GAME SUMMARY

Tuesday, June 3, 2008     Restart Field, Charlotte Christian
Charlotte Eagles          2 (Herrera 10’, 56’)
Richmond Kickers      1 (Smith 83’)
 
CHARLOTTE, NC – The Richmond Kickers suffered a 2-1 loss to the Charlotte Eagles on the road tonight.  Charlotte forward Jorge Herrera contributed with a pair of goals in favor of the home team, converting a penalty and adding a second tally on either side of the half.  The Kickers rallied back from the two goal deficit in the 83rd minute when forward Freddie Smith found the back of the net, minutes after entering the match.  Despite offensive pressure in the final minutes, the Kickers could not find the equalizer, bringing home their second loss to the Eagles this season.

Both teams strived to establish a rhythm out of the gate, with the Eagles finding the scoreboard in the 10th minute.  Kickers defender Trevor McEachron challenged Eagles forward Worteh Sampson, attempting to win the ball inside the box.  The questionable tackle resulted in the penalty kick ruled in favor of offensive side.  Herrera lined up the shot, and played the ball to the right, lower corner, just inside the post, leaving Kickers goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale with little chance to stop the momentum.  

The second half restart found the Kickers still trailing by a one goal margin until the 56th minute.  Former Kicker Robert Ssejjemba entered the game two minutes before, making an immediate impact by connecting with Herrera again.  The forward knocked home his second tally of the night, doubling Charlotte’s lead.
 
Later, the Eagles looked dangerous again on a Ssejjemba cross, this time linking up with forward Joseph Kabwe.  Kabwe attempted to slip the ball along the goal line, looking for Herrera to tap in a hat trick but luckily for Richmond, he could not get there in time.

The Kickers rallied back as the clocked ticked down, adding a goal and preventing the shutout in the 83rd minute.  Defender Adam Chavez served the ball into the box, finding forward Pat Viray 1v1 with goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.  Viray attempted to strike but the ball slipped through to an unmarked Freddie Smith, inches from the goal line.  The forward, who entered the game just minutes earlier, easily tapped the ball into the wide open net.

With seven minutes until time, the Kickers applied pressure with several strong offensive chances.  First, Richmond defender Kelvin Jones sent a header across the face of the goal but was cut short by Trapp.  Not long after, midfielder Sascha Görres slipped a ball through the defense, connecting with Ian Bennett but a Charlotte defender blocked his chance, leading to one of the Kickers’ five corners of the night.  

Following tonight’s match, the Kickers travel to Harrisburg for a rematch against the defending USL-2 Champion City Islanders on Friday, June 6th before returning home to open the 2008 edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.  The Kickers are slated to face the PDL side Fredericksburg Gunners on Tuesday, June 10th at 8:00 pm at Sports Backers Stadium.   Richmond returns to regular season action the following weekend, hosting the Bermuda Hogges on Saturday, June 14th at 7:00 pm at the University of Richmond Stadium

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

Scoring Summary
10th minute: Charlotte – Jorge Herrera (Penalty)
56th minute: Charlotte – Jorge Herrera (Robert Ssejjemba)
83rd minute: Richmond – Freddie Smith (Pat Viray)

Lineups
Eagles: GK Kevin Trapp, Josh Rife, Alex Woods (Ben Johnson – 70’), Steve Shak, Brady Bryant, Taurai Daka (Chris Klotz – 70’), Darren Toby (Jeff Bilyk – 45’), Jonah Long, Joseph Kabwe, Worteh Sampson (Robert Ssejjemba – 54’), Jorge Herrera
Kickers: GK Ronnie Pascale, Evan Harding (Adrian Bumbut – 30’), Trevor McEachron, Kelvin Jones, Anthony Catalano, Sascha Gorres, Luke Vercollone (Pat Viray – 68’), Eliot Paschalis, Stanley Nyazamba (Freddie Smith – 77’), Mike Burke (Ian Bennet – 60’), David Bulow (Adam Chavez – 77’)

Shots              Saves               Fouls               Corners
Kickers:  8      Kickers:  3       Kickers:  9       Kickers:  5
Eagles:  13     Eagles:  4       Eagles:  11     Eagles:  2

Cautions:
89th minute: Steve Shak (Charlotte)

Ejections:
None.

Referee:    Mark Kadlecki 
Assistant Referees:   Daniel Fitzgerald, Chris Spivey
Fourth Official:    Luis Nieto
Attendance:    1,014
Weather:    Cloudy, 85˚