Richmond Soccer

2003-02-28T10:48:00.000-05:00

The Times Dispatch have reported some player news in todays paper. If you haven't been keeping up on the discussion board or at On The Sidelines then it will be a worthy read. But the most interesting news for me is a small detail buried in the Extra Kicks section at the bottom of the article that states the Kickers will be providing a Webcast of games this season and are currently seeking a play by play announcer.

2003-02-09T23:15:00.000-05:00

I had the chance to sit down with Head Coach, Leigh Cowlishaw last week to talk about the up-coming season. Read the preseason interview only on Richmond Soccer dot net.

2003-02-03T10:13:00.000-05:00

It's Official! Josh Henderson has signed for the Charleston Battery. Circumstances for the move seem unclear but there definitely appears to have been some dispute between Henderson and the Kickers management as Billy Hallock claimed "what he told me and what his plans are now are totally different things" in an interview with the Richmond Times Dispatch.
More details can be found in the Battery's official press release.

2003-01-16T16:29:00.000-05:00

The Kickers have announced their first exhibition game of the 2003 season, it will be against DC United on Saturday April 5th.

2002-12-13T16:47:00.000-05:00

Richmond Soccer has been informed that Josh McKay will not be returning to the Richmond Kickers squad for the 2003 season. Josh, age 31 has been a stalwart defender with the Kickers for six seasons, playing a total of 151 games - the second highest on the all-time list behind Rob Ukrop. GM Billy Hallock commented; "He has been a great part of our success over the past 6 years, but we just can't afford to bring him back and still keep our team balanced the way we need to." McKay is currently a free agent.

2002-11-08T10:48:00.000-05:00

The USL switches to the standard 3-1-0 (or 3-0-1 if you like) points system for the 2003 season. A-League.com has the story. This is great news, the USL will be better respected as a league by using a well known standard that is not only used throughout the World but also by the rest of the country, including MLS and WUSA.

In other news, the man behind our beloved mascot was featured in his hometown paper just the other day - check out the interview at the News-Herald.

2002-09-30T10:23:00.000-04:00

And so ends the season with a goal in the second half of extra-time. The Kickers played a great game but couldn't hold out after going a man down four minutes into the first period of overtime. Allison Andrews has a great play by play account on A-League.com, I will be working on a feature soon.
Thanks guys.

2002-09-26T11:09:00.000-04:00

The day of reckoning draws near. Leigh Cowlishaw took time out to answer some questions about the build up to the final, you can read his thought in the Richmond Soccer Championship Preview. Also there have been a few features written in various media places, check 'em out.

TD Rochester post game report
USL press release
TD Interview with Ronnie
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Preview
TD Interview with Leigh
Another MJS Preview
MJS view of Richmond

Phew! This game is getting some press.

2002-09-21T23:38:00.000-04:00

We're in the Final!!!!! After tying the home leg 1-1 thanks to a Josh Henderson equalizer the Kickers went to Frontier Field with a seemingly impossible task, winning at Rochester. After finishing 120 minutes without a goal on either side the game went to penalty kicks, the first five all went in for both teams and so it was sudden death. It wasn't until the ninth kick that someone finally missed, it was Rochester and Kickers goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale stepped up to score the winner and send the team to the final in Milwaukee (who beat Vancouver in overtime tonight).

2002-09-17T15:04:00.000-04:00

The Kickers are through!!! A little late with the update I know, but my head has been in the clouds since Sunday evening. My match report is up and you can also read accounts at the Richmond Times Dispatch and the Battery website.

The Kickers now face the Rochester Raging Rhinos in the Eastern conference final. The first game is on Thursday 7pm at Sportsbackers Stadium. The return leg is on Saturday at 7:35pm at Frontier Field, Rochester.

2002-09-15T00:21:00.000-04:00

Charleston defeated the Richmond Kickers 2-1 scoring the winner on a late penalty. This means the Kickers must win in the second leg on Sunday to stay in the competition, a two goal margin is needed for clear cut victory just one goal will take it into overtime and penalty kicks if a winner cannot be found. The best match reports can be found at the Post & Courier and the Battery website.

The game on Sunday kicks-off 6pm at UR Stadium, it's forecast to rain so bring your raincoats and umbrellas but I wouldn't miss this match for the World. The winner will face the reigning champions, Rochester Raging Rhinos who beat Montreal on Saturday.

2002-09-13T13:31:00.000-04:00

Tonight is the first leg of the play-off with Charleston at Blackbaud stadium, both teams are going into this game with confidence and both teams thing they are due a championship. You can listen to the webcast live at the Charleston Battery website. Also check out the following articles from the Battery, the Charleston Post & Courier and
the Times Dispatch.

