UNCW to host tribute soccer game Oct. 19 for late daughter of former player

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – UNCW men’s soccer will host a tribute game on Saturday, Oct. 19, in honor of Olivia Grace Knighton, the late daughter of former Seahawk and UNCW Athletics Hall of Famer Brad Knighton.

Attendees are asked to wear teal, with the game against Stony Brook set to start at 2 p.m. Tickets to the game can be purchased here.

Special T-shirts will be available for purchase. Inflatables and free face and nail painting will also be at the game.

Proceeds will benefit the Olivia Knighton Endowed Scholarship, “a men’s soccer scholarship created last December that will annually be awarded to a deserving UNCW men’s soccer player in hopes that Olivia’s passion and ability to be a beautiful light will continue.”

“Olivia tragically passed away in a boating accident in July of 2023 in Little River,” the release states. “The Knighton family and Coach Heaney successfully organized the first Olivia’s Game last season in which nearly 1,200 fans were in attendance. Since then, the Knighton family launched the Olivia Knighton Foundation, of which Coach Heaney serves on the Board of Directors.

“The Foundation also helped create the Olivia Knighton Endowed Scholarship last December for a deserving men’s soccer student-athlete in Olivia’s memory.”

More information about the game can be found on the UNCW Athletics website.