1. Bulow! Bulow! Bulow!
In case you’ve been living under a rock and missed out on the big news, David Bulow was appointed as the Kickers head coach after Leigh Cowlishaw stepped down to concentrate on his role of director of soccer. Bulow is fourth all-time on the Kickers’ goal scoring list.
2. Bulow’s Debut
In his first game as head coach, David Bulow didn’t the get the result he wanted, losing 3-1 to North Carolina FC. Bulow still saw a lot of positives following the game, including a quick start with Heviel Cordovés scoring in the fourth minute. “These things take time,” said Bulow following the match. “But this is definitely a foundation. It’s the first step in a process.”
3. Third Time’s The Charm
The Richmond Kickers and Penn FC will square off for the third time this year on Monday, June 9. The Kickers won the first meeting 3-2 in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup on May 23, behind two goals from Luiz Fernando and the game-winner from Cordovés. Richmond will be looking to pick up its first win in USL play against Penn FC this year, falling 2-1 earlier on June 12.
4. The Game You Can’t Miss
Tickets are still available for the July 25 match against RCD Espanyol of the La Liga on www.richmondkickers.com. This marks the first time ever that a team from Spain’s top professional soccer league will be playing in Virginia.
5. New USL Division III League
Toronto FC II was just named the newest founding member of the USL Division III League that is set to kickoff in 2019. TFC II joins South Georgia Tormenta FC (Statesboro, Georgia), FC Tucson (Tucson, Arizona), Greenville Pro Soccer (Greenville, South Carolina) and Madison Pro Soccer (Madison, Wisconsin) as founding members ahead of the professional league’s debut season.
6. Louisville → Orlando
Louisville City FC head coach James O’Connor announced that he is stepping down to accept the head coaching position in the MLS with Orlando City SC. O’Connor led Louisville City FC to the 2017 USL Cup and a second place standing in the USL Eastern Conference so far this season. Current Louisville City players George Davis IV, Paolo DelPiccolo, and Luke Spencer are set to lead the club in the meantime following O’Connor’s departure.
7. No Wayne, No Gain
D.C. United and MLS fans got a spurt of energy when Wayne Rooney addressed the media for the first time as a member of D.C. United today. Manchester United’s all-time leading goal scoring with 253 goals will don the No. 9 jersey for the Black and Red.
8. Messi and Ronaldo Ousted
Largely considered the two best soccer players in the world, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were both eliminated from the World Cup Round of 16 stage on the same day. Messi and Argentina lost 4-3 to France and Ronaldo and Portugal fell 2-1 to Uruguay.
9. Goal of the Tournament?
Benjamin Pavard’s goal to level the score against Argentina had fans wondering if it was the best goal of the World Cup so far. Take a look for yourself and you can decide.
10. Colossal Upset
Host nation Russia pulled off a shocking upset on Sunday when they defeated Spain 4-3 in penalties. Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev played the role of hero when he saved Iago Aspas’ penalty with his foot to send Russia marching to the quarterfinals.
11. Internet Remains Unbeaten
Much has been made of Neymar’s flopping and flailing so far in the 2018 World Cup. Fans had a little fun with that on the Internet and it begs the question, why is Twitter still free?
