LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell Men's Soccer Head Coach Christian Figueroa officially welcomed Jacob Falk to the team through a Team IMPACT Draft Day event on Thursday afternoon at the Tsongas Center.

Falk, age eight, from Andover, Mass. was matched with the River Hawks through Team IMPACT, a Boston-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing life threatening and chronic illnesses through the power of team by matching them with college athletic teams.

"Today is a really special day for our program," remarked Figueroa. "We're very excited to have Jacob and the entire Falk family joining us this year. It's an incredible privilege for myself, our team and the entire staff and we're very much looking forward to working with Jacob. A lof of work has gone into this and we're grateful for Team IMPACT for the opportunity."

Jacob chose to be a part of the UMass Lowell men's soccer team during a special Draft Day press conference, signed a Team IMPACT/UMass Lowell Letter of Intent and was greeted by the River Hawks' mascot, Rowdy, with a special message on the video board at the Tsongas Center.

"We're very excited to be a part of the River Hawk soccer team family," said Jacob's father, John. "We got to meet and spend time with the guys over the last couple months. They are all wonderful young men and great role models and mentors for Jacob, and we're thrilled to have him be a part of the team."

Team IMPACT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing life threatening and chronic illnesses through the power of team by matching them with college athletic teams. Team IMPACT children are drafted on to college athletic teams, local to where they live and, in effect, become official members of the team from Draft Day through to Graduation. At Team IMPACT, they envision a future where the lives of children facing the hardships associated with adverse issues and events will have access to collegiate team-based support in order to significantly enhance their quality of life in a number of ways, including; socially, psychologically, physically and academically. Team IMPACT also strives to provide collegiate teams with increased levels of awareness, sympathy and support for the medical and disease communities. Established in 2011, Team IMPACT has already matched over 700 children with collegiate teams, at over 300 institutions in 44 states, improving the quality of life of hundreds of courageous children and touching the lives of over 21,000 student athletes. For more information, please visit: www.goteamimpact.org.