Atlanta Silverbacks News Release - www.atlantasilverbacksfc.com
Friday, June 20, 2014
ATLANTA, Ga. – The Atlanta Silverbacks announced today that they will sign Erin Holt to the squad for their final W-League home game of the 2014 season as they welcome the Charlotte Lady Eagles to Silverbacks Park at 8 p.m. ET Saturday night. Holt, a former college soccer player severely injured by a drunk driver in 2013, will serve as the honorary 12th starter for Atlanta.
Fifty percent of the ticket proceeds from Saturday’s match will go directly to the Holt family to cover Holt’s medical expenses.
On November 1, 2013, Holt was critically injured after being run over by a truck driven by a drunk driver. She spent several weeks in a coma after being diagnosed with severe brain trauma. She was first brought to Memorial Hospital in Savannah before being transferred to the Shepherd Center here in Atlanta. She was released from the center in mid-February and is still undergoing extensive physical therapy on the road to complete recovery.
In addition to signing her to the team, the Silverbacks will also present Holt with her jersey for tomorrow’s contest, #25, which is the number she wore in college. The Silverbacks will also take donations to give to the family as well.
Holt is a graduate of Armstrong Atlantic State University and Walton High School out of Marietta, Georgia. She played soccer for the Pirates from 2008-11, was a member of three Peach Belt Conference Championship teams, and played in the NCAA Division II Final Four in her senior year of 2011. She ranks seventh all time in Armstrong history in matches played, 10th in points, ninth in goals and 10th in assists. She was named to the 2010 Peach Belt All-Tournament Team and Presidential Honor Roll as well. She was teammates at Armstrong with current Silverback players Kristin Burton and Morgan Mitchell.
For more information on Holt and for updates on her recovery, fans can visit pushforward25.com.
Fans will want to show up early for the match against Charlotte to see Erin take the field with the starters as the honorary 12th starter for Atlanta.Tickets can be bought at the gate for $10. Groups of 10 or more and youth tickets are available for $5 each.
The Silverbacks (1-5-0) dropped their last home game against the Dayton Dutch Lions 2-0, while Charlotte (3-1-1) will play at Gulf Coast Friday night prior to traveling to Atlanta.
In the season opener for both sides, the Lady Eagles defeated the Silverbacks 1-0 behind Leah Fortune’s goal in the 33rd minute of play. Atlanta only got two shots off the entire match, but the defense kept Atlanta in the game.
For Atlanta to win, Ashley Nagy will need to lead the Silverbacks’ offense as she has during the past few matches, and the defense will have to slow down Fortune and Amanda Naeher, who have a team-leading three goals each.
This week, Fortune was named to the W-League Team of the Week, and Naeher and Summer Lanter were named Honorable Mentions for the week.