Penn field hockey player honored the life of her twin brother with Gold game

Annie Bartosz sought to make a difference after losing her twin brother, Jack, to neuroblastoma, a cancer of developing nerve cells, ahead of his 11th birthday in 2012.

Her efforts continued Friday when Penn held its third annual Gold in September (G9) game against reigning national champion Northwestern. The day was about more than the game — won by the Wildcats, 4-3. Bartosz hopes to raise awareness of all forms of pediatric cancer through the G9 program.

Just how the world turns pink for breast cancer awareness in October, Bartosz went gold in September — the color and month for childhood cancer.

“I remember about 10 years ago, my local high school [football team] did a gold game,” Bartosz told The Inquirer. “Since stepping into college athletics, I’ve been able to start some gold games at the most elite level of sports, and I think that really is setting a tone for younger kids because … that piques your interest and makes you want to get involved.”

Penn field hockey held its first gold game in 2019 after Bartosz verbally committed.

Head coach Colleen Fink and other members of Penn athletics were moved by Bartosz’s story and wanted to help amplify her voice. In September 2021, the content team at Penn released a video that explained Bartosz’s story and the Gold in September cause.

“With that video getting put out last year, we got a lot of momentum, a lot of Penn teams reaching out wanting to know more how they could support,” Bartosz said. “Even other college field hockey teams realizing that they could step up and still do gold games in the latter half of September.”

Northwestern was the perfect opponent for this year’s gold game. Bartosz hails from the Milwaukee area, so Northwestern is somewhat of a local team for her. Three of her former teammates from her youth playing days — Greta Hinke, Chloe Relford, and Abby Renaud — are on the Northwestern roster.

Northwestern joined Penn in the Gold in September cause with gold ribbons and armbands.

Penn was up to the challenge of playing toe-to-toe with the best team in the country for much of the game.

With two goals in the first half, the Quakers (0-6) led the Wildcats (8-0) for almost 13 minutes. Northwestern came into the third quarter with a blitz of three goals in the span of less than five minutes, but goalie Frederique Wollaert kept it close with 11 saves to keep the game within one.

Bartosz wasn’t able to join her team on the field because she was rediagnosed with compartment syndrome — an injury that restricts blood flow from pressure buildup in certain limbs — in both her calves last spring.

Although she’s sidelined for the season, she’s still Penn’s biggest cheerleader.

“They were giving it their all for me and for Jack,” Bartosz said. “You could definitely see that fight in the game.”