The Faction

Meet Catarino "Cat" Galarza, our Golden Spike representative for today's match vs. Charlotte!!!

"My soccer love story is like most people. I fell in love with the game at a young age, my first soccer match was at age 7, Club America vs. Necaxa. Walking up to Estadio Azteca was all I needed to be hooked. I played in my younger years, I've coached at the youth levels in local clubs here, and now I'm a referee.
I joined The Faction because of people like Abby and Aaron, they embody what helped me fall in love with this club. Extremely welcoming and what my better half calls my "summer family"!"

Meet Scott Kriscovich, our Golden Spike representative for Sunday's match vs SKC!!

Scott and his wife, Ann, live in Woodstock and have been Atlanta United supporters since the
team kicked off its inaugural season at Bobby Dodd Stadium in 2017. That’s also when Scott first
discovered the joy—and occasional heartbreak—of the beautiful game.
Having never really played or followed soccer before then, he’s since done a complete 180° and
is totally hooked. So much so that during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Scott planned his own
European soccer adventure, traveling to six countries in eight days to watch each country’s
national team alongside local supporters in their local pubs—including watching the USA and
England battle to a 0-0 draw in London. He chronicled the adventure on Instagram
at Soccer_Scott_2022.
His soccer travels continued in Spain in 2024, where he caught a La Liga match at Atlético
Madrid and a UEFA Champions League match between Barcelona and Brest. And this summer,
he got an entirely different World Cup experience, catching several matches as both a fan and
FIFA volunteer.
Not wanting to limit his sports suffering to Atlanta United, Scott is also a Tottenham Hotspur
supporter and grew up a Detroit Lions fan—so he’s had plenty of practice with hope,
heartbreak, and visions for next year…he was nearly booking his flights to Super Bowl LVIII in
Vegas a couple years ago.
Scott first became involved with The Faction a couple of years ago when Reformation Brewery,
where he works part-time, became a sponsor. The Faction immediately made Scott and his
coworkers feel welcome, giving him the chance to combine two of his favorite things: beer and
soccer! (You can find his other persona at Intern_Scott_Makes_Beer.) He especially appreciates
The Faction’s friendly, family-focused atmosphere and its commitment to supporting the
community through its charitable work.
Scott and Ann have three daughters—two in Atlanta and one in Paris—which has given him yet
another excuse to mix family and soccer travel. You can ask him about how he traveled all the
way to France managed to miss the PSG/Toulouse match he had tickets for.

Meet Andrew Pfeifer, our Golden Spike representative for today's match vs. RBNY

Andrew is a Founding Member and joined The Faction in 2018. He was drawn in by the welcoming, family-friendly vibes and enjoys attending away matches with the SG when work takes him away from the Benz.

He grew up in a family passionate about soccer, traveling and playing with his brother up through high school. Even though he grew up as a NY/NJ MetroStars fan, he's a true Atlanta United fan through and through!

Meet Luke Riza, our Golden Spike Representative for the May 9th match vs. LA Galaxy.

Luke Riza has been a Faction member since just before the first home match at Bobby Dodd in 2017, when he was in sixth grade. Luke’s family became ATL UTD Founding Members in 2015 as soon as they learned they were moving to Georgia and then joined the Faction partially due to the group being family-friendly.

Luke played rec league soccer throughout elementary school, then started pursuing other interests and switched from player to fan. He is a senior at Western Michigan University, majoring in Musical Theatre Performance with a triple minor in dance, chemistry, and film & digital storytelling.

Meet Cris Wight, our Golden Spike representative for today's match!!!

Cris is a founding member/fan who passionately enjoys supporting the Club, Faction, & other SGs as a volunteer for tailgates, tifo builds, and even flying a flag on occasion.

He played soccer in high school & college and has 2 daughters, one who also played soccer under a college scholarship. He & his daughters truly do enjoy "unique" game experiences and extraordinary events with a flare for family, food, fun, & friendships! Aka: The Faction going on 10th year!!❤️‍🔥 🖤 ❤️‍🔥 🖤 ❤️‍🔥

Meet Mashelle Pearson, our Faction Golden Spike carrier for Wednesday, April 22 vs New England.

I have been involved in soccer since my daughter started playing at 4, she is now 23!

We were at a tailgate before one of the games during the first season at Mercedes Benz. We had visited different tailgate groups. What the Faction does for youth soccer sold me!

I am a single mom and the soccer fees, uniforms and tournaments were so expensive. I barely could afford it all. We definitely made sacrifices in other areas so she could play and I would do it all again!

Those days are some of our best memories and we made great friends along the way!

I love the family feeling of being a part of The Faction!

Official Supporter Groups of Atlanta United... ASSEMBLE!!!!

The Gulch proudly presents its first ever Gulch-wide Volunteer Outing in support of Earth Day!!

We will be hosting a Beltline Clean-Up on the Westside Beltline April 18th from 10am to 12pm (noon) before the Nashville match. In the spirit of global collaboration, we are even inviting our friends from the Backline of Nashville to join us on this momentous occasion!

Please sign up at the link below to help keep Atlanta BEAUTIFUL and get full details!

https://m.signupgenius.com/ #!/showSignUp/20F084FA5AC2BA5FC1-63263921-beltline

Jeremy all set for hot wing eating contest

Meet Ryan Sterritt, Our Golden Spike Representative for April 4th match vs. Columbus Crew!!!!

My family and I are huge Atlanta United fans and have been season ticket members for many years. After attending a handful of away matches, I realized joining a supporter's group would add to the fun. Our son plays for Inter Atlanta, so Faction was clearly the group for us! This is our second season being part of the Faction family and we are so glad we joined!

Radio play by play on Star 94 today!!!