Richmond Kickers News Release -- www.richmondkickers.com
Thursday, July 26, 2012
RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers embark on a back-to-back home and away series against the Charlotte Eagles this weekend, first traveling to Charlotte Christian Stadium on Friday night before hosting the Eagles at Richmond City Stadium on Saturday night. Kickoff for both matches is slated for 7 p.m.
This weekend’s matches will conclude a four-game series between the Kickers and the Eagles, who split the first two games in June, each claiming three points on their home turf. The Kickers relied on last-gasp heroics to edge the Eagles 1-0 at City Stadium when David Bulow tapped in a Christopher Agorsor cross in the fourth minute of stoppage time. One week later, the Kickers suffered their worst loss of the season, dropping a 4-1 decision in Charlotte. Agorsor gave the Kickers an early lead but Eagles midfielder Nate Thornton leveled the score before the break. Joseph Kabwe handed the home side the edge in the second half with Miguel Ferrer and Christian Meza notching a pair of goals minutes from the final whistle to round out the result.
The victory kicked off a five-game win streak for the Eagles, who recovered from an early season slide to post an undefeated record over the past month. Most recently, the Eagles were forced to postpone their match-up against the Wilmington Hammerheads last weekend after the referees deemed issues with the turf at Charlotte Christian Stadium unsatisfactory, and not have not played a USL PRO match since a 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on July 14.
Meanwhile, the Kickers are coming off a 2-0 victory over the Dayton Dutch Lions, with goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale posting his fifth shutout of the season and forward Matthew Delicâte eclipsing Rob Ukrop’s all-time career goals record when he converted a 90th-minute penalty. The win broke the three-way deadlock for the sixth and final playoff position in the USL PRO standings, with the Kickers narrowly leading the Eagles (7-8-2, 23 points) and the Los Angeles Blues with a 7-6-5 record and 26 points.
With an extensive rivalry spanning two decades, the Kickers hold an all-time series record of 20-10-9 over the Eagles. In addition to heated regular season matches, the perennial Championship contenders have met in several high stakes games. The two clubs met in the 2007 USL Second Division Semifinals when the Kickers came away with a 2-1 overtime win, boosting Richmond to their third consecutive appearance in the finals. In 2006, the Kickers hosted Charlotte in the Championship when the same scoreline fell to the home side in regulation, granting the Kickers their third league title in franchise history. Three years later, the rivals met again in the title match, when the Kickers rallied from a one goal deficit to reclaim the USL Second Division crown, 3-1, over the Eagles in 2009.
USL PRO Playoff Structure
The 2012 USL PRO Playoffs will include the top six finishers in the table, with the top two seeds receiving a first-round bye the weekend of August 24-26. The semifinals, featuring the four remaining teams, will be played the following weekend, with the 2012 USL PRO Championship set for the weekend of September 7-9. All playoff rounds will implement a single-game knockout format.
Players to Watch
Kickers: Prolific goal scorer Matthew Delicâte made history last Saturday, notching his 64th goal in a Kickers uniform when his 90th minute tally against the Dayton Dutch Lions edged Rob Ukrop’s eight-year record. The veteran forward has posted over 11,000 minutes in 154 appearances with the Kickers over six seasons, notching at least 13 goals in each of his last three.
Newcomer Philippe Davies was immediately introduced to the starting lineup last weekend, having arrived in Richmond just days before the USL PRO roster freeze. The Canadian international made 29 appearances with the Vancouver Whitecaps (USL-1/USSF D2) over two seasons, before signing as the first-ever homegrown and Canadian player with the Major League Soccer side in 2010.
Splitting time between the midfield and back line, defender Sascha Görres has played every minute of every game with the Kickers during the 2012 campaign. Setting up the game-winning goal against the Dutch Lions, he has posted four points while contributing to five shutouts in his eighth season with the Kickers.
Eagles: Darryl Roberts leads the Eagles with nine points, recently recording his fourth goal of the season to lead Charlotte to a 1-0 win against the Charleston Battery earlier this month. The Trinidadian forward signed with Charlotte after multi-year stints with Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam and Turkish first division team Denizlispor.
Mauricio Salles contributed to three of the Eagles’ past four victories, notching one goal and two assists. His offensive efforts also boosted the Eagles through to the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals tallying a 116th minute penalty kick in their fourth round win against the San Antonio Scorpions.
In his 10th season with the Eagles, Josh Rife continues to anchor the Eagles defense, which shut out Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas in the U.S. Open Cup Third Round. The veteran defender has received All-League honors multiple times, and was named USL Second Division Defender of the Year in 2005.
Food Truck Fest Saturday
The Richmond Kickers are pleased to host Food Truck Fest at City Stadium this Saturday, July 28, offering fans the opportunity to sample unique and gourmet foods during the Kickers pro game against the Charlotte Eagles.
Scheduled to headline the event are local favorites including Habanero’s, Cupcakes & Tacos, Kona Ice, Dress and Press, La Milpa, Curbside, King of Pops and Richmond legend Boka Truck. Menus include authentic Mexican tacos and burritos, gourmet salads, truffled tator tots, Panini’s, fresh and local seasonal sandwiches, gourmet cupcakes and cool and refreshing all-natural ice pops.
Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and admission is just $5.00 per person before 6:30 p.m. Order tickets in advance at RichmondKickers.com and enter promo code ‘FOODTRUCK’ at checkout.