Richmond, VA – (Thursday, March 19, 2009) – In preparation for the 2009 campaign, the Richmond Kickers are slated to play local colleges and universities during the pre-season, beginning this Sunday, March 22nd, hosting Longwood University at 4:00 pm at Sports Backers Stadium.  The following week, the Kickers will face an intense lineup of three games in six days with matches scheduled against William & Mary on Wednesday, March 25th at 8:00 pm, Virginia Tech on Sunday, March 29th at 1:00 pm and Virginia Commonwealth University on Tuesday, March 31st at 7:00 pm.  All of the Kickers pre-season scrimmages are closed to the public.  Dates and times subject to change.

With training officially beginning on April 1st, the Kickers will open the 2009 season with a USL-1 exhibition match featuring the Carolina RailHawks on Saturday, April 4th at 7:00 pm at Sports Backers Stadium.  Regularly priced admission ($12/adults, $7/youth ages 3-17) will apply for the home opener exhibition and tickets are on sale now via RichmondKickers.com.  Order a season pass* prior to March 27th and purchase tickets to the home opener for just $5.00 each. 

As the regular season gears up, the Kickers will play host to the University of Richmond men’s soccer team on Tuesday, April 7th at 7:00 pm followed by a scrimmage against the University of Virginia on Friday, April 10th at 4:15 pm.  The regular season commences one week later when the Kickers host the Harrisburg City Islanders on Saturday, April 18th at 7:00 pm at the University of Richmond Stadium.

2009 Pre-Season Schedule

Please note: dates and times subject to change.

About the Richmond Kickers
The Richmond Kickers enter into their 17th season as a member of the United Soccer Leagues family since 1993.  Over the past 16 seasons, Richmond has qualified for post-season play 13 times, including six Championship appearances.  The Kickers reached the title match in 2007 for the fourth time in the past six seasons, narrowly missing their second consecutive league title after nine rounds of penalties.  Richmond’s five previous league Championship appearances (1995, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2006) 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 in 2006.  In 2008, the Kickers fell short of another Championship berth after falling 1-0 in overtime to the eventual champions, Cleveland City Stars. 

*Note: Adult Pro Passes, Youth Pro Passes, Family Passes, Coach Passes, Sponsor Passes and Flexi-Pack Tickets are not valid for this match.