The Myerstown Soccer Club’s 9th- through 12th-grade boys’ team won’t get to play in Germany and Austria this fall, and the $115,000 raised through dozens of fundraisers and individual contributions could be gone forever.
That’s the grim reality facing players, parents, and club officials after GoPlay LLC, a Massachusetts sports travel agency, abruptly went out of business after taking the club’s money to arrange the trip. It filed for bankruptcy on May 26, leaving the club and others like it across the country stranded.
Club president Brian Marquette said the organization sponsors between 350 and 400 boys and girls from 4 to 17 years old and has been sending teams to Europe every two years, alternating between girls and boys. This year it was the boys’ turn, and 24 9th- through 12th-graders plus 30 family members had made overseas plans.
GoPlay’s collapse came suddenly and with little warning. Club parent Jeff Ritter, whose son was one of the Europe-bound players, told LebTown that he participated in a Feb. 24 video conference with a GoPlay representative. “He led us to think everything was fine and in place,” Ritter said. “He said ‘This is how it’s going to go. This is what’s going to happen.'”
Ritter even received a written itinerary from GoPlay for the 10-day trip, listing dates, flights, cities, and hotels.
Ritter paid his deposit on March 31, but on April 6 the club received an email from GoPlay saying that it was closing, blaming “the ongoing situation in the Middle East.” That was the first anyone had an inkling that something was wrong.
Marquette confirmed the upbeat February video call with GoPlay, the written itinerary, and the cancellation email, which came out of the blue. “I received that email Monday night, April 6th, around 10 o’clock.”
Ritter, a single parent, had deposited over $11,000 to cover the trip for himself, his son, and his daughter. Part of that came from his parents, who were excited to see their grandchildren get a chance to experience Europe.
Ritter’s dad, who had traveled extensively and was eager to help, was suffering from early dementia, “but man, when he talked about the trip, he was all there! Anytime we got updates, I let him know,” Ritter said. “That was one of the times where he was focused. He was with you and he loved hearing about it. And that’s where it hits home for me.”
“Unfortunately,” he added, “my dad passed away in September.”
Club parent Nicky Snyder, whose 17-year-old son was booked for the trip, also participated in the video call with GoPlay and got a detailed itinerary, only to be disappointed. She’s out about $7,000.
“We fundraised for two years. We had bingo, we had sub sales, we had the Barn Bash,” she said. “The community really stepped up and helped these boys with this trip. These kids need to be recognized for their hard work. It’s not fair to them.”
Marquette told LebTown that club officials are working to reschedule the trip a year from now, and have been in touch with other travel companies.
The club filed a lawsuit in Harrisburg federal court on May 8 to recover the $115,000 it paid GoPlay, alleging that it breached a “travel services agreement signed on Sep. 5, 2025.”
However, GoPlay’s bankruptcy filing 18 days later froze the lawsuit as well as collection attempts by other creditors. The “automatic stay” can only be lifted by order of the bankruptcy judge. The club’s attorney, Justin Bollinger of Lancaster, had not replied to a request for comment by publication time.
The bankruptcy court has appointed a trustee in GoPlay’s Chapter 7 proceedings to liquidate whatever assets the company may have left and, if there are any, distribute them to creditors who, depending on the type of claim, may get nothing or pennies on the dollar.
GoPlay’s bankruptcy is still in its early stages and the value of any assets available to creditors is unknown.
In its initial bankruptcy filing, GoPlay listed 200-999 total creditors, estimated liabilities of $1,000,001-$10 million, and estimated assets of $50,001-$100,000.
GoPlay had only filed a partial list of its creditors as of publication time. Among them are Bank of America, Capitol One, several law firms, and several travel companies and hotels in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Also listed as creditors are Brian Ainscough and Darren Lyons, who were described as “managers” in GoPlay’s 2024 annual report filed with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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