Features

The Richmond Kickers U18 Girls Elite were impressive this past weekend at the prestigious 2013 San Diego Surf Cup.  Playing in the Top Rated 16-team Women’s U18 Super Group, the three opponents in the Kickers bracket were all ECNL teams. 

The girls opened with a 1-1 draw against Santa Rosa from Northern California.  Later that afternoon, the Kickers matched up with another Northern California team, the Mustang Fury, and dispatched them 3-1 to give the girls a chance to move into the knockout round.  Sunday morning, the Kickers had their destiny in their hands in a fixture with Real So Cal from Southern California. In a hard fought and well-played possession game, the Kickers won their group with a 2-1 victory, punching their ticket to the knockout phase as bracket winner.

Paired with the 2012 tournament runner up, So Cal Blues Draluck, the Kickers got off to a solid start with possession and a few quality chances early on but were unable to convert. Midway through the opening half, the Blues solved the Kickers backline and opened the scoring with a composed finish.  A disputed second goal towards the end of the half left the Kickers searching for answers, and led to a 2-0 half time deficit.  The Kickers showed great resilience, opening the second half with two quality chances but were unable to convert.  Despite good possession and attacking flow, the Kickers were unable to get on the score sheet, while conceding a late goal as they threw additional numbers into the attack. 

It was a wonderful performance by the girls this past weekend on the West Coast.  The trip should be a good barometer as they prepare for the fall season, demonstrating a beautiful feel for the game, and ability to compete in any stage in the country. Highlights included winning their bracket and countless praise from college coaches, opposing teams and other parents impressed with the girls commitment to possession soccer and free flowing attacking soccer.

Congratulations girls on a job well done.  We are proud of you for representing the Richmond Kickers soccer family and the Richmond Soccer Community so well.  Safe travels home.  Go Kickers!

The Richmond Kickers fielded 26 teams in the 2013 Sun Cup, finishing with five Champions and two Finalists. 

U10 Coed Navy – Champion – Kickers U10 Honey Badgers – Coach Mike Nojaim
U10 Girls Navy – Champion – Kickers Lightning – Coach Danny Ellis
U12 Coed Navy – Champion – Kickers Barcelona United – Coach Ron Crouch (pictured)
U12 Coed Navy – Finalist – Kickers U12 Honey Badgers – Coach Chuck Johnson
U12 Coed Sky – Finalist – Kickers RAMS – Coach Robert Giunti
Under 14 Coed Sky – Champion – Kickers Rowdies – Coach Neal Pate
HS Girls Navy – Champion – Kickers Cowgirls United – Coach Steve Bayliss

Go Kickers!

Congratulations to Kickers players who claimed the Championship title at the Region I OPD Tournament last weekend.  Kickers players Katie Cousins, Payton Cook and Haley Kent competed with the ’96 team, while Tori Jennings, Susanna Friedrichs and Seeley Yoo represented the Kickers on the ’98 team. 

Girl Power!

Congratulations to Richmond Kickers U18 Girls Elite players Tessa Broadwater and Lindsay Wilkins who were named Dominion District Player of the Year and Capital District Player of the Year, respectively. 

Broadwater and Wilkins join Kickers players Madi Conyers, Toryn Broadwater, Allison Bortell, Emily Drummond, Lizzy Patrick and Blayne Fink on the All-Central Region Girls First Team. 

Kickers players Kelly Kampfmueller, Jessica Scruggs, Kari Johnston and Dallas Smith were named to the All-Central Region Second Team while Gina D’Orazio, Miranda Carlson, Alyson Brown, Jayden Metzger and Brittany Borum earned All-Dominion District First or Second Team honors. 

Kickers Girl Power!

The Richmond Kickers U13 Boys played their VCCL rival Beach FC in their VYSA State Cup Semifinal match.  The Kickers had once again a stellar performance and won 5-1, courtesy of goals from Vahdet Maletic, Austin Bancroft, Cameron Smith and Alex Levengood to advance to the Finals where they met a very PWSI strong side. 

After going up 1-0 with a goal from Ryan Hall, the Kickers conceded two goals to go into halftime 2-1 down.  Early in the second half, PWSI went up on 3-1 on a free kick from distance.  Late in the game the Kickers pulled a goal back with a great diving header from Austin Bancroft, leading to a nail-biting final five minutes but the Kickers fell 3-2. 

The Kickers U14 Girls Elite lost 2-1 to Braddock Road (BRYC) in their semifinal match.  It was extremely well played game from the girls but just came up short in the end.  
 
“Both teams performed incredibly in their State Cup matches this weekend,” commented Mike Burke, Richmond Kickers U13 Boys Elite and U14 Girls Elite Head Coach.  “I couldn’t be any prouder of both teams.  They competed from beginning to end of every game with both teams showcasing great soccer.” 

Meanwhile, the Richmond Kickers U13 Girls Elite completed their spring season with a great run to the VYSA State Cup Championship game where they were defeated by the #1 ranked team in the country, Annandale BCG Premier. In a hard fought match, the Kickers lost 2-0.

