Men in Black

The Office of Vocation Promotion for the Diocese of Syracuse, headed by Fr. Joe O'Connor, is holding the first annual "Men in Black" Soccer Game to promote vocations and to provide an opportunity for laity to support the priests and seminarians of the diocese. The game is scheduled for Saturday, July 17, at 10:00am, with a family cookout to follow. Donations will be gratefully accepted to help cover the cost of the meal.

The priests and seminarians will take the field against the soccer team of Holy Cross Academy, the defending champions of the North Country Athletic Conference. One reason for the game's location is that the HCA 2010 Valedictorian, Dan Collins, is entering the seminary for diocese this fall and will be the starting goalie for the diocesan team. Dan was the goalie for the HCA championship soccer teams in 2008 and 2009.

Fr. Joe O'Connor thought that with the excitement of the World Cup going on now, a soccer match would offer a prime opportunity for young people to interact with priests and seminarians. The "Men in Black" theme also has been used for annual basketball games which pit the priests and seminarians against local parish teams. With the success of the basketball games, Fr. Joe decided to move on to another popular sport in Upstate New York - soccer.