WHEATFIELD | A car accident that left Joni Vander Woude confined to a wheelchair has not dampened her spirit.

The 28-year-old DeMotte woman plays goalie for the Chicago Fire wheelchair soccer team, and she and her husband, Jason, organized the first wheelchair soccer game between the Fire and the Indianapolis Storm on Saturday at Kankakee Valley High School's gym.

Joni practices with the Fire once a week in Des Plaines, Ill. Jason Vander Woude said the couple thought it was time to bring the action to Northwest Indiana.

Joni Vander Woude said her love of soccer is nothing new.

"I used to play in high school," she said. "When I was at the rehab center, they told me about this sport."

To play, special bumpers are attached to the front of motorized wheelchairs to help advance an oversized soccer ball down the court to a goal marked off by a pair of orange pylons.

Teams from throughout the country arrange sponsors and are sanctioned by the United States Power Soccer Association. The wheelchair team has received grant money as well as jerseys and warm-up gear from the professional Chicago Fire soccer team and the nonprofit Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association. However, some of the costs still have to be picked up by the individual players.

For more information about wheelchair soccer, call Joni Vander Woude at (219) 898-0581.