Richmond, VA – In their quest for the James River Cup, the Richmond Kickers defeated the Virginia Beach Mariners, 3-1, during the Kickers first-ever “School Day.”  Richmond’s rookie midfielder and recent University of North Carolina-Pembroke graduate Sascha Görres tallied the first goal of the day, only to have the score leveled by a Virginia Beach penalty kick taken by former U-18 England International Darren Caskey.  The 1-1 draw was broken early in the second half when a second Richmond rookie, Robert Ssejjemba recorded the game-winner.  The victory was clinched four minutes later when Kickers forward Matthew Delicâte scored his fifth goal of the season.

 

With the James River Cup title on the line (the champion will be determined this Friday when the Kickers travel to Virginia Beach), both teams began today’s match with several threatening scoring attempts.  Richmond defender Peter Luzak set the tone in the 2nd minute with a dangerously close header from inside the box that sailed just over the crossbar.  After Virginia Beach’s Jeff Bilyk was forced to leave the field due to injury, defender Russell Hutchison came into the game and sent a hazardous blast on goal but Delicâte was able to clear the ball.  In the 27th minute, Richmond broke the ice when Görres won a long ball from Richmond’s captain Richie Williams on the right wing and was able to fake out his defender, attack along the end line towards the goal and beat Mariners goalkeeper Matt Nelson on his near post for his first professional goal and the first goal of the day.  Seven minutes later, midfielder Darren Caskey sent a long ball over the Kickers defense to Jamaican newcomer Teafore Bennett.  Bennett and Kickers defender Luzak battled for the ball in the box but the center referee awarded a penalty kick after it was deemed that Luzak held the forward on the play.  Caskey took the penalty shot and buried the ball into the back of the net to level the score, 1-1.    Later, during first half stoppage time, a free kick by Kickers defender Kevin Knight at the 38 yard line rebounded off Mariners defenders and found Görres just inside the box.  His right-footed blast on goal sailed just over the crossbar.

 

 The first eight minutes of the second half resulted in two consecutive Richmond goals.  Four minutes after the restart, Delicâte flicked a header onto a full-speed run by Ssejjemba, who was able to split two Mariners defenders, take control of the bouncing ball 16 yards out and slip the ball into the far corner past the on-rushing goalkeeper for the Kickers game-winner and his first professional goal.  Four minutes later, Richmond midfielder Mike Burke attacked down the right flank and found an overlapping teammate in defender Tony Williams who was able to beat the defender wide and get a low cross in the box that found Delicâte alone at the penalty spot.  Delicâte redirected the cross into the far lower corner of the net for the final goal of the day, his fifth of the season.  Later, in the 70th minute, Virginia Beach substitute midfielder Kevon Harris created a scare for the Kickers with two dangerous attempts that required Pascale to make heroic post-to-post saves.  Harris took a shot on the ground, near the far post, forcing Pascale to dive to the left to make the save and after collecting his own rebound, he chipped a pass to Mariners midfielder Jakob Fenger who took a second shot on goal but Pascale was able to make another diving save, this time to the right. 

 

The Kickers finished the game with a final two dangerous chances when in the 83rd minute, a free kick was awarded from about 23 yards out and Tim Brown sent a low blast toward the right post. Goalkeeper Matt Nelson was able to make the stretch to get a hand on the ball, sending it wide for the save.  Just before the whistle was blown, Kickers midfielder Chris Carrieri battled Virginia Beach defenders and sent a low shot on goal, only to have it ricochet off the left post.
 
Box Score           First Half     Second Half     Final
Virginia Beach         1                      0                  1
Richmond                 1                      2                  3

 

Scoring Summary
27th minute – Richmond: Sascha Görres (Richie Williams)
34th minute – Virginia Beach: Darren Caskey (Penalty)
49th minute – Richmond: Robert Ssejjemba (Matthew Delicâte)
53rd minute – Richmond: Matthew Delicâte (Tony Williams)
 
Lineups
 Kickers: GK Ronnie Pascale, Kevin Knight, Peter Luzak, Tony Williams, Chris Fox, Richie Williams (Kofi Nti – 81st minute), Tim Brown, Matthew Delicâte (Matt Bobo – 81st minute), Michael Burke (Chris Carrieri – 61st minute), Sascha Görres (Matt O’Toole 87th minute), Robert Ssejjemba (McColm Cephas – 61st minute)
 
 Mariners: GK Matt Nelson, Steve Danbusky, Joe Morelli, Justin Thompson, Tim O’Neill (Hamisi Amani-Dove – 57th minute), Jeff Bilyk (Russell Hutchison – 19th minute (Kevon Harris -61st minute), Darren Caskey, Steve Shak, Jakob Fenger (Warren Ukah – 77th minute), Teafore Bennett, David Castellanos (Carlos Garcia – 56th minute)

 

 

Cautions:
26th minute: Justin Thompson (Virginia Beach)
31st minute: Mike Burke (Richmond)
72nd minute: Tim Brown (Richmond)

 

Ejections:
None.

Referee:   Saeed Mohamed
Assistant Referees:  George Vergara, Scott Johnson
Fourth Official:   Brian Starling
Attendance:   1,611
Weather:   Sunny, clear, 86˚
First Market Bank Man of the Match: Sascha Gorres

 

The Richmond Kickers will return to the University of Richmond Stadium on Saturday, May 21st to take on the Minnesota Thunder at 7:00 p.m.  The first 500 fans through the gate will receive a special gift courtesy of RISE.