2002-09-08T21:40:00.000-04:00

The Richmond Kickers go on to the second round!!! Josh Henderson and Kevin Jeffrey were both on target in Atlanta tonight as the Kickers beat the Silverbacks 2-1. Richmond will now meet the Charleston Battery in the second round, the first game in Charleston will be on Friday and the return leg on Sunday at UR Stadium, 6pm kick-off. Read the match report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

2002-09-06T00:55:00.000-04:00

The Kickers and Silverbacks tied 1-1 in a nail biting match at SportsBackers Stadium tonight. Despite completely outshooting the visitors, Richmond could not finish until the third minute of injury time. Peter Luzak got the equalizer after an amazing throw from Ben Strawbridge. My match report is already up. The Kickers play Atlanta at 6pm Sunday and need a win to go through, Amanda Miller will be providing updates at USLDiscussions.

2002-09-04T11:30:00.000-04:00

Last month I had the pleasure of speaking with Rob Ukrop and after a month of writing, editing, re-writing and re-editing I can now present my feature article. It's quite lengthy at 3,000 words so you may want to print it out and read it over a nice cup of coffee, I hope you enjoy it. If you have any follow up questions or feedback I would be glad to discuss them with you on the USLDiscussions message board.

Don't forget the Kickers begin their play-off adventure tomorrow night when they take on the Atlanta Silverbacks at Sportsbackers Stadium. The Kickers have beaten the Silverbacks on all four occasions this season so we have reasons to be positive, but this is the play-offs and anything can happen. The Kickers have a press release about the draw and a more recent press release about the game. The winner of this two legged series will go on to play Charleston.

2002-08-29T17:19:00.000-04:00

So we lost 1-0 to the Battery in the pouring rain, it was a hard game to watch. Read the TD report for details.

2002-08-28T15:23:00.000-04:00

Okay okay, I admit it, I don't think I'm going to get around to writing a match report for the Charlotte game played last Friday, why? Well because it was our reserve team out there and it was barely worth taking notes. However, there were a few notable performances in the game particually that of Ben Strawbridge who played a splendid game, hustling for the ball beat the Charlotte first teamers and playing crisp passes, it seems the young man can do more than just the Chicken Dance. Armando Femia was on the other end of the scale unfortunately, hopefully we can put it down to nerves as he fumbled the ball on a number of occasions (including the first goal) and just didn't seem settled for the whole game. Mike of Ratt Stat fame had the following to say:

Well our reserve team played fairly well considering most of them have only seen limited action all season. I don't think Leigh can be too disappointed, except for a couple of plays of course. I think that except for around 15 minutes in the 1st half was fairly even. Maybe not possession wise, but skill level. I really like Charlotts keeper...good sense of humor. Thanks to Andy McD for coming over before the game and saying hi.

The return match at Charlotte was lost 1-0 and you can check out a match report at match report at A-League.com.
Tonight the Kickers play their final regular season game against the Charleston Battery, the Battery are already guarateed number one seed in the East while the Kickers could use the win to pull away from Atlanta, read the official preview at the Kickers website.

2002-08-24T14:43:00.000-04:00

Richmond lost 4-2 at home to the Charlotte Eagles on Friday night in a game that featured most of the Kickers' reserves. Charlotte were up 3-0 well before the half hour mark as four Richmond rookies tried to impress the coach and crowd with their first starting performances. Match report coming soon, times-dispatch report already online.

2002-08-19T23:03:00.000-04:00

Saturday night saw a great performance by the Richmond Kickers as they defeated the Atlanta Silverbacks 3-1. Josh Henderson, Marco Ferruzzi and David Hayes all got on the scoresheet as the Kickers look to prepare for the play-offs, check out the match report.
It was great to see Dan Barnes of A-League.com at the game and get recognized by the Kickers organization at half-time. The pre-game barbecue in honor of our guests went great, Dave is a demon on the grill and comic relief was provided by Ratt Stat reporter Mike Garbett when he exploded a bottle of mustard over himself.

2002-08-16T08:52:00.000-04:00

Well now it's official, the Kickers have qualified for the play-offs. Despite losing on Wednesday other results went our way and we are definitely in, see the official press release.

2002-08-14T21:31:00.000-04:00

Despite scoring an equalizer with just ten men on the field, the Kickers lost 3-2 to the Charleston Battery at Blackbaud Stadium tonight. This game practically assures the Battery the division title meaning the Kickers won't get a bye into the second round. A match report is posted at the Battery site.

