Team Announcements

RICHMOND, Va. – (Friday, August 23, 2019) – The Richmond Kickers are pleased to announce the signing of midfielder Ryley Kraft, pending USL League One and USSF approval. Kraft will be available for selection Saturday night at Forward Madison FC. 

“We are so excited about the prospect of working with Ryley and continuing our vision of developing the best players in the country,” said David Bulow, Richmond Kickers Head Coach. “This is our second player with United States Youth National Team experience, and shows the ambition of how the Richmond Kickers are trying to assemble the most talented and competitive team in all of USL League One.  He’s  made an immediate impact on the team in training already and I believe he will be a big factor on our push for the playoffs.”

Kraft signs with Richmond after spending the last two seasons in the USL Championship with Oklahoma City Energy FC in 2018 and Orlando City B in 2017. Kraft was a teammate with Joe Gallardo during his time at OCB. Before signing his first professional contract with OCB, Kraft spent 2015-17 with the Sacramento Republic FC Academy where he made 46 appearances and scored 12 goals. Kraft played with the United States U-19 National Team including scoring the equalizer in a match against El Salvador. 

The Kickers are back in action Saturday night as they travel to Forward Madison FC. Kickoff is at 8:00 p.m. ET and will be available live on WTVR CBS 6.3 (Comcast 206, Verizon FiOS 466) and online on ESPN+. 

RICHMOND, Va. – (Friday, July 12, 2019) – The Richmond Kickers are pleased to announce the signing of Richmond United Developmental Academy forward Key White to an academy contract. White will be available for selection this Saturday against North Texas SC.

Joining Richmond United for the 2015/16 season, White has made 103 appearances with the Developmental Academy, scoring 68 goals over his time with United. In his last season with Richmond United before attending the University of North Carolina in the fall, White recorded 14 goals and added an assist in 21 matches. The native of Norfolk, Va., recorded an assist with the Kickers Tuesday night in a friendly at USL League Two side Lionsbridge FC, combining with Richmond United teammate Alexander Levengood. 

The Kickers will wrap up their two-game homestand on Saturday, July 20 when they square off against Orlando City B at 7:00 p.m. at City Stadium. Tickets are available now at www.richmondkickers.com.  

RICHMOND, Va. – (Tuesday, June 11, 2019) – USL League One announced on Tuesday that defender Wahab Ackwei and goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald have been named to the Team of the Week for Week 11 of the league’s inaugural 2019 season.

Ackwei is making his fourth appearance on the Team of the Week after three interceptions and six clearances as the Kickers took a point on the road at FC Tucson Saturday night. The Ghanian also made a vital block in stoppage time to hold on for the club’s fifth shutout this season.

Fitzgerald has been named to the Team of the Week for the first time this season. The veteran goalkeeper made two dramatic saves to preserve the fifth shutout, plus recorded a 59.5% passing accuracy on 37 passes. 

The Kickers are back at City Stadium this Saturday night to host Chattanooga Red Wolves SC as well as Summer Fest, presented by Bounce 2 the Moon. The party starts at 5:30 p.m. with Happy Hour specials for the first 30 minutes on craft beer on tap, RVA food trucks, live music from Spiderkelly, plus water slides, inflatables, face painting and more. Tickets are available now at www.richmondkickers.com.

USL League One Team of the Week – Week 11

GK – Akira Fitzgerald, Richmond Kickers: Fitzgerald recorded a pair of standout saves and two catches to earn his side a point on the road against FC Tucson on Saturday night.

D – Terique Mohammed, Toronto FC II: Mohammed continued his excellent recent form as he made 11 recoveries, completed 47 of 53 passes and recorded an assist in TFC II’s 3-0 win against Lansing.

D – Lamar Batista, FC Tucson: Batista won 5 of 7 duels, 2 of 3 aerials and completed 61 of 72 passes in a composed performance at the center of Tucson’s defense in its 0-0 draw against Richmond.

D – Patrick Bunk-Andersen, Toronto FC II: Bunk-Andersen won 3 of 3 aerials and recorded nine recoveries in addition to his goal in the Reds’ 3-0 victory against Lansing.

D – Wahab Ackwei, Richmond Kickers: Ackwei put in a strong defensive shift for the Kickers as he recorded 10 recoveries, three interceptions and six clearances in Richmond’s 0-0 draw with FC Tucson.

