RICHMOND KICKERS

'Richmond Kickers' are an American soccer team, founded in 1993. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues Second Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, which they joined in 2006 having spent the majority of their history playing at the second level in the USISL, A-League, and USL First Division. They currently play their home games at the University of Richmond Stadium in the city of Richmond, Virginia. The team's colors are red and white. The Kickers have two fan clubs, known as the ''Corner Kicks'' and the ''Side Kicks''.

Contents

Current Squad

History

Titles and Accomplishments

Notable former players

Head coaches

Year-by-year

James River Cup

Winners

History vs. Major League Soccer

International Competition

Average Attendance

Farm Teams

References

External links

Current Squad

''As of June 23, 2007''

History

The Kickers were founded in 1993, playing their first season in the USISL, playing in the league's amateur division. 1995 may have been the team's most successful year - the team not only won the USISL Premier League after a 15-3 regular season, they became the most recent team to win the U.S. Open Cup. In September 2005, Rob Ukrop's #6 jersey was retired. He was a well-liked soccer player on and off of the field, and particularly notable since he is the son of the influential Ukrop's grocery store CEO Robert "Bobby" Ukrop. In October 2005, the Kickers announced they would move down to the USL Second Division for the 2006 season, proclaiming it a cost-saving measure to save the franchise. In the 2007 U.S. Open Cup, the Kickers defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS 1-0 in the third round of competition.^[1]

Titles and Accomplishments

★ 1995 USISL Premier League Champions

★ 1995 U.S. Open Cup Champions

★ 1996 USISL Select League Runner-up

★ 2001 USL Commissioners’ Cup

★ 2002 USL First Division Runner-up

★ 2005 USL First Division Runner-up

★ 2006 USL Second Division Regular Season Champions

★ 2006 USL Second Division Champions

Notable former players

★ Tim Brown

★ Brian Carroll

★ Jeff Causey

★ Ben Crawley

★ Dwayne De Rosario

★ Brian Kamler

★ Onandi Lowe

★ Jason Russell

★ Bryan Namoff

★ Clyde Simms

★ David Testo

★ Rob Ukrop

★ Richie Williams

★ Joey Worthen

Head coaches

★ Bobby Lennon (1993)

★ John Kerr, Sr. (1994)

★ Dennis Viollet (1995-1996)

★ Frank Kohlenstein (1997)

★ Colin Clarke (1998-1999)

★ Leigh Cowlishaw (2000-)

Year-by-year

Year	Division	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs	U.S. Open Cup
1993	''N/A''	USISL	4th, Atlantic Division	Divisional Semifinals	''Did Not Enter''
1994	3	USISL	9th, Atlantic Division	''Did Not Qualify''	''Did Not Enter''
1994	''N/A''	USISL Indoor	2nd, Northern Division	''Did Not Qualify''	''Did Not Enter''
1995	''N/A''	USISL Premier League	2nd, Eastern Division	Champions	Champions
1996	3	USISL Select League	2nd, North Atlantic Division	Runner-up	''Did Not Qualify''
1997	2	USISL A-League	3rd, Atlantic Division	Division Semifinals	Third Round
1998	2	USISL A-League	1st, Atlantic Division	Conference Semifinals	''Did Not Qualify''
1999	2	USL A-League	2nd, Atlantic Division	Second Round	''Did Not Qualify''
2000	2	USL A-League	2nd, Atlantic Division	Conference Semifinals	Third round
2001	2	USL A-League	1st, Central Conference	Quarterfinals	Quarterfinals
2002	2	USL A-League	2nd, Southeast Division	Runner-up	Third Round
2003	2	USL A-League	3rd, Southeast Division	''Did Not Qualify''	''Did Not Qualify''
2004	2	USL A-League	2nd, Eastern Conference	Quarterfinals	Quarterfinals
2005	2	USL First Division	6th	Runner-up	Fourth Round
2006	3	USL Second Division	1st	Champions	Second Round
2007	3	USL Second Division	1st	Runner-Up	Quarterfinals

James River Cup

The James River Cup was an annual competition held between the Richmond Kickers and the Virginia Beach Mariners (formerly Hampton Roads Mariners) in which the team with the most points at the conclusion of all scheduled matches between the two teams. The Cup was held every year since 1996 with the exception of 1997 and 2001 when Virginia Beach did not field a team. In 2007, the Virginia Beach team was disbanded. The future of the James River Cup at this point is unknown, although currently it is on hiatus.

