Peach State Soccer Recap, July 21: A Playoff Switch Keeps Atlanta Alive

The Atlanta Silverbacks Women have earned a reprieve and will compete for a WPSL regional championship on Saturday against the Lake Norman Eclipse. Kickoff is at 2:00pm on Saturday at Silverbacks Park.

Knoxville won the conference championship, upsetting the previously undefeated Silverbacks in the semifinal and then defeating the Gulf Coast Texans in the final. However, they are unable to compete in the region championship match.

General manager Derrick Long told Dirty South Soccer:

“We have too many college players that are already back with their college teams so we had to defer to someone else. I know Atlanta will represent our conference well.”

Gulf Coast had the first option to replace Knoxville, but they declined as well according to Long.

Lake Norman finished 4-3-1 in the regular season, averaging over two goals per game. They are based in Mooresville, North Carolina and won the Carolinas Conference after a 2-0 win against Oak City FC in the championship match.

The game will precede the NPSL Atlanta Silverbacks’ international friendly with Middlesbrough FC’s U23 squad. The game will be the first for Middlesbrough on a short Southeastern US tour that will also see them visit Chattanooga FC and the Tri-Cities Otters.