M – Thiago Souza, Orlando City B: Souza led OCB with a goal and assist, also hit the woodwork and recorded five recoveries while completing 14 of 18 passes in his side’s 2-1 victory against Madison.

M – Jiro Barriga Toyama, Forward Madison FC: Barriga Toyama tried to jumpstart FMFC’s comeback effort against Orlando as he completed three key passes and 10 of 11 passes overall while winning 4 of 6 duels.

M – Jamael Cox, FC Tucson: Cox had a solid display in FCT’s midfield as he completed 22 of 27 passes, made 10 recoveries and won 5 of 9 duels in his side’s draw with Richmond. 

M – Matthew Srbely, Toronto FC II: Srbely was consistently active in the attacking half for Toronto as he completed 30 of 35 passes, made three key passes and recorded one assist in the Reds’ victory against Lansing.

F – Rafael, Orlando City B: Rafael had another tidy game in attack for OCB, scoring once and completing 12 of 14 passes to link play in the club’s 2-1 win against Forward Madison FC.

F – Jordan Perruzza, Toronto FC II: Perruzza had a positive impact off the bench for the Reds against Lansing, completing 7 of 8 passes and winning 3 of 4 duels and 2 of 3 aerials while notching the side’s third goal of the game.
 

Release forwarded on behalf of U.S. Soccer

CHICAGO – (Friday, May 10, 2019) – U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Tab Ramos has selected the 21 players who will represent the United States at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, to be held in Poland from May 23 to June 15.

The USA kicks off the tournament Friday, May 24 against Ukraine (2:30 p.m. ET; FS1), faces Nigeria on Monday, May 27 (2:30 p.m. ET; FS1) and wraps up the group stage on Thursday, May 30 vs. Qatar (2:30 p.m. ET; FS2).

“I am excited for the players who will get the chance to be able to participate in a World Cup. It’s an unforgettable experience and one that they will value forever,” Ramos said. “This is always an extremely tough decision to make as a coach. There were an additional four or five players who also really deserve to go this time.”

Nineteen of the 21 players on the roster have spent at least one season in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Twelve players are currently playing internationally, while nine are based domestically.

Players born on or after Jan. 1, 1999 are eligible for the 2019 U-20 World Cup. The U.S. roster is made up of six players born in 1999, 12 born in 2000 and three born in 2001.

“This team has excellent leadership and competitiveness on and off the field,” Ramos said. “We are all looking forward to taking advantage of this opportunity which was earned with unprecedented focus, consistency and determination at the Concacaf U-20 Championship.”

2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup Roster by Position (Club; Hometown; U-20 Caps/Goals)

GOALKEEPERS (3): C.J. Dos Santos (Benfica/POR; Foxchase, Pa.; 2/0), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake; Oxnard, Calif.; 4/0), Brady Scott (Köln/GER; Petaluma, Calif.; 9/0)

DEFENDERS (6): Sergino Dest (Ajax/NED; Almere-Stad, Netherlands; 8/1), Chris Gloster (Hannover 96/GER; Montclair, N.J.; 11/0), Aboubacar Keita (Richmond Kickers; Columbus, Ohio; 2/0), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; Bear, Del.; 10/3), Matthew Real (Philadelphia Union; Drexel Hill, Pa.; 10/0), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich/GER; Birmingham, Ala.; 8/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Edwin Cerrillo (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas; 0/0), Chris Durkin (D.C. United; Glen Allen, Va.; 2/0), Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven/NED; Phoenix, Ariz.; 4/0), Alex Mendez (Freiburg/GER; Los Angeles, Calif.; 15/8), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas; Highland Village, Texas; 9/3), Brandon Servania (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas; 8/2)

FORWARDS (6): Ayo Akinola (Toronto FC/CAN; Brampton, Ont.; 12/9), Konrad De La Fuente (Barcelona/ESP; Miami, Fla.; 2/1), Ulysses Llanez (Wolfsburg/GER; Lynwood, Calif.; 11/7), Justin Rennicks (New England Revolution; South Hamilton, Mass.; 13/6), Sebastian Soto (Hannover 96/GER; San Diego, Calif.; 5/2), Tim Weah (Celtic FC/SCO; Rosedale, N.Y.; 0/0)

The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup features 24 nations divided into six groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group, as well as the four best third-placed teams advance to the knockout round. All 52 matches of the tournament will be played in six venues across Poland.