ELIZABETH, Pa. — The president of the South Allegheny Youth Soccer Club says she is heartbroken after someone broke into the team’s concession and storage shed and stole money and equipment.
Stephanie Richmond says she discovered the break-in on Saturday morning.
She believes it happened between Wednesday night and Saturday morning.
The door handle on the shed had been broken, and several items were missing, including two hundred dollars in cash, two chairs and supplies used by referees.
“I honestly didn’t notice at first,” Richmond said. “I had my son looking around. I was like, ‘Hey, can you find the cashbox for me so we could get everything out,’ and he couldn’t find it.”
Even some of the team’s non-perishable food items were missing, she said.
“None of our food is here,” Richmond said. “I looked up at the board where we keep all our ref supplies, and more than half of those were taken.”
The loss is especially difficult for the group because the soccer club is entirely run by volunteers.
The stolen money was meant to pay referees during games.
“On Saturday, we had to pay for ref fees out of our own pocket because we did not have the cashbox to pay them,” she said.
Although Richmond was upset at first, she says she has been overwhelmed by the community’s support.
People from inside and outside the area have donated nearly fifteen hundred dollars to help the team recover.
A local locksmith repaired the damaged lock for free.
Another company has offered to donate and install a safe for the team.
“I am amazed by how big this has gotten. I never would have thought that it would get this much attention,” Richmond said.
The Lincoln Borough Police Department is now working with city council to try to install a surveillance camera near the shed to prevent future break-ins.
For now, Richmond says the community’s kindness has helped the team move forward.
“We love our kids and they love to play soccer,” she said.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
