Tuesday, July 3, 2012                        Richmond City Stadium
Richmond Kickers                                           1 (Heins 66’)
LA Blues                                                          0

RICHMOND, VA – (Tuesday, July 3, 2012) – Ryan Heins scored his first goal of the season for the Richmond Kickers as they broke down a defensive Los Angeles side to win 1-0.

The Kickers began on the front foot, mounting numerous attacks in the LA half throughout the opening stages, but the Blues were organized in defense and caught Richmond with the offside trap enough to stifle their momentum.

Matthew Delicâte nearly gave the Kickers an early lead in the 11th minute when he latched onto Christopher Agorsor’s through ball, but his shot was blocked on the way to an empty net. Michael Callahan was the first Richmond player to put a shot on target, but his long-range effort in the 14th minute deflected straight into Blues goalkeeper Amir Abedzadeh’s arms.

The Blues turned defense into offense with a quick counterattack in the 29th minute, but Henry Kalungi defended brilliantly to keep LA striker Matthew Fondy from a one-on-one with Ronnie Pascale. The Kickers surged back into the LA half and Heins forced a save from Abedzadeh. Agorsor tested the Blues goalkeeper again just before halftime, but the shot-stopper was equal to it again.

Both sides made multiple substitutions in the early stages of the second half, but it was the introduction of Edson Elcock in the 58th minute that proved crucial for the Kickers. Elcock’s pace was too much for the travel-weary LA defense, and it was the substitute’s surging run to the byline that led to the breakthrough goal.

Elcock gathered the ball along the sideline and raced past a couple Blues players on his way to the touchline, where he sent a low cross toward the penalty spot. Two Kickers players couldn’t connect with the cross, but it fell kindly for Heins who placed his shot in the upper corner of the net.

The Blues nearly capitalized on a mistake in the 77th minute when Jason Yeisley fouled Irving Garcia just outside the penalty area. Garcia took the shot himself, but it sailed just wide of the upright and Richmond were able to hold on to the slim lead and claim a 1-0 victory.

The Kickers will return to City Stadium next Friday, July 13th, as they host the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at 7 p.m. For more information, please visit www.RichmondKickers.com.

Box Score            First Half         Second Half               Final
Richmond                   0                        1                            1                       
LA                              0                        0                            0

Scoring Summary
66th minute: Ryan Heins (Edson Elcock) 
 
Starting Lineups
Kickers:  GK Ronnie Pascale, Henry Kalungi, Gerson Dos Santos (Luke Vercollone 58’), Sascha Görres, Ethan White, Michael Callahan, Ryan Heins (David Bulow 85’), Nozomi Hiroyama (Edson Elcock 58’), Matthew Delicâte, Jason Yeisley, Christopher Agorsor (Bobby Foglesong 85’)
 
LA:  GK Amir Abedzadeh, Cho Sunhyung (Cody Miller 46’), Eryls Garcia, EJ Jatta, Bryan Burke, Allan Russell (Irving Garcia 68’), George Davis, Ricky Waddell (Israel Sesay 13’), Carlos Borja, Bright Dike, Matt Fondy (Brian Farber 68’)
 
Shots                 Saves              Fouls                 Corners
Blues:       7        Blues:     3       Blues:     18       Blues:        1
Kickers:     7       Kickers:   3       Kickers:   12       Kickers:      5
 
Cautions:
60th minute: Allan Russell (LA)
79th minute: Cory Miller (LA)
 
Ejections:
None
 
Referee:                     Charles Carson
Assistant Referees:    Robert Velbis, Patrick Stephen
Fourth Official:           James Walker
Attendance:                1424
Weather:                    92°, clear
Stadium:                    Richmond City Stadium