help solve it. 

He found the perfect partners to help him in the form of his former charges, Steffen and Crognale, and their newly formed organization. 

The former Maryland roommates and teammates wanted to use their platforms as professional athletes for change after the controversy of George Floyd’s death, and subsequently started VOYCENOW, which has worked with athletes all over the world to combat inequality amongst youth in communities. The partnership with their former head coach was perfect. 

Cirovski was emotional when discussing the impact the initiative has had on his program.

“It means everything to be a part of this cause. When we came up with this idea, we wanted to do something more than a statement or a tweet. We wanted to make a real impact on our community. I’m so proud of the work we’ve done with Zack, Alex and VOYCENOW. To have this extend throughout our Maryland soccer family is truly amazing.” 

After the event only included the men’s team for the first two editions, women’s soccer head coach Meghan Ryan Nezmer jumped at the chance to include her program upon being hired to lead the program two seasons ago. 

“It is always a privilege to be able to partner with the men’s soccer program and VOYCENOW for the Run for Equality,” Nemzer said. “The work that Zack Steffen and Alex Crognale do is crucial in raising awareness for the fight for equality. To be able to use this event to give back to Prince George’s County, Washington D.C., and Baltimore communities make it that more special. It is an honor to participate in Run for Equality every year and we are proud of the impact this event has made on our local community.”

Sophomore defender Kennedy Bell echoed her head coach’s sentiments on the importance of helping the local community. 

“Coach Nemzer always emphasizes the importance of Maryland Pride, and how that includes helping our local communities and Prince George’s County as a whole,” Bell said.

Those communities have felt the impact. In addition to the money distributed, Maryland and VOYCENOW have also gifted soccer balls to continue the spread of the world’s most popular sport. 

Men’s soccer captain and senior Alex Nitzl emphasized the importance of not only creating awareness for VOYCENOW but the importance of supporting an alumni cause in the process.

“Sasho has done a great job at maintaining a great alumni network within our program,” Nitzl said. “You’re seeing it on full display here today. It’s amazing for us to not only help a great initiative but also fellow Terps in Zack and Alex.”

To cap a memorable event, Cirovski had one more piece of inspiration for the student-athletes assembled at Ludwig Field.  

Cirovski invited former Maryland midfielder Robert Birch to speak to both teams. Birch, who played from 1997-2000 under Cirovski, went on to serve several tours as a Navy SEAL for the United States. 

Birch focused on the importance of humor amongst a team in the locker room to get through the challenging times. He continued to give examples of how humor and having an upbeat manner helped him through challenging times during Navy Seal training and while on tour. It was a powerful message from a man of honor, or, as Cirovski referred to him at the end of his speech, an American hero.

The powerful message was the perfect ending to an inspiring day at Ludwig Field. It made Cirovski, no stranger to big moments on his home field, beam with pride.

“Our program has the mantra ‘Building Champions and Pursuing Championships’, and there is a reason building champions is listed first. We are about building our student-athletes into champions in life and this is the perfect example of that. Zack and Alex are champions for what they’ve created and our players on the field today are champions for their support of this cause. This is what Maryland is all about and I’m so proud of it.”