2002-08-11T17:46:00.000-04:00

The Kickers lost 2-1 to the Montreal Impact in front of a season high crowd on Saturday Night. Could have been worse with the Impacts' no-goal, but also could have been better if we converted our chances. Read my match report and check out the Times Dispatch version here. Fortunately the Battery have tied both games with the Eagles so we can still win the division yet, the game at Charleston on Wednesday will be do or die.

2002-08-09T08:44:00.000-04:00

Josh Henderson has been named A-League player of the week. In the last three games Henderson has helped the Kickers win three 5 point victories with six goals, he has been in great form despite his red card last Friday. Congratulations Josh.

2002-08-08T11:16:00.000-04:00

So the Times Dispatch are reporting that Leigh isn't a fan of the bonus point system, of course we already knew that from my pre-season feature. The article does give us some useful information including some clues as to who will start on Saturday in the absense of Marco Ferruzzi and Josh Henderson (both suspended).

2002-08-04T14:36:00.000-04:00

A great game on Friday night saw the Kickers defeat the Minnesota Thunder 3-2 in overtime. Two great goals came from Josh Henderson (both assisted by KJ) and Goodlett's first ever professional goal earned the Kickers yet another five points to move up into second place in the Southeast Division. Read my Match Report or check out the Times Dispatch story.

2002-08-02T10:27:00.000-04:00

Well Richmond are on a roll now, on Wednesday night they cameback twice to defeat the Montreal Impact 3-2 earning another five points. A-League.com and the Impact's official site have the best of the reports. Tony Williams had three assists and is obviously on fire right now, his form along with David Hayes has relegated Burkie to the bench, you can read more about the likely play-off starting XI at the Times Dispatch.
That second place spot held by Atlanta is looking precarious right now, a win tonight against the Minnesota Thunder would see the Kickers knock the Silverbacks down to third place, both teams having played 22 of their 28 games. The Georgians could regain their spot tomorrow night but I'm sure the Rochester Rhinos won't make it easy. Read the Kickers official preview of tonights game.

2002-07-29T08:31:00.000-04:00

The Kickers got a great victory at Charlotte winning 4-2 to earn a maximum five points. Hopefully you saw the game on Fox Sports World, but here is a brief match report from the Charlotte Observer.

2002-07-26T09:02:00.000-04:00

Don't forget Richmond's game at Charlotte is on Fox Sports World this Saturday, come join the watching party at the Penny Lane Pub from around 7:30pm. Also, check out the Fox Sports World preview (you'll have to scroll down past the Rochester Montreal bit) that claims "Richmond is having an outstanding season" amongst other things.

2002-07-26T08:42:00.000-04:00

With the transfer deadline approaching and Cowlishaw not exactly happy with the team there are rumblings of a new signing sometime next week. Justin Mapp who had an impressive game at Hampton Roads sounds favorite but if it turns out to be somebody with higher salary expectations we could see some cuts. Read the aritcle from the Times Dispatch.

2002-07-21T13:56:00.000-04:00

Tired legs and bad finishing was the story last night, the Mariners defeated the Kickes 2-0 despite having fewer chances. Not that our tight schedule is any excuse because the Mariners have had to deal with the same fixture glut. The boys from the beach did well absorbing the pressure in the first half and they made no mistake taking the chances they had in the second, and that's all they needed. Read my play be play report and the Times Dipatch has a good account.

2002-07-20T15:38:00.000-04:00

Good times in Virginia Beach as the Richmond Kickers made it three and oh against the Mariners beating them 1-0. A large Corner Kicks contingent kept the noise going for the visiting team despite the horrible conditions in the second half that caused a forty minute delay. Marco Ferruzzi scored the only goal and Kevin Jeffrey had a penalty saved. The return fixture is this evening at 7pm in UR Stadium.

2002-07-19T09:19:00.000-04:00

Yet another road trip tonight, this time out East to Virginia Beach where we will begin our second home-and-home series against the Hampton Roads Mariners. The Mariners have gone through a lot since we played them at the beginning of the season, they have a new fan-friendly owner and have signed a few decent players so the Kickers can expect a hard set of games. Of course the James River Cup will also be awarded to the team with the best record at the end of the series, a win (or a tie) tonight will see the cup returning to Richmond once again. There's a nice size crowd travelling to the game and we plan to be loud, so if you fancy coming along just look for the fans in red. Oh yeah, the Pat McGee Band are also playing after the game, but we don't care about that. Kickers press release.

