Funeral set for teen soccer player – Philly.com
A viewing and Funeral Mass are scheduled for Saturday morning for the 14-year-old soccer player who died at a team sleepover in Sewell over the weekend.
By Monday afternoon, donors had raised more than $30,000 for the family of Kara Lemanowicz, a freshman at Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees Township, where classes start Tuesday.
“It really just shows how much support there is in our community,” said Jamie McGroarty, the high school’s soccer coach. He said he and his wife had coached Lemanowicz since she was about 6 years old.
Lemanowicz was in a tent Saturday morning at a sleepover with the Eastern girls’ soccer team when friends tried to wake her and could not. Paramedics arrived but pronounced Lemanowicz dead, authorities said.
An official cause of death has not been released, but McGroarty said authorities told him it was cardiac-related.
A vigil was held Saturday night at Giangiulio Field in Voorhees. The girls’ soccer team will do something like put a banner on the field or decorate their uniforms in remembrance of Lemanowicz, McGroarty said Monday.
The soccer players had started official practice Aug. 14. The team’s first game is Thursday.
“They have so many people they can reach out to and support each other,” McGroarty said. “That’s when it’s good to be part of a team.”
There will be a viewing from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Gibbsboro. A Mass will follow at 11 a.m. Saturday, according to information posted on the high school’s website.
Counselors were at the school Monday and will be available to students again Tuesday, the school said.
Lemanowicz also played basketball and lacrosse.
“She was just, for lack of a better word, a goofball. Fun-loving, always laughing, always smiling,” McGroarty told The Inquirer on Saturday.
In lieu of flowers, contributions to the family can be made at gofundme.com/p73khpa4.
jmcdaniel@philly.com
610-313-8205 @McDanielJustine
Inquirer staff writer Jessica Parks contributed to this article.
About Us
Free Shipping
If your order is $35 or more, you may qualify for free shipping. With free shipping, your order will be delivered 5-8 business days.
