Opposing teams help dream come true for boy with disabilities

Trailing 5-0 in a state playoff game, it was clear that the season was nearly over for the Attica (N.Y.) boys soccer team – but before that could happen, the team had a final mission. It wanted senior Cody Chesley, 17, to score a goal.

Chesley was born with several developmental disabilities, including a form of cerebral palsy. He's been on the team all four years and started along his fellow seniors at their last home game, but he doesn't play very often. His mother told the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle that he just loves being part of the team. But all season, he's been telling her that he just wants to score.

When the coaches put him in the game with a few minutes left, his teammates decided to make that happen. A few of them started explaining the situation to Greece Odyssey players and asking if they'd let Chesley score. Odyssey's Devin Huussen jogged to the sideline to ask his coach if they could oblige.

“Absolutely,” the coach told him. “Tell the defenders to give him some space.” They did just that, and the goalie stepped out of the goal area with about two minutes left. As soon as Chelsey converted the goal, his teammates surrounded him, cheering and celebrating on the field.

“I was so proud of everybody,” Chelsey's mom said after the game. “All these young men should be proud of what they did.”

Both sets of coaches said that it was all the players' idea; that the coaches did not set anything up before the game.

In a fall season marked by reports of hazing in high school football locker rooms and the heartbreaking story of a soccer player with autism being duct-taped to a goal post by teammates, Attica and Odyssey deserve to be commended for an act of true sportsmanship.