2002-07-15T13:28:00.000-04:00

Well the Kickers lost to Columbus at Crew Stadium last night which ends our brief Open Cup run. The Kickers had a good first half out shooting the home team but conceded a goal on a dubious penalty ("a gift" according to the Columbus commentators), after the second goal it was all Columbus and Ukrop got a red card. Read the match report from Associated Press or theCrew.com.

2002-07-14T15:40:00.000-04:00

It was a great night on Friday, the Kickers defeated Atlanta 3-1 but better than this was the fantastic performance (at least in the first half). Luzak banged one in from a corner, Jeffrey delivered a great cross for Hayes to convert (yes I do have that the right way round) and Ferruzzi made a great run and scored to earn the bonus point in the last minute. Read the match report and check out the Times Dispatch version too.

2002-07-11T09:29:00.000-04:00

Intense is probably the best way to describe last nights match as the Kickers tied with the Battery. Charleston took the lead in the first half with a well taken goal by Ryan Trout. Kevin Jeffrey equalized in the second half, sliding the ball in after a Josh Henderson assist. Officiating was poor, but wasn't too advantagous to either side - Kevin Anderson and Mike Burke were both sent off in the 27th minute for violent conduct. Read the Richmond Soccer match report for more details and check out the Times Dispatch for another perspective.

2002-07-10T12:32:00.000-04:00

Only two teams have beaten Richmond this season, Rochester is one of them and the other we play tonight. Charleston Battery pretty much humiliated the Kickers two months ago when they beat them 3-0 at Blackbaud Stadium, to make matters worse it was televised for the nation to see. The Battery are currently soaring at the top of the SouthEast Division with a remarkable 62 points, 27 more than the Kickers (though they have played two more games). This makes tonights clash vital as the Kickers aim to show the league that they are still contenders for the championship, nothing less than a victory will do. Read the Kickers official preview or find out what the opposition are saying.

2002-07-09T08:44:00.000-04:00

Yet another draw on the road on Sunday as neither Richmond nor Toronto could break the deadlock and both left with a point each. You can read the match report by Toronto fan Rob Lynch, seems as though Ronnie had a good game. Another report can be read at the USL's site.

2002-07-05T08:34:00.000-04:00

Vengeance will have to wait for another day, as last night the Rhino's did the double over the Kickers. Unlike the home encounter, Richmond were outshot 18-7 at Frontier Field but the defense remained solid for 90 minutes shuting out the champions and forcing the match into overtime. But Lenin Steenkamp made sure the home crowd had something to celebrate when he scored from 18 yards just six minutes into the golden goal period. Match report can be found at the Democrat and Chronical.

2002-07-04T13:53:00.000-04:00

It's the 4th of July and that can only mean one thing, it's time for the Kickers to get their revenge in Rochester. The Rhinos are wearing the American Flag on their shirts tongiht, but hopefully it will be the stars of Richmond that shine at Frontier Field as Cowlishaw's boys aim to reverse the 2-0 loss suffered in City Stadium just a month ago. The good news is you can hear the game on webcast, at least it would be good news had you not already arranged to go out and see some fireworks with the kids.

2002-07-03T08:48:00.000-04:00

Well I'm back from my two week hiatus after some quality time spent with the family. I notice that I'm listed as the A-League.com fan site of the month so I guess I better get some material down. A lot has happened since my last update, including four road games and a thrilling home encounter against the Timbers, the Kickers are sitting third in the division with a couple of games in hand over the leaders (but a lot of points to catch up on too). Perhaps the most exciting news is our US Open Cup Draw with the Columbus Crew to be played at Crew Stadium on July 17th, there are already rumblings of a road trip on the discussion board. There's plenty of other things to talk about too, so keep your eye on this site for updates.

2002-06-10T16:57:00.000-04:00

Maybe I've been spoilt by the World Cup, maybe it's because we were soundly beaten by the Rhino's but last nights game just wasn't too enjoyable. Sure, I have fun being a "cornerkick" and I liked playing the drums, but the action on the field left a lot to be desired. We dominated possession yet Hayes and Burke seemed to be out of sorts on the creative end, KJ tripped over the ball twice when clear on goal and the referees' calls just seemed to always be in favour of the visitors (I know, I know usual excuse - and it probably wouldn't have made any difference from the final outcome). Maybe it's not just me with my mind on the World Cup. Anyway, you can read what happened in the Times Dispatch report.

2002-06-02T22:32:00.000-04:00

The boys did good this weekend collecting a maximum five points with a 3-0 defeat of the Atlanta Silverbacks. Luzak, Jeffrey and Ferruzzi were all on target in an aggressive game that saw two players sent off. The 'Backs match report claims that Richmonds tactical play overcame Atlanta's aggressive style earning the Kickers their second consecutive shut-out.

