RICHMOND, VA - (Friday, February 27, 2009) – Richmond Kickers Indoor of the Premier Arena Soccer League concluded the 2008-09 season Friday night, suffering a 5-3 loss to the Winchester Impact.  After taking the regular season title with a 7-1-0 record, Kickers Indoor recorded their first loss at SCOR in front of a sellout crowd.  The Winchester Impact ended the Kickers run, claiming the Mid-Atlantic Championship title to conclude their sophomore PASL season.

The Kickers snapped their home unbeaten streak as they battled the Impact to a close 5-3 scoreline.  The Impact took an early lead when they were on the fortunate side of an own goal seven minutes in and held the Kickers scoreless during the first quarter.  The second quarter opened with another Winchester goal, registered by Patrick Bonacarda but Kickers forward Greg Simmonds cut the deficit to put the home team on the scoreboard three minutes later.  Midfielders Mike Koper and Morgan Collis closed out the half with the third and fourth tallies for the Impact while goalkeeper Chris Peter stopped a relentless flurry of shots by Kickers midfielder Luke Vercollone.  As Winchester shored up their defense during the fourth quarter, the Kickers 25 second-half shots were denied by Peter.  A barrage of blue cards ensued with just 10 minutes remaining in regulation, culminating when Simmonds was ejected from the game.  Soon after, Kickers’ midfielder Andy McIntosh retaliated, unleashing a powerful strike deep on the left side with less than two minutes to spare.  With nine seconds on the clock, the Kickers earned a free kick but McIntosh’s efforts to convert were in vain as the final whistle blew.    

The Richmond Kickers Indoor season is over but the Kickers professional team is just getting started.  The Kickers will open the 2009 USL Second Division season with an exhibition match featuring USL First Division side Carolina RailHawks on Saturday, April 4th at 7:00 pm at Sports Backers Stadium.  Regularly priced admission ($12/adults, $7/youth ages 3-17) will apply for the home opener exhibition and tickets are on sale now via RichmondKickers.com.  Order a season pass prior to March 27th and purchase tickets to the home opener for just $5.00 each.