All-Time Leading Scorer Delicate Leads Kickers Past Dayton

RICHMOND, VA – Matthew Delicate became Richmond’s all-time leading scorer with a stoppage time penalty kick as the Kickers secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory over the Dayton Dutch Lions. 

Entering the match as a 65th minute substitute, Delicate had a number of close calls before scoring his 64th goal in a Richmond uniform.  Soon after entering, a failed clearance from a Dayton defender left the Kickers forward through on goal, but his low shot veered just left of the frame.  Delicate had another golden opportunity in the 86th minute only to have his point blank header pushed wide by Dayton keeper Matt Williams.

Delicate again threatened in the 90th but was fouled in the box by Dayton defender Jeff DeGroot.  After several minutes of protest by Dayton players culminated in a straight red card to the Dutch Lions' Gibson Bardsley, Delicate sent his spot kick past Williams to move past Rob Ukrop as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.

The match was very much in the balance until Delicate’s goal.  Richmond took the lead in the 11th minute when Ryan Heins knocked in the rebound from a saved Sascha Gorres shot.  Running with the ball down the left, Gorres juked two Dayton defenders before unleashing a low shot from the top of the penalty box which a diving Williams could only push aside.  Arriving unmarked down the right, Heins had an easy tap-in for his first goal of the season.

Dayton picked up the pace in the minutes after the goal, twice having dangerous runs into Richmond’s penalty box deflected away by Kickers defenders.  In the 16th, Dutch Lions’ forward Eli Garner looked through on goal, only to lose the ball to a last second tackle by Yomby William. Just minutes later, Bardsley was similarly dispossessed in the box by a lunging Jason Yeisley.

The match settled down for the remainder of the first half as an open midfield left each side with plenty of possession, but few actual attempts on goal.  The likeliest scorer was Kickers forward Chris Agorsor, who had a number of promising runs called back for offside.

Both teams came out with plenty of energy in the second half and Richmond thought they had gone two up in the 47th minute after Agorsor teed up Gorres at the top of the area.  Gorres settled the ball and checked left before sending a shot in past Williams, but the goal was called back after an offside Agorsor was ruled to have blocked the Dayton keeper’s view of the shot.

Dayton maintained plenty of possession during the second half and had a number of dangerous runs, but they failed to trouble Richmond goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale who tallied his fifth clean sheet of the season.

After traveling to Charlotte for a match on Friday evening, the Richmond Kickers return to City Stadium to host the Charlotte Eagles next Saturday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m.  Gates open at 5:30 for Food Truck Fest, where some of Richmond’s best food trucks will provide fans with a chance to sample unique and gourmet foods.  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.  Tickets are just $5.00 per person before 6:30 p.m. and are available in advance from RichmondKickers.com with promotional code FOODTRUCK.  




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Box Score             First Half         Second Half             Final
Richmond                     1                      1                      2
Dayton                         0                      0                      0

Scoring Summary
11th minute: Richmond: Ryan Heins (Sascha Gorres)
90th minute: Richmond: Matthew Delicate (PK)

Lineups
Kickers: GK Ronnie Pascale, William Yomby, Shane Johnson, Henry Kalungi, Jason Yeisley, Luke Vercollone, Gerson Dos Santos (Nozomi Hiroyama – 65’), Sascha Gorres, Ryan Heins (Mike Burke – 65’), Philippe Davies (Edson Elcock – 45’), Christopher Agorsor (Matthew Delicate – 65’)

Riverhounds: GK Matt Williams, Taylor Lord (Michael Earman – 83’), Gregory Preciado, Mettin Copier, Shane Smith (Jeff DeGroot – 45’), Joel DeLass, Kyle Knotek (Toric Robinson – 59’), Mikael McNamara (Daniel Holowaty – 65’), Eric Kissinger (Gerrit-Jan Bartels – 76’), Gibson Bardsley, Eli Garner

Shots                           Saves                           Fouls                             Corners
Dutch Lions:      5          Dutch Lions:      5          Dutch Lions:      11         Dutch Lions:      2
Kickers:           10         Kickers:            1           Kickers:             5          Kickers:            3

Cautions:
32nd minute: Davies (Richmond)
48th minute: Williams (Dayton)
85th minute: DeLass (Dayton)
90th minute: DeGroot (Dayton)

Ejections:
90th minute: Bardsley (Dayton)