The other games in the division saw Charlotte fall twice to Charleston allowing the Battery to leapfrog Atlanta in the standings as well as qualify for the US Open Cup. Richmond currently sit third in the SouthEast Division, eight points behind Atlanta and nine behind Charleston with a game in hand over both.

2002-05-31T16:24:00.000-04:00

The eyes of the soccer World may be on the World Cup at the moment but the A-League season still goes on. The Kickers face Atlanta on Saturday and the official preamble is right here. Although we have already beaten the Silverbacks on the road just two weeks ago, the Georgians will feel hard done by after a soft goal in the early minutes by David Hayes and will be looking to solidify their position at the top of the Southeastern Division with a victory.

2002-05-27T23:31:00.000-04:00

Don't let the score fool you, tonights game against Charlotte was as entertaining (and sometimes nerve wrecking) as they come. Both teams had plenty of chances in this evenly matched game but in a combination of bad luck and good defense it was to remain goalless. You can read my match report and the less detailed Times Dispatch report (Mr. Lindquist obviously didn't think the game was as entertaining as I did).

2002-05-25T13:26:00.000-04:00

It seems as though former Kicker Gary Glasgow is back on the market after being released by the Kansas City Wizards and according to the Times Dispatch the Kickers head the line of A-League teams chasing his signature. The downside is that Hallock and Cowlishaw will have to drop one, maybe two players from the current roster in order to stay under their self imposed salary cap. Tough decision when you have one of the strongest squads in the A-League.
The Trinidadian international was a favourite amongst Kickers fans during the 1999 season where he scored 13 goals and 7 assists in a 17-11 season which the Kickers finished second in the Atlantic Division behind Hershey. Colin Clarke was the coach and the team were often criticized for their long-ball tactics which differ from the current midfield dominated play of Cowlishaw.
Also reported is the disappointing 3-0 loss to Charleston watched by thousands of fans on Fox Sports World last Friday, although it seems Leigh remains upbeat about the Kickers chances this season.

2002-05-24T09:17:00.000-04:00

The official Website have published thier preview of Monday's game. Hopefully we can get back to winning ways against the Eagles, though obviously they're not going to make it easy. We may have a slight advantage as Charlotte will have just played against the newly owned Mariners two days earlier and could be tired as a result. But then again, the Eagles are very good at pulling surprises.
The other exciting news is that the US Open Cup draw will take place on June 5th (also the date of USA's first World Cup game) and the Kickers will find out who could be their second round opponents, it's guaranteed to be a team from the lower divisions (D3, PDL or USASA) as MLS teams don't enter until the 3rd round and A-League teams are kept apart. More details of this years US Open Cup can be found at the Columbus Crew site.

2002-05-23T13:55:00.000-04:00

It has come to this, I've sold out and I'm going to try and sell you something. Don't worry it's not as bad as it seems, thanks to cafepress.com I can create some cool t-shirt and mug designs without having to invest any cash, this means I can add unlimited amounts of merchandise throughout the year. So check out my first batch of products which are based on our fantastic scrimmage result against the USA. The prices are at cost value (if you don't believe me, check the cafepress website) which means I'm not making a single penny from this venture, I just thought it would be a cool idea. So go shop.

2002-05-22T16:07:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day sees the second "double header" of the season at Richmond as the Future take on Williamsburg at noon and the Kickers play Charlotte at 5pm. I put double header in quotes because strictly speaking it isn't a double header, if you want to see both games you have to pay for them seperately, worse than that there's a three hour wait after the first game before the second one kicks off.
With this in mind, a group of Kickers fans have decided to try a bit of tailgaiting between matches. So if you fancy sharing in some food, soft drink and conversation with this small dedicated group of fans feel free to come along and join us, but try to let BigDave know first by replying to his post. Any guests from Charlotte and Williamsburg are also quite welcome.

2002-05-22T12:31:00.000-04:00

Richmond Soccer is changing direction, instead of just cutting and pasting the links to articles about the Kickers I'm going to run this thing more like a fanzine. That basically means opinions, comments and personality. Whenever I get the urge I will add an entry to this homepage and it could be about anything (mostly Kickers related of course); the latest game; a recent trade; other A-League happenings; anything goes really. Of course I will provide links when I'm referencing news stories or games, and I'll still continue to write match reports as before but this new format should keep the site fresh and interesting. If you want to respond, react, compliment or complain about anything I write then go ahead and send me an e-mail if you like, I may choose to respond through the site, by personal reply or just ignore it completely. So, heres to a new beginning. Cheers.