RICHMOND, VA – (Thursday, August 5, 2010) – The Richmond Kickers (8-5-5, 29 points) take to the road this weekend to face the Harrisburg City Islanders (4-8-6, 18 points) on Saturday, August 7th at the Skyline Sports Complex at 7:00 p.m. The Kickers return to City Stadium one week later to conclude regular season action against Maryland on Saturday, August 14th.
With just 10 points separating the top three teams, a battle in the standings continues as the league enters the final two weeks of the regular season. The Kickers clinched a berth to the postseason last week with a 2-0 win over the Islanders in Richmond. Kickers forward Edson Elcock struck early to give the Kickers the edge in the 11th minute before Gerson dos Santos doubled the score in the second half.
Meanwhile, fifth place Harrisburg finds itself out of playoff contention following a grueling three-games-in-eight-days stretch. Fighting for the third and final playoff spot, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg battled to a 1-1 draw Wednesday night, leaving Harrisburg with too much ground to cover in the standings and too little time with just two games remaining on the schedule. The stalemate leaves Pittsburgh (6-5-7, 25 points) and Charlotte (5-7-6, 21 points) wrestling for the lingering postseason berth with six possible points on the line.
Over the past four seasons, the Kickers hold an 8-2-4 record over the City Islanders. The heated rivalry continues as Richmond has not forgotten the 2007 USL-2 Championship match when Harrisburg stripped the defending champions of the title after nine rounds of heart-wrenching penalty kicks. The two clubs meet for the fourth and final time this season after opening the 2010 campaign with a 2-2 stalemate in Richmond before the Kickers earned a 1-0 result in Harrisburg in June.
Playoff Structure
The top three teams advance to the postseason with the regular season champion playing host to the league championship on August 28th. The second seed will host the third seed on August 21st to determine the other finalist for the championship game the following weekend.
USL-2 Team of the Week
Richmond placed four players on this week’s USL-2 Team of the Week, following their 2-0 win against Harrisburg. Defender Dave Hertel earned the honors for the first time after leading the back line to their sixth clean sheet of the season. Gerson dos Santos notched his second goal of the 2010 campaign to seal the victory while workhorse Luke Vercollone anchored the midfield. Fan favorite Mike Burke was honored for the sixth time this season for sparking the offense and creating dangerous chances throughout the night.
Richmond Kickers Third Annual FAMILY FEST
The Richmond Kickers return to City Stadium on Saturday, August 14th to host the third annual FAMILY FEST, presented by Union First Market Bank, beginning at 4:00 p.m. The festival will feature live music, food, arts and crafts, inflatables, video games, face-painting, a petting zoo, train rides and the largest inflatable obstacle course in Central Virginia, presented by Bounce 2 the Moon. The Richmond Kickers pro soccer game highlights the event as the Kickers host the Real Maryland Monarchs at 7:00 p.m. Bring the whole family before 6:00 pm and purchase a $10.00 ticket that allows admission for the whole group. Learn more at RichmondKickers.com.
