OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Oly Town Artesians will honor the memory of Olympia’s Austin Kelley on Saturday, January 27th with a non-league friendly against the Oly Legends, a team made up of Austin’s friends and former teammates, at The Pavilion at The Evergreen State College.
Presented by his former employer, HDR Engineering, the Artesians will hand out team awards including the annual Austin Kelley Award, and all attendees will receive an AK memorial sticker. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the Riann Kelley scholarship fund.
First kick at The Pavilion is set for 6:30 with gates opening at 5:45. The Artesians encourage fans to arrive early for pre-game ceremonies. A reminder that the facility is a five minute walk from the parking lot and the team expects a large crowd. To skip the lines, purchase tickets early at www.olytownfc.com/tickets.
Olympia’s Austin Kelley passed away in an accident on the Salmon River in September of 2016 at the age of 26, leaving behind his wife Morgan and baby daughter Riann. He was a star soccer player at Olympia High School, went on to play four years at Saint Martin’s University, continued playing after college in high level tournaments and joined the Oly Town Artesians indoor soccer team, immediately making an impact as a team leader with a constant positive presence.
He was an outstanding player for the Artesians despite not having a lot of indoor soccer experience and gained the trust and respect of the entire organization with his hard work and commitment. He also was an assistant coach for the boys soccer team at Olympia HS and was beloved by his players, teammates and everybody that he came in contact with.
The Artesians and the soccer community rallied after his passing to raise thousands of dollars for the Kelley family through the sale of AK memorial t-shirts and AK memorial stickers have been carried around the world.