GALA 4 GOALS, A Sanneh Foundation Event Featuring Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton and Temryss Lane

IMS is honored to again be a supporter of this year’s Gala 4 Goals, a Benefit Event for The Sanneh Foundation with a Silent Auction and The Sanneh Foundation Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Last year’s Gala 4 Goals was the social soccer event of the year in Minnesota and the upper midwest with nearly 650 in attendance. This year’s event is planned for The Depot in Minneapolis with television personality and former professional player Temryss Lane serving as distinguished guest host. The event will take place on Saturday, March 24 at 6 p.m.  Tickets for the event are on sale now at gala4goals.com. Special guest US Women’s National Team player Leslie Osborne will speak as will Danielle Slaton. Local Minnesota soccer legends and pioneers Alan Merrick and Phil Johnson will be presented with the Sanneh Foundation Lifetime Achievement Awards.

This very special formal evening will include fabulous appetizers, complimentary wine and beer and a silent auction with unique soccer items and experiences. Dancing to the sounds of DJ Jake Rudh will follow presentations of The Sanneh Foundation Lifetime Achievement Awards and High School Leadership scholarship awards. 

Leslie Osborne has an extensive playing career both professionally and with the Women’s National Team where she made 61 appearances. She was a member of the U.S. team that won the 2002 FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship. As a senior at Santa Clara University, Osborne won the NCAA’s prestigious Honda Award as the nation’s top female athlete in her sport. She has been playing professionally for seven years.

Danielle Slaton played soccer for the US Women’s National Team for 5 years (2000-2005), earning a silver medal in the Olympics and a bronze in the World Cup. She played professionally in the WUSA, where she won a championship with the Carolina Courage and was the league defender of the year in 2002. Slaton played professionally in Lyon, France, and played college soccer at Santa Clara University where she was named the 2001 NCAA Scholar Athlete of the Year. Danielle currently works in education and in student-athlete leadership development. She is also an ambassador for US Soccer.

Temryss Lane will co-host this year’s Gala 4 Goals. Professional soccer player and fitness model turned TV host, she’s currently an on-air personality on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports Network. As a lifetime soccer player, the transition from player to sports broadcaster was a natural one. Lane played at Arizona State and was named to the U-23 US National Team as the co-captain.

Local Minnesota soccer legends and pioneers, Alan Merrick and Phil Johnson, will be presented with the Sanneh Foundation Lifetime Achievement Awards.

After playing professionally in his native England, Alan Merrick moved to Minnesota, playing for the Kicks and Strikers and managing the latter. He opened Minnesota’s first indoor soccer facility for youth and has coached and directed youth and adult soccer programs at many levels.

Phil Johnson has been influential in youth soccer in Minnesota from the early days. In 1984 he co-founded the St. Croix Soccer Club. In 31 years as head coach of the Stillwater High School boy’s soccer team he has compiled an impressive 380-136-49 record, winning the NSCAA’S Coach of the Year in 1997. Johnson has also been active in soccer at the state level with MYSA and MN State High School Soccer Coaches Association.

All proceeds from the event will benefit The Sanneh Foundation, started by St. Paul native Tony Sanneh, whose mission is to use the appeal of soccer to unite diverse communities and help children achieve success on and off the field. The Foundation helps those around the world by teaching life lessons through the game of soccer while building cultural capacity and understanding, and fostering community building.

For more information, visit thesannehfoundation.org or find us on Facebook.com.

Photos from last year’s fabulous Gala 4 Goals