The extended family that is Pirate soccer has struggled over the past year with two outcomes that were unavoidable, yet we wished would be postponed for as long as possible.

Tonya Novak, mother to varsity midfielder Kim Novak and varsity forward/GK Ashley Novak, was very open about her fight against cancer and gave realistic voice to her eventual chances. But expectation does very little to ease the anguish of loss. Tonya's fight ended this past week.

People who followed Pirate soccer on OregonLive remember Tonya's posts as "Fundabs" - she was a huge backer of her own daughters' efforts, our team, our league, and our sport, despite coming to it very recently. When Ashley and Kim joined Valkyrie with FC Phoenix in 2001-02, Tonya knew nothing of soccer, but she borrowed every match tape I have (nearly 50 world cup games, men's and women's internationals, NCAA final fours...) and learned the sport as best a spectator can hope to.

Al Watkins, father to JV coach Dan Watkins and grandfather to Varsity midfielder Ashley Watkins, was known to be in failing health, but again, that did nothing to make easier his passing on May 22. In his memory, the family requested gifts to the Hospice program that cared for him: The Beverly H. Shaffer House, 2508 Argonne Way, Medford, OR 97504.

Losses like these are never easy. In our extended lives of teams and coworkers, they come far more often than we ever expect and strike closer to home than we are prepared for. Pirate Soccer extends our comfort and love to these families.