Overflow Crowd for Soccer Player Memorial Service

There was an overflow crowd at Westport’s Unitarian Church today for the memorial service for soccer player Preston J. Hirten, a 2007 Staples High School graduate who collapsed and died Tuesday while practicing with his University of Mary Washington teammates in Fredericksburg, Va. He was 20. Family, friends and coaches remembered him as a kind, caring and very competitive youngster. An aunt brought laughter when she recalled that Preston at an early age had trouble with words beginning with “s,” leading him to recount his dog Skippy’s encounter with a skunk as, “Kippy melled a kunk and it was tinky.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com