Wisconsin Soccer Central

The Madison 56ers' game against the Milwaukee Bavarians Under-23 team on Wednesday night at Breese Stevens Field is just a friendly.

But the match, and the evening as a whole, will mean a lot to many current and former 56ers players, coaches and fans as they honor a former player and his wife at the Shari and Bram Dorresteijn Memorial Game and Fundraiser.

Former 56ers defender Bram Dorresteijn (Madison Memorial/UW) and his wife Shari died as the result of injuries suffered in a car accident April 24 in Kenosha County. The Sun Prairie couple left behind two young children, 2-year-old Wesley and 3-month-old Charlotte, who are now being raised by Shari's sister and her family.

Bram Dorresteijn, 34, played for Madison Memorial in 1996 and '97 and the Badgers from 1998 to 2000, wearing the armband as a co-captain in 1999. A native of the Netherlands, he played with the Princeton-56ers – as they were then known – in their first three seasons in the National Premier Soccer League (2005 to '07) and played with the 56ers again in 2009.

Shari (Khaja) Dorresteijn, 33, was a standout athlete at Milwaukee DSHA and became a highly respected athletic trainer at UW. She had a connection to the 56ers, too, as she was the trainer for several of the team's matches in their early years.

Wednesday's event will raise money for the family's memorial fund: The 56ers are donating all proceeds from ticket sales and the Great Dane Pub is doing the same for beer sales, while La Empanada will donate a portion of the proceeds from the food sales. Shari and Bram wristbands will be available and proceeds from a 50/50 raffle also will go to the fund.

"Obviously, I wish this event didn't have to be put on, but I am looking forward to it," said Bram's longtime friend and teammate Brian Feyrer, who helped put together the event. "The current circumstances, they are what they are. And we have to try to move forward. ... I think it will be nice to have everybody together and celebrate and honor them. It is something we're looking to do yearly, and obviously it's for a great cause."

The night will start at 6:30 p.m. with the Shari and Bram Dorresteijn Friends Game, which will include former Memorial, UW and 56ers players and players from the Madison Soccer Association – Bram played with the Madison Fire, a perennial power in the city league.

The 56ers' Under-11 teams will play at halftime of the Friends Game, while the club's Under-16 and Under-18 teams will play at halftime of the friendly between the NPSL team and the Bavarians Under-23s, which is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Between games, the 56ers will officially retire the No. 3 jersey Dorresteijn wore during his playing days with the NPSL team.

"We're going to try to make it a fun atmosphere," Feyrer said of the night. "Hopefully as Wesley and Charlotte get older, we can continue to have this event be successful so they can see the positive impact that their parents had on so many people."

• The Madison Soccer Association is holding a golf outing to benefit the Dorresteijn Memorial Fund, scheduled for June 27 at Pleasant View Golf Course in Middleton. The four-person scramble costs $100 per player, and the entry fee includes cart rental, light refreshments and door prizes. A silent auction also will be held. For more information, contact Boomer Braun at boomer2110@gmail.com or (608) 213-1641.

If you can't attend either event and want to donate to the Shari and Bram Dorresteijn Memorial Fund, send a check to:

The Children of Shari & Bram Fund
c/o First Business Bank
P.O. Box 44961
Madison, WI 53744