Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer team based in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the USL Second Division (USL-2), the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at the University of Richmond Stadium, where they have played since 2003. The team's colors are red and white. Their current head coach is Englishman Leigh Cowlishaw. The Kickers currently have two developmental teams - Richmond Kickers Future and Richmond Kickers Destiny. Future play in the men's USL Premier Development League, while the Destiny play in the women's USL W-League.

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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. ^[1] 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. ^[2]

The Kickers won their First Round match of the 2008 U.S. Open Cup, beating the Fredericksburg Gunners of the PDL with a final scoreline of 3-0. ^[3] The Kickers won their second round game over the Western Mass Pioneers 2-1 before being eliminated from the Cup in the third round by MLS side (and defending USOC champion) New England Revolution 3-0.

Players

Current roster

as at June 20, 2009

No. Position Player

No. Position Player

Notable former players

Tim Brown Brian Carroll Jeff Causey Ben Crawley Dwayne De Rosario Marco Ferruzzi William Hesmer Brian Kamler Onandi Lowe Bryan Namoff

Stanley Nyazamba Jason Russell Clyde Simms David Testo Rob Ukrop Paul Williams Richie Williams Joey Worthen

• See also: All-time Richmond Kickers roster

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	4	USISL Premier League	2nd, Eastern Division	Champions	Champions
1996	3	USISL Select League	2nd, North Atlantic Division	Final	Did Not Qualify
1997	2	USISL A-League	3rd, Atlantic Division	Division Semifinals	3rd 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	3rd round
2001	2	USL A-League	1st, Central Conference	Quarterfinals	Quarterfinals
2002	2	USL A-League	2nd, Southeast Division	Final	3rd 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	Final	4th Round
2006	3	USL Second Division	1st	Champions	2nd Round
2007	3	USL Second Division	1st	Final	Quarterfinals
2008	3	USL Second Division	2nd	Semifinals	3rd Round
2009	3	USL Second Division	2nd	Champions	1st Round

Honors

• USL Second Division Champions 2009
• USL Second Division Regular Season Champions 2007
• USL Second Division Champions 2006
• USL Second Division Regular Season Champions 2006
• USL A-League Regular Season Champions 2001
• USL A-League Regular Season Champions 1998
• USISL Premier League Champions 1995
• US Open Cup Champions 1995

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.

For the 2008 season, the James River Cup was contested between the Kickers' organization and the Hampton Roads Piranhas organization. The cup went to the organization that had the most points in games between their PDL and W-League teams. The series ended up tied 2-2-1, with the Piranhas winning the Cup on goal difference.

Winners

• 2008: Hampton Roads Piranhas
• 2007: Not Held
• 2006: Virginia Beach Mariners
• 2005: Richmond Kickers
• 2004: Richmond Kickers
• 2003: Richmond Kickers
• 2002: Richmond Kickers
• 2001: Not Held
• 2000: Richmond Kickers
• 1999: Richmond Kickers
• 1998: Richmond Kickers
• 1997: Not Held
• 1996: Hampton Roads Mariners

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)
• 2008
• *3/22/08 - Exhibition - Richmond Kickers 3 vs. D.C. United 0 (UR Stadium)

International Competition

• 2004
• *7/16/04 – Exhibition – Richmond Kickers 1 vs. Nottingham Forest 1 (UR Stadium)

Head coaches

• Bobby Lennon 1993
• John Kerr, Sr. 1994
• Dennis Viollet 1995-96
• Frank Kohlenstein 1997
• Colin Clarke 1998-99
• Leigh Cowlishaw 2000-date

Stadia

• University of Richmond Stadium, Richmond, Virginia 2003-date

Average Attendance

• 2008: 2,519
• 2007: 2,594
• 2006: 2,341
• 2005: 2,754
• 2004: 2,333
• 2003: 2,273
• 2002: 2,431
• 2001: 2,436
• 2000: 2,192
• 1999: 2,488
• 1998: 2,527
• 1997: 1,925
• 1996: 1,255
• 1995: 1,109
• 1994: 985
• 1993: 2,433

References

1. Kickers realign into USL2
2. Kickers oust LA Galaxy
3. Kickers disarm Gunners in 3-0 win