Silverbacks travel this weekend

Published on May 20, 2005 under USL First Division (USL-1)
Atlanta Silverbacks News Release


The Atlanta Silverbacks and Atlanta Silverbacks Women will head to the road this weekend, with the men having a tough west-coast trip and the ladies heading up the eastern seaboard to Virginia Beach. The boys will have a slightly tougher test, with a Saturday showdown against the Seattle Sounders on Saturday followed by a trip across the border to visit the Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday, with both matches at 10pm Eastern Time. Atlanta (3 wins - 1 draw - 2 losses) will look get back on the winning track and move up from its fourth-place in the USL First Division standings after last Saturday's disappointing 2-1 loss to the Richmond Kickers. The Silverbacks Women (2-0-0) will meet the Hampton Roads Piranhas for a 7:30pm Saturday match-up, with the Piranhas looking for revenge at their home fishbowl after their USL W-League opening day 4-3 loss in Atlanta.

Seattle (1-1-1) currently sits in 9th place, but has played three less games so far in 2005. The Saturday encounter will be the first of two this season and the 12th meeting between the clubs. The Silverbacks defeated the Sounders 1-0 on a goal by Gary Brooks in the squads' only match of 2004. In spite of the loss, the green-and-white still hold a 7-4 all-time record against the gorillas and are led by Brazilian forward Welton Melo. The match will be played in the spacious confines and the FieldTurf surface of Seahawks Stadium in downtown Seattle.

The Red-and-Black will get little rest and will have to cross into Canada for a match the next night against a tough Vancouver squad. The Whitecaps (2-2-0) are in 5th place on 8 points. The Blue-and-White have yet to lose this year, thanks in part to Jason Jordan, who scored all four goals in Vancouver's 4-0 drubbing of the Charleston Battery. The Silverbacks left early this morning with a full squad for the back-to-back western odyssey, which may see the return of 2004 standouts Adilson De Lima and Fred Degand in the apes' back-line.

The female gorillas will be on the lookout for a Hampton Roads team hungry to return the favor after Atlanta's victory in the season opener for both teams. The match was a seven-goal shoot-out, with all the scoring in the first half. The Piranhas recovered to post a 2-0 win against the Richmond Kickers Destiny. Most of the scoring by the red-and-white fish has come courtesy of Australian international Kelly Golebiowski, with two tallies. The Silverbacks are led by Kerry Gragg, who was named the W-League's Player of the Week after her two goals, her 2nd and 3rd of the year, in last Sunday's 4-0 drubbing of the Bradenton Athletics. Sara Steinmann closely follows with two goals in as many games for Atlanta.

For tickets and information on Atlanta's professional soccer club, please visit www.atlantasilverbacks.com.

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USL First Division Stories from May 20, 2005


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