NATCHITOCHES—When Northwestern State soccer players Emma Pethel and Julia Pinho Magno prepare for each game, they each take a moment to pray.

In addition to being members of the soccer team and coming to Natchitoches from the Southeast, Pethel (Georgia) and Pinho Magno (Florida) have one more item in common as well: being affected by loved ones who have or have had cancer.

Each athlete prays for and/or with the family member who has or is battling the disease.

For the pair, Friday's annual Fork Cancer game against Houston Christian is more than just a game.

"Before every game, when we are lined up for the national anthem, I pray and always ask God to be with my sister and hope that we have a good game that day and that she is looking down on us," Pethel said.

Despite not being physically in Natchitoches for the 7 p.m. kick, Pethel's sister and Pinho Magno's grandmother have had a major impact on each of the players' lives.

The first 25 fans who come through enter the Demon Soccer Complex on Friday receive a Fork Cancer t-shirt.

As a freshman, Pethel has been a rock on the back line for Northwestern State, helping lead a defense that has recorded six shutouts.

One of four players to play in and start every game for the Demons this season, when she goes out to prepare for a contest, she always takes the memory of her sister out on the field with her.

Pethel, a native of a Canton, Georgia, found out the horrors of cancer at a young age.

Pethel's younger sister, Abigail, was diagnosed with leukemia as a baby and passed away from the disease just shy of her second birthday.

"When she was diagnosed, I was just three years old," Pethel said. "There are a lot I don't remember, but I do remember being at the hospital with her, staying at the Ronald McDonald House and my parents splitting time spending time with her."

While the freshman defender on the Demons loved her childhood, she thinks "what if" had her sister not gone through what she did.

"I think the hardest thing is growing up with my parents and having them go through it since they obviously knew what was going on and having them deal with the aftereffects of it," Pethel said.

"I had a great childhood, but it is the thought of what could have been different if she were still here."

Throughout her childhood, she has had friends who occasionally made comments about being annoyed with their siblings, but having gone through what she did, it makes her appreciate her relationships even more.

"I grew up being really appreciative of what I have and knowing that having friends growing up who all had siblings and them complaining about their siblings," Pethel said. "Not having that, I was very appreciative of the friendships I did have growing up."

Similarly, cancer has made a significant impact on Pinho Magno as well.

Despite living on another continent, the impact of the cancer battle of Pinho Magno's grandmother Vera is felt from several thousand miles away.

Vera was diagnosed with colon cancer following a check after her husband passed away because of the same disease.

"My grandma is my best friend," Pinho Magno said. "We talk every single day. Even though she is really far away, we call every day, sometimes multiple times a day.

"She says I've helped her a lot with it because she can talk to me about anything and it is just like talking to a friend, which is helpful. I love that about our relationship."

Pinho Magno and Vera have an inseparable relationship, even with Vera living in Brazil.

"I call my grandma before every game, right before we warm up, and we pray together," Pinho Magno said. "If I ever score again, we have a celebration we planned for her."

She aims for a repeat of the last meeting with HCU, as she scored her first collegiate goal, finding the back of the net in the 74^th minute to break a 1-1 deadlock en route to the 2-1 Demons victory.

What makes Vera's battle even more heartbreaking is because her husband lost his life to the same disease not long before, which was the reason she went to be checked out and had it diagnosed.

"My grandma is an inspiration to me," Pinho Magno said. "Just seeing what she has been through, especially after seeing her husband of 50 years just pass from it. She is so strong. It is crazy to even think about having to go through this, living that far away from family."

Pinho Magno says even though her grandmother is battling cancer, she will always keep an upbeat attitude.

"My grandma is so strong and is such an inspiration to me," she said. "It's amazing how she does it, and all with a smile on her face."

Whether it is a past battle or an ongoing one, the Demons players have lived in the moment because they know tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

"Through this experience, I learned to take every opportunity and it is something I have always told myself," Pethel said.

"Even if it is scary or if you don't know what is going to happen and people are telling you maybe you shouldn't do this or shouldn't do that, just putting yourself out there and experience everything you possibly can and take every opportunity that is given to you because not everyone gets to experience all these moments."