2,000 attend Urso memorial soccer match

More than 2,000 fans witnessed Sunday’s exhibition soccer match in Greensboro, N.C., between the Columbus Crew and the University of North Carolina, and all came to honor the late Kirk Urso, the former Lombard native who died last season of a congenital heart defect.

Ben Speas, a midfielder with the Crew and a former Tar Heel, was impressed with the way the Tar Heels played in the 1-0 Crew victory, according to a report by The Daily Tar Heel, but to him the actual contest was immaterial. Urso, a rookie with the Crew when he died, was the captain of the NCAA champion UNC team.

“I don’t know a better way (to honor Kirk), than to have both his families be here, all the fans, people that met him once, people that knew him for four years,” Speas said. “It’s great to see everyone here and everyone all for Kirk. I’m sure his family definitely feels touched.” Brandon Moree said.

Ticket sales and auction items sold at the match benefited the Kirk Urso Memorial Fun for heart research.

Here is a link to the full report by writer Brandon Moree of the Daily Tar Heel