Winners

★ 1996: Hampton Roads Mariners

★ 1997: Not Held

★ 1998: Richmond Kickers

★ 1999: Richmond Kickers

★ 2000: Richmond Kickers

★ 2001: Not Held

★ 2002: Richmond Kickers

★ 2003: Richmond Kickers

★ 2004: Richmond Kickers

★ 2005: Richmond Kickers

★ 2006: Virginia Beach Mariners

★ 2007: Not Held

History vs. Major League Soccer

★ 1997

★
★ 3/15/97 – Exhibition – Richmond Kickers 3 vs. Columbus Crew 1 (UR Stadium)

★
★ 6/17/97 – Exhibition – D.C. United 4 vs. Richmond Kickers 2 (UR Stadium)

★
★ 7/23/97 – U.S. Open Cup (3rd Rd) – MetroStars 3 vs. Richmond Kickers 0 (UR Stadium)

★ 2000

★
★ 6/14/00 – U.S. Open Cup (2nd Rd) – Richmond Kickers 3 vs. Colorado Rapids 0 (UR Stadium)

★
★ 7/25/00 – U.S. Open Cup (3rd Rd) – San Jose Earthquakes 2 vs. Richmond Kickers 0 (Spartan Stadium)

★
★

★ 2001

★
★ 4/1/01 – Exhibition – Richmond Kickers 0 vs. Dallas Burn 0 (UR Stadium)

★
★ 7/24/01 – U.S. Open Cup (4th Rd) – D.C. United 2 vs. Richmond Kickers 1 (RFK Stadium)

★ 2002

★
★ 4/13/02 – Exhibition – Richmond Kickers 0 vs. D.C. United 1 (UR Stadium)

★
★ 7/17/02 – U.S. Open Cup (3rd Rd) – Columbus Crew 3 vs. Richmond Kickers 0 (Crew Stadium)

★ 2003

★
★ 4/5/03 – Exhibition – Richmond Kickers 1 vs. D.C. United 1 (UR Stadium)

★ 2004

★
★ 7/21/04 – U.S. Open Cup (4th Rd) – Richmond Kickers 2 vs. D.C. United 1 (UR Stadium)

★
★ 8/4/04 – U.S. Open Cup (Quarterfinals) – Chicago Fire 1 vs. Richmond Kickers 0 (UR Stadium)

★ 2005

★
★ 8/3/05 – U.S. Open Cup (4th Rd) – Richmond Kickers 1 vs. D.C. United 3 (UR Stadium)

★ 2007

★
★ 7/10/07 - U.S. Open Cup (3rd Rd) - Richmond Kickers 1 vs Los Angeles Galaxy 0 (UR Stadium)

International Competition

★ 2004

★
★ 7/16/04 – Exhibition – Richmond Kickers 1 vs. Nottingham Forest F.C. 1 (UR Stadium)

Average Attendance

★ 1993: 2,433

★ 1994: 985

★ 1995: 1,109

★ 1996: 1,255

★ 1997: 1,925

★ 1998: 2,527

★ 1999: 2,488

★ 2000: 2,192

★ 2001: 2,436

★ 2002: 2,431

★ 2003: 2,273

★ 2004: 2,333

★ 2005: 2,754

★ 2006:

Farm Teams

The Kickers currently have two farm teams, Richmond Kickers Future and ''Richmond Kickers Destiny'', the Future play in the Premier Development League and the Destiny play in the W-League.

References

1. Kickers oust LA Galaxy

External links

★ Richmond Kickers Official Website

★ Richmond Times Dispatch: Richmond Kickers

★ Mid-Atlantic Soccer Report