The essence of the phrase "triumph through tragedy" rang true Thursday night, Oct. 17, on the campus of Mt. Hope High School at the Vendituoli Complex when the athletic department unveiled its new "Victory Bell" created in honor of recently deceased alumna Madisyn “Maddie” Pacheco.

Pacheco, a 2019 MHHS graduate and standout on the girls' soccer squad, passed away suddenly in November of 2023 from viral meningitis.

Last Thursday on what was proclaimed "Maddie P. Night," the community, including Maddie's parents Erica and Louie, gathered to commemorate the completion and delivery of the bell.

The brass bell itself was hand-crafted in Ohio. The portable base was made with special care by Louie Pacheco, himself a 2000 MHHS grad. Madisyn's brothers LJ and Maddox were also in attendance for the ceremony.

The event took place at halftime of the boys' soccer contest against Lincoln. Later in the evening, the MHHS girls' played the nightcap of the twinbill against Chariho. Members of the girls' team with head coach Kerri Giarusso, also the coach of the team when Maddie played, took part in the ceremony which was conducted at midfield in front of the stands.

The main feature of the bell is the etched jersey number Maddie wore when she was a member of the girls' soccer program, "25." She was said to be known as a "fierce centerback" whose energy and athleticism "lit up the pitch. Maddie was considered a "bright light on and off the field."

Also included in the introduction from the night's ceremonies, "The bell is a symbol of celebration which will be rung after every Husky victory at the Vendituoli Complex in honor of Maddie and all of the fallen Huskies."

Bristol-Warren Regional School District Athletic Director Christy Belisle and her assistant Sarah Barboza-Wilson, who was a teammate of Maddie at MHHS, presented the Pacheco family with a memento from the evening.

Initial proceeds to fund the purchase were derived from the first annual "Victory Bell" 4-on-4 soccer tournament held last summer. Going forward, the tournament will be used as a fundraiser to create a scholarship in Maddie's name.

"Christy had the idea. It's a really big thing in college.  So we decided to bring that idea into play and have it in honor of Maddie," said Barboza-Wilson, who was a senior at Mt. Hope when Pacheco was a freshman.

Of the first fundraiser tourney she added, "It was a huge success. We got all of the girls who played with her. It was a great turnout. And it meant the world to all of us that we could do something for her like that. And we knew she was looking down on us."