Referee:                                                Jim Sadowski
Assistant Referees:                               Kai Goodrich, James Walker
Fourth Official:                                     Moo Hackett
Attendance:                                          1510

Weather:                                               Overcast, Rain 75º

Ultimate Cup Girls Weekend Recap, List of Champions



Futbolr clothing at Ultimate Cup in Richmond



The first ever Ultimate Cup just wrapped up their Girls Weekend tournament action this past weekend in Richmond, VA. The tournament was created by the merger of the Chesterfield United Icebreaker and the Kickers Invitational. Our Friends Futbolr Clothing where their supporting soccer in Virginia with a booth and even had a headers contest and soccer tennis contest. You can check out the Futbolr Facebook page for more of their photos from the Ultimate Cup.

Congratulations to the Girls Weekend Champions and Finalist. CLICK HERE to see the complete list of Division Champions and Finalists for the Ultimate Cup Girls.

The boys will get their turn to compete in the Ultimate Cup this comming weekend as play is set to take place March 3 and 4.

As part of the Boys Weekend, there will be a special showing of Rise & Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story in Richmond, VA brought to you by Chesterfield United & The Richmond Kickers at the Ultimate Cup for the benefit of Stowe Strong. The event will be on March 2nd at 7pm at the Holiday Inn, Koger Center Ballroom. This will be a free event and teams and leagues are encouraged to attend, any donations will be for the benefit of charity.

 

Check out the Richmond Times Dispatch Story about Ultimate Cup:

Jeremy Slayton | Richmond Times Dispatch: Soccer tournament attracts hundreds of teams

Richmond Kickers 14th annual player combine this weekend

KICKERS SEARCH FOR STAR

Players From Across the Globe Attend Open Tryouts this Weekend

RICHMOND, VA - (Thursday, January 19, 2012) – Over 70 players will attend the Richmond Kickers 14^th annual player combine this weekend, January 20-22 at the Kickers state-of-the-art sports complex, Ukrop Park. Players representing countries from around the world, including the U.S., England, France, Germany, Brazil, The Gambia, Nigeria and South Africa, will participate in three days of intense training, including small-sided games, speed testing and full-sided matches.

“The Pro Combine is the most important event of the year for identifying players,” explained Leigh Cowlishaw, Richmond Kickers Director of Soccer and Head Coach. “We typically sign 2-3 players from this event and it has proven to be a valuable resource for the coaching staff. This year, we expect a high level of play with participants traveling from around the globe to try and secure a professional contract with the Kickers.”

Attendance at the Kickers player combine is one of the best ways to ensure that a player’s complete soccer resume and professional evaluation is in front of key decision makers for the Richmond Kickers organization. Training sessions will take place in front of Kickers’ professional coaches, led by Cowlishaw, who will be joined by an array of technical staff and former professional players.

Past Kickers trials have produced such prominent players as Clyde Simms (D.C. United and US Men’s National Team), Ronnie Pascale (Three-time USL-2 Goalkeeper of the Year), Tim Brown (New Zealand National Team) and Robert Ssejjemba (2006 USL-2 MVP and Ugandan National Team).

“Richmond was the first pro team that I played for, playing with the caliber guys that they had there at the time,” commented Simms. “The team was great – the staff and players were very welcoming and professional. I was able to get a good amount of playing time there, which was huge for my development and being able to make it to the next level.”

Discovered at the Kickers 2004 combine, Simms spent one season in Richmond before being recognized by D.C. United and the U.S. Men’s National Team. Simms appeared in 31 games for 2,571 minutes with the Kickers and started more games than any other rookie that season (28). Since then, he has made 182 appearances over seven seasons, posting over 13,000 minutes, in a D.C. United uniform before signing with the New England Revolution following the 2011 campaign.

In franchise history, 22 players have progressed from the Richmond Kickers into Major League Soccer. Established in 1993, the Kickers have consistently been one of the most successful professional soccer clubs in America. Over the past 19 seasons, Richmond has qualified for postseason play 17 times, and reached the title match in 2010 for the sixth time in the past nine campaigns, falling just short of the Championship title. Richmond's seven previous league Championship appearances (1995, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) include winning the Premier League title in 1995, a shoot-out loss to Seattle in the USL First Division final in 2005 and taking the USL Second Division crown twice against Charlotte in 2006 and 2009.