For the August Spider Athletic Fund donor spotlight, Jean and Erika Latta spoke with Assistant Director of Athletic Public Relations Bridgette Robles and Athletic Donor Relations Coordinator Erin Mattone about their decision to give back to Spider Athletics and Spider Field Hockey and what the University of Richmond means to their family.

Senior goalie Erika Latta’s ties to the University of Richmond started long before she donned number 62 for the field hockey program.

Her mother, Jean (Pace) Latta ’89, and her aunt, Ann Carter Pace ‘87, are both Westhampton College alumnae. Erika even lived in the same dorms as her mom and aunt, in North Court and in Robins. Now Erika resides the campus apartments a little closer to Crenshaw Field, where she stars for the Spiders.  

“There was a lot of green space back in the late eighties,” Jean said. “With the growth over the years, now there’s a lot more buildings and it’s still just gorgeous.”

Besides attending Erika’s field hockey games, Jean is also a season-ticket holder for men’s basketball.  “I’ve probably attended more games as an alum than I did as a student,” Jean said. “It’s become just a fun thing to do over the winter. And to watch that team, especially the last couple of years, it’s been really exciting.”

Settling down in the Richmond area, Jean and her late husband Dave Latta came out to Richmond games when Erika and her older brother, James, were kids. Erika grew up attending every campus lacrosse or field hockey camp she could. 

Lacrosse was the first sport she gravitated towards as a kid because she wanted to do everything her older brother did. Soon, she began playing field hockey, like her mother did growing up. 

Erika began her field hockey career with the Panthers United Field Hockey club team. “I started as a field player. I was even the leading scorer, but our team didn’t have a goalie, so I decided to try and I loved it.”

Erika’s father Dave was an electrician by trade who also dove deeply into his hobbies, purchasing top-of-the-line equipment to pursue sports photography and his other passions. Whether for pay or play, he knew the importance of having the right tools for the job.  He especially jumped into whatever his children were interested in and got them the best equipment too. 

“When Erika decided she wanted to pursue playing in college, Dave dove into making sure she got the best training and the best goalie equipment too,” Jean said. 

“There were many three-hour drives up to Maryland middle of the week for lessons. I’d do my homework in the car. He’d watch the whole practice and then drive us three more hours home in the middle of the night,” said Erika. 

Their dedication paid off. In high school, Erika made over 100 career starts and logged over 100 career victories, including 20 shutouts in goal as a senior captain, over her five seasons with Trinity Episcopal. She collected MAX Field Hockey Third-Team All-America honors and VISAA State and All-League of Independent Schools Player of the Year accolades as a senior in 2018.

Dave was at every game and, most of the time, behind a camera lens focused on Erika. He even made her recruiting videos. Hanging out with other field hockey families post game, he picked up the nickname “PDL” or Plain Dave Latta. And it stuck.

“He wore the [New Balance] all-white dad sneakers, jeans and a plain shirt,” Erika described. “Rarely there was a pocket on his shirt.”

“A lot of people didn’t know him as Dave. He was PDL,” Jean said. “Strangers even called him PDL.”

There can be a lot pressure for a local kid to be recruited by his or her parent’s alma mater. But Erika credits her then-future teammates when she made her official visit to UR for making the decision to come to Richmond a no-brainer. 

“Afterwards, it was a bit of a letdown, since I had such a great time on my visit, to go back to high school,” Erika laughed. “I had to wait two more years to join the program and I wanted to be with them right then.”

Spider field hockey and Spider Athletics as a whole is a tight-knit community for not only the student-athletes, but for the parents as well. And the Lattas experienced that even before Erika stepped onto Crenshaw Field. 

“Every parent is included right away,” Jean said about the parents group of field hockey student-athletes. “We get an email at the beginning of summer about what to expect, how to get involved with treat bags and tailgates and such.” 

“Supporting the team provides a sense of belonging for the parents,” Jean continued. “Sharing the sidelines with other parents and fans, whether at your child’s games or another Spider athletic event makes for fun memories! You as a parent work tirelessly to get them there, why wouldn’t you want to join the fun.”

As the summer of 2019 wound down, the Lattas were ready. All that separated Erika from the start of her collegiate field hockey career was a weekend at the beach with her teammates, a final break before the start of preseason camp. A few days before she was set to join her teammates, Dave Latta suddenly passed away at the age of 53. 

Erika and her family were devastated. But she also knew her dad wouldn’t want her to miss the start of her Spider field hockey career. Showing maturity and wisdom beyond her years, she selflessly opted to wait a day to join the team at the beach, and then she arrived exactly where she needed and wanted to be: spending time with her new teammates. 

“I needed that normalcy,” Erika explained. “I didn’t want to bring down the fun trip. And once I put that energy out, my teammates understood. I even did the run test the day of his funeral.”

The Lattas knew they wanted to give back to Richmond and Spider field hockey, while also honoring PDL and his dedication to his family and the sport. The family thought the best way to do that was with a stone marker inscribed: “In loving memory of David ‘PDL’ Latta - a dedicated field hockey dad” that sits just under a tree that overlooks Crenshaw Field.

After two years of fine tuning the details, the marker was placed in late July 2022. 

“All he really wanted was to see me play field hockey in college,” Erika said. “Sadly, he just missed that. I think it was important for us to honor him in that way because that was his goal for both James and I, to just see us thrive in what we wanted to do.”

“It made sense for there to be some sort of commemoration where he could be up on the hillside watching over the field,” Jean added.

That dedication to Spider field hockey has helped Erika become one of the top goalies in the Atlantic 10 over the past three seasons. Stepping into a starting role due to COVID-19 shifting the fall 2020 season to a limited schedule in the Spring of 2021, Erika rose to the challenge. 

She ranked in the top 10 nationally in save percentage (eighth, 0.812) and goals against average (10th, 0.91), only allowing six total goals with 26 saves in seven starts in the shortened spring  season. Erika also collected Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors and two weekly defensive player accolades. 

In the fall 2021 season, Erika held her own in goal against one of the toughest schedules, picking up three more shutouts, including a 1-0 victory over No. 21 UMass, and making over 100 saves. 

Dedication to being successful on the field and in the classroom are equal parts of the Richmond experience. The opportunities that are available to student-athletes enhance the experience and help set up for life after graduation.

“One of the best parts of being a student-athlete at Richmond, is being a part of the student-athlete community,” Erika said. “I’ve created so many great relationships, and I try to encourage new players to join the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).”

“I’ve been able to learn about leadership and event planning, which have led to working on the SPIDY’s and being an intern in the athletic department as well.”

Dave’s hobby of photography and videography also influenced Erika during her time at Richmond. Her father had quite the collection of gear which Erika has used to take photos of friends on other Richmond sports teams, like football and men’s and women’s lacrosse home events. This summer, she completed a marketing internship with the Washington Mystics in the WNBA. 

“I wanted to learn more about photography so I could carry that passion on,” Erika said. “Once I got more involved with taking photos, I got to work in the athletic department which led to working with the Mystics.”

This fall will be Erika’s fourth season in a Spiders uniform, maybe her most “normal” one yet. And for the last four years, prior to every practice and every game, Erika has stepped into her protective gear, donned her gloves, and then checked the top of her helmet, where she has tied a pair of PDL’s New Balance shoelaces, plain white of course. 

While Dave will have the chance to watch his daughter complete her college career from the Crenshaw Field hillside this fall, Erika has already carried him with her through every step of her time as a Spider.

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