[media-credit id=92 align=”alignnone” width=”300″][/media-credit]The Scots’ 1-0 win over the Hillsdale High School Knights felt a little sweeter because of the bigger meaning the game.

“We were all putting our shin guards on and [Coach] Jodi and [Coach] AJ walked up and said ‘we have to talk to you,'” said junior Cameron Bijan.

The news would be broken to the team that Carlmont alumni and former Scots soccer player Kurtis Linnell had died after his long battle with cancer.

“I kind of took it upon myself  to say something and my mom actually said a few words.  She said, ‘for those of you who don’t know, there is a former player and former student from Carlmont named Kurtis Linnell. He had a strong long, tough fight against cancer. But today he passed away,'” said assistant coach AJ Beloff.

The Beloff family was very close to the Linnell family for a variety of reasons.

“I played soccer with [Kurtis] for a number of years in club, but we also played for Carlmont together,” continued Beloff.

To pay their respects, the team was sporting some black arm bands. Some of which said RIP Kurtis.

“[We said]  it would be a nice token of our gratitude to wear these bands during the game. There is no pressure, there is no obligation to wear these bands. If you knew him well enough or want to support the cause you can wear the bands,” said Beloff. “I thought it had a strong reaction. The boys were really strong a brave and I think they wore the bands with honor. They really played that game in memory of Kurtis and I think it motivated them a little bit.  They were playing for more than just a victory. They were playing in honor and and in memory of a former player of Carlmont mens varsity soccer. That’s a big deal.”

The team’s motivation pushed them to eek out the win that they got by a slim 1-0 margin at Hillsdale high school.

“The whole season has been cold. We were used to the cold weather. We got sluggish because the weather was warmer.  We got lucky because Hillsdale wasn’t a good team. We were able to score one goal and that was all we needed. It’s good that we got the win honor of Kurtis,” said Bijan.

Linnell leaves behind his mom and dad, plus his younger brother and sister who are both current students at Carlmont High School. He was 21 years old.

RIP Kurtis Linnell (11-23-91/2-1-13)