Richmond Kickers News Release -- www.richmondkickers.com
Friday, July 15, 2011
RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers return to Richmond City Stadium this Saturday, July 16 to resume regular season action, hosting Antigua Barracuda FC at 7 p.m. Saturday’s match-up is the first for the two clubs since Antigua’s USL PRO introduction this season. Avoid lines at the gate and click and print your tickets in advance at RichmondKickers.com.
The Kickers are coming off a grueling stretch of four games in nine days, which concluded this week with a historic 2-0 win against Sporting Kansas City in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday night. Previously, a dramatic back-to-back series with the Charlotte Eagles saw the Kickers take a win and a loss on the weekend. Friday’s rain-soaked marathon match up in Richmond ended just after midnight, due to several hours of lightning delays, with the Kickers allowing a stoppage time goal to drop a 2-1 decision. Taking to the road less than 24 hours later, the Kickers avenged the previous night’s loss in Charlotte with a 2-1 scoreline of their own.
Meanwhile, Antigua comes to Richmond on Saturday hoping to snap a six-game slide, most recently having dropped a pair of games to the Wilmington Hammerheads last weekend. Wilmington narrowly edged Antigua 1-0 on Friday before conceding a two-goal lead in the second half on Sunday. Barracuda midfielder Lawson Robinson and defender Christopher Harvey each registered in a seven-minute span to put Antigua back in the game before Wilmington forward Andres Cuero notched the game-winner fifteen minutes from time.
The two teams reside at opposite ends of the American Division standings with the Kickers sitting in third place with a 9-4-3 record and 30 points and Antigua rounding out the division with a 7-11-1 record and 22 points.
Players to Watch
Kickers: Midfielder David Bulow added his sixth goal in the 2011 U.S. Open Cup and his 14th overall in the Kickers 2-0 win over Sporting Kansas City Tuesday. Converting an 82nd minute penalty kick, he leapfrogged Jaime Moreno and Jhonny Menyongar to be the sole all-time leading goal scorer in U.S. Open Cup “Pro Era” history.
Anchoring the midfield for his fourth season with the Kickers, midfielder Luke Vercollone earned USL PRO Team of the Week honors after notching his first goal of the season in the Kickers 2-1 win in Charlotte last week.
With veteran goalkeeper and captain Ronnie Pascale at the helm, the Kickers defensive unit shutout Sporting Kansas City Tuesday night, handing the MLS side their first-ever loss at LiveSTRONG Sporting Park. Facing a barrage of 22 shots, the staunch backline weathered the storm and stifled the Sporting KC attack.
Barracuda FC: Midfielder Randolph “Etti” Burton earned USL PRO honors after netting the game-winning goal over the league-leading Orlando City last month. Doubling as a marksman for the Antigua and Barbuda National Team, Burton’s tally in Orlando was his third of the season.
Forward Stefan Smith resides in the USL PRO Top 10 in the goals scored category with five on the season. Leading Barracuda with 10 points, he has played all but one game during the 2011 season.
Defender Christopher Harvey splits time between shoring up the Antigua back line and contributing offensive firepower, adding two goals and two assists on the season. Most recently, he was responsible for notching the equalizer against the Wilmington Hammerheads last week.
U.S. Open Cup Update
The Richmond Kickers upset a second Major League Soccer team in two weeks, handing Sporting Kansas City their first loss in LiveSTRONG Sporting Park with a 2-0 win in the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals Tuesday night, advancing to the semifinals for the first time since 1995. After an 81-minute lightning delay, Kickers forward Shaka Bangura connected on a David Bulow cross to net the first goal of the night in the 66th minute. Bulow added a tally of his own when he converted a penalty kick in the 82nd minute, becoming the U.S. Open Cup all-time leading goal scorer to boost the Kickers to a Semifinal match-up against the Chicago Fire on Tuesday, August 30.