RICHMOND, VA - (Wednesday, July 16, 2008) – The Richmond Kickers return to the University of Richmond Stadium to host the Cleveland City Stars this Saturday, July 16th at 7:00 pm. The Kickers and the City Stars currently hold a second-place tie in the league standings with Saturday’s match-up determining the outright place holder. Fans are encouraged to purchase pet-friendly, VIP tickets in advance and bring their canine friends on Saturday. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the SPCA and the first 500 fans through the gate will receive a pet bowl, courtesy of Petco.
The Kickers meet the City Stars for the second and final time this season and hold a 1-0-3 record against the sophomore club. The two teams last played in Cleveland on June 28th in the midst of Richmond’s mid-season road stand, where they battled to a scoreless draw. Clashing for three stalemates against the City Stars over the past two seasons, the Kickers have only defeated Cleveland during Open Cup play. Last season’s fixtures resulted in two identical 1-1 draws, including a home tie during which Kickers midfielder Sascha Görres gave the home side an early lead with a 16th minute goal, which was followed closely by a Cleveland equalizer at the 28th minute mark. Earlier that season, the two teams battled to a deadlock by the same scoreline in Cleveland on July 20th. Again, the home team took the lead, this time with the Kickers having to level the score on a last-minute tally. The USL-2 rivals also met during last year’s US Open Cup when the Kickers ousted the City Stars in the Second Round by a 2-1 score, boosting Richmond to the Third Round and their eventual home win over the LA Galaxy (MLS).
The Kickers (9-4-2) and the City Stars (8-2-5), each with 29 points are tied for second place in the USL-2 standings and reside five points behind league-leading Charlotte. Richmond currently holds the tiebreaker, outnumbering the City Stars in wins. Six teams qualify for postseason play with the top two teams at the end of the regular season receiving a bye to the semifinals and a guaranteed home game. Teams seeded three through six will play a single-game elimination round midweek. The Semifinal winners advance to the USL-2 Championship match on Saturday, August 23rd.
Last weekend, the Richmond Kickers topped the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 3-1 while the City Stars edged Crystal Palace Baltimore 1-0. Görres netted the first goal for the Kickers, connecting on a 25 yard shot into the upper 90. After the Hounds leveled the score to start the second half, midfielder Mike Burke converted a game-winning penalty kick while Stanley Nyazamba sealed the victory with a late tally. Meanwhile, the Cleveland/Baltimore match seemed destined to end scoreless until forward Sallieu Bundu put the City Stars on the board, seven minutes from time.
Players to Watch
Kickers: Captain Mike Burke (#19) notched his third goal of the season last week when he converted a penalty kick against the Riverhounds to steal back the advantage. The eight-year veteran resides in third place on the team with 11 points overall and earned USL-2 Team of the Week honors for the second time this season. Sascha Görres (#23), who splits time between the midfield and back line, fired a rocket from 25 yards out against Pittsburgh to give the Kickers an early lead. Also named to this week’s Team of the Week for his offensive efforts as a defender, the native of Flensburg, Germany leads the team in minutes played with 1,501 overall in 17 games. Forward David Bulow (#10) leads the team with seven goals and four assists for 18 points, courtesy of a hat trick and a pair of assists notched over Bermuda two weeks ago. He currently holds third place in the league with 15 points during the regular season. The elusive Fabian Dawkins (#17) could make his USL-2 debut this weekend after finally arriving from Jamaica this week. Dawkins brings USL-1 experience to Richmond, having spent the 2007 season with the Montreal Impact after finishing second in the league in 2005 with 15 goals and 34 points with the Atlanta Silverbacks.
City Stars: Forward Sallieu Bundu (#11) tallied his sixth goal of the season against Crystal Palace Baltimore and leads the team with 13 points overall. His 82nd minute game winner earned Team of the Week honors alongside defender Musa Otieno (#2) who led the defensive unit to their eighth shutout on the season. Last season’s Defender of the Year, Mark Schulte (#13) has added two goals and an assist on the season. Midfielder Floyd Franks (#23) carried the City Stars to this year’s US Open Cup quarterfinals after notching a pair of overtime goals against the Minnesota Thunder (USL-1) in June and has since added a goal and an assist during the regular season. Goalkeeper Eric Reed (#00) recently posted his fifth shutout of the 2008 campaign and leads the league with a goals against average of 0.625 while allowing just five goals in eight games played.