The U13 Girls Elite State Cup included victories over a talented AC Cugini team from Northern Virginia in penalty kicks in the opening round, a 3-1 win against local rival the Richmond Strikers, a tightly contested 2-1 game against PWSI, and a 5-2 semifinal victory over Vienna, a very talented squad ranked #2 in Virginia. It was a great season for the girls who showcased their possession style soccer mixed with dynamic attacking play.

Congratulations!

Undefeated and with a clean sheet through the group stages at last weekend’s St. Patrick’s Day tournament, the Richmond Kickers U12 Girls North Gold Pride defeated Alliance SC 1-0, Roanoke Valley Premier 4-0 and Gunston Premier 3-0, respectively. 

Leading the standings in the Premier Division, the U12 Girls conceded their only goal of the tournament and dropped the title match 0-1 to Dynamo Navy in the freezing rain.

The Richmond Kickers U14 Girls Elite topped their group in the Superior Bracket at last weekend’s Jefferson Cup tournament after defeating Beadling Bulldogs, Match Fit Chelsea Surge and HMMS Eagle FC 98 United during the group stage.  Despite a depleted roster due to injuries, the U14 Girls fought through adversity with commanding individual performances to qualify for the Championship match where they conceded their only loss of the weekend to a very strong PWSI team.

The U13 Girls Elite team had a strong showing this weekend.  After opening Saturday with a 1-0 loss to Vienna, the eventual tournament Champions, and then a 1-1 tie against NY West State Champions Empire United, the girls had strong 3-0 win over the country’s 41st ranked team, Match Fit Chelsea Rovers. Advancing to the third place game, the U13 girls drew with LDC United 2-2, coming back twice from being down a goal against the #33 ranked team in the country. It was a nice weekend of attacking soccer from the girls.

The Kickers U15 Girls Elite started slowly on Friday with a 1-0 loss to PDA Spurs, but rebounded with back to back 4-1 victories on Saturday and Sunday with four different goal scorers in each game. They lost the 3rd place playoff 2-1, but it was a great finish to an excellent year with flowing, attacking soccer played all weekend.

The U17 Girls Elite had an up and down performance at the Jefferson Cup this weekend. Despite long stretches of good possession soccer, the girls had trouble early in each game, spotting their opponents’ early leads.  Despite losing all three games to the highly rated Charlotte SA ECNL, MatchFit Chelsea United, and ZYSA 96 Girls Select, the girls attracted much interest from college coaches for their attacking style of play.

The Kickers U18 Girls Elite finished their Kickers careers with two victories, 2-1 versus ISA Sting and 3-2 versus PA Classics Academy sandwiched around a 2-1 defeat by FC Copa Real to finish 3rd in the Elite bracket. This team has been a remarkable group of players and everyone in the organization is proud of their achievements and looking forward to their future success as college players. 

Congratulations to the Richmond Kickers U13 Boys Elite who claimed the Championship title at the last weekend’s Jefferson Cup tournament.  Opening the tournament with a scoreless draw against Greensboro United, the U13 Boys went on to defeat Northern Steel Bayern and Cleveland SA CSA Impact, tallying eight goals while conceding just one before edging Carolina Elite 99 Premier 2-0 in the title match.

The Kickers U14 Boys Elite finished the group stage with a pair of wins over FASA Hotspur Elite and Morris United STA Gunnars and one loss to DC Stoddert Blue Metros to qualify for the final.  Battling to a scoreless draw through regulation and overtime against Marlton SC Lightning, they narrowly lost on penalty kicks.

Meanwhile, the Kickers U10 Boys Elite Manchester United also qualified for the Championship match, going undefeated during group play.  Recording a 4-0 win over PWSI Courage Red, a 3-3 draw against Triangle FC Fast Classic Chivas and an 8-2 win over Canton United U10 Blue the Kickers dropped the title match to Bethesda.

The Kickers U12 Boys Elite opened the tournament with a 7-2 win over SAC United Premier White and a 5-3 win over VA Rush Academy Blue before dropping a 2-1 loss to Triangle Football Barcelona.  They rebounded back to a  3-1 win over Chesterfield United to claim third place.

Over the winter break, the Richmond Kickers U-11 Boys Elite were crowned Champions of the U-11 Boys Division of the 2012-13 Greater Richmond Futsal League.  Kickers Messi came in first place in a division comprised of nine futsal teams from soccer clubs throughout the Richmond area.

The team was coached by Kickers Recreation Coach Ken Hohman and players included Matthew Hohman, Hawkins Adcock (not pictured), Josh Lambour, Brett Hicken, Gavin Borum, Jonmichael Elliott, Mark Myers, Matthew Lewis and Donovan Stollsteimer. 

Congrats Kickers!

Richmond Kickers standout, Katie Cousins, has been ranked the number two player in the country for the second consecutive year, by Topdrawersoccer.com.  Cousins is a true U16 player, who currently plays an age group up with the Kickers U17 Girls Elite and recently returned from her second U.S. U18 Women’s National Team training camp.

The high school sophomore plays basketball and soccer at Jefferson Forest High School in Lynchburg, Virginia and has verbally committed to attend the University of Tennessee upon graduation.

The Topdrawersoccer.com national player rankings are based on input from scouts, staff and coaches at various levels.  Check out the list of the top 150 players in the USA.