USL Richmond Kickers

Kickers 2009 Regular Season Opens April 18th

Published on February 11, 2009 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Richmond Kickers News Release


RICHMOND, VA - (Wednesday, February 11, 2009) - The Richmond Kickers will open the 2009 season with an exhibition match featuring USL First Division side Carolina RailHawks on Saturday, April 4th at 7:00 pm at Sports Backers Stadium. The USL Second Division regular season will open two weeks later, pitting the Richmond Kickers against the Harrisburg City Islanders on Saturday, April 18th at 7:00 pm at the University of Richmond Stadium.

The Kickers will compete alongside USL-2 opponents Bermuda Hogges, Charlotte Eagles, Crystal Palace Baltimore, Harrisburg City Islanders, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Real Maryland Monarchs, Western Mass Pioneers and Wilmington Hammerheads. The Cleveland City Stars made the move to the USL First Division during the off-season. Playing a 20-game primarily balanced schedule, the Kickers will face each team home and away once. Rounding out the regular season will be three matches each against regional rivals Wilmington Hammerheads and Charlotte Eagles with an additional home match against Harrisburg and a second away match against Pittsburgh to supplement the schedule. In 2009, the regular season will run for 17 weeks, kicking off the weekend of April 18th and concluding August 16th.

The Kickers will take home field advantage at the University of Richmond Stadium (just off the Downtown Expressway) for the entire 2009 home regular season while the Carolina exhibition will be held at Sports Backers Stadium. Nine of the Kickers 10 regular season home games will be played on Saturdays, kicking off at 7:00 p.m. The only exceptions will be the two home matches against the Charlotte Eagles, which fall on Friday, May 15th at 7:00 pm and Saturday, July 4th at 1:00 pm.

The Richmond Kickers enter into their 17th season as a member of the United Soccer Leagues family since 1993. Over the past 16 seasons, Richmond has qualified for post-season play 13 times, including six Championship appearances. The Kickers reached the title match in 2007 for the fourth time in the past six seasons, narrowly missing their second consecutive league title after nine rounds of penalties. Richmond's five previous league Championship appearances (1995, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2006) include winning the Premier League title in 1995, a shoot-out loss to Seattle in the USL First Division final in 2005 and taking the USL Second Division crown in 2006. In 2008, the Kickers fell short of another Championship berth after falling 1-0 in overtime to the eventual champions, Cleveland City Stars.

Playoffs

The playoffs will feature the top five teams in the regular season standings. The fourth and fifth seeds will square off in a midweek First Round encounter August 19 for a spot in the Semifinals. The winner of the match will square off against the regular season champion while the second and third seeds meet in the other semifinal the weekend of August 21-22. The USL Second Division Championship will be played August 29 and will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel. All matches will be hosted by the higher seed, excluding the final, which is determined via bid.

"With one fewer playoff berth and seven different champions since 2002, the USL Second Division chase for the championship should continue to be a fascinating race," said USL Second Division Director of Operations Amanda Duffy. "The anticipation for the upcoming season amongst the teams who have missed the playoffs the past few years should translate into an exciting and extremely competitive season in 2009 for the teams who have established themselves as perennial playoff contenders."

Tickets

General admission tickets for the RailHawks exhibition and regular season home games will remain $12/adults and $7/youth ages 3-17 for the third consecutive season. Order tickets in advance via RichmondKickers.com or present a Ukrop's Valued Customer Card at the gate and receive a $2.00 discount per ticket. Back by popular demand, the Kickers will continue to offer an affordable and convenient single season pass, which includes admission to every 2009 regular season home game. Enjoy all of the Kickers Pro and Destiny (W-League) regular season home games for the best possible pricing with a 2009 Family Pass ($119), All-Access Pass ($90) Adult Pro Pass ($55) or Youth Pro Pass ($20, ages 3-17). Order your 2009 Season Pass by March 27th and purchase tickets to the RailHawks exhibition for just $5.00. Please note: Adult Pro Passes, Youth Pro Passes, Family Passes, Coach Passes and Flexi-Tickets will not be accepted at the Carolina RailHawks exhibition on April 4th.

About the USL Second Division

The USL professional league is a two-tiered system modeled after many of the historic professional leagues around the world and is comprised of the USL First Division and USL Second Division. The USL Second Division serves as the base of the professional structure and the regional focus allows professional soccer to thrive in smaller markets, while providing a premium brand of soccer and an exciting level of competition.

2009 Richmond Kickers Pro Schedule

DAY, DATE OPPONENT TIME STADIUM Sat, April 4 CAROLINA RAILHAWKS* 7:00 PM Sports Backers

Sat, April 18 HARRISBURG CITY ISLANDERS 7:00 PM UR Stadium

Sat, April 25 PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS 7:00 PM UR Stadium

Sat, May 2 @ Western Mass Pioneers 7:30 PM Lusitano Stadium

Sat, May 9 @ Bermuda Hogges 6:00 PM National Stadium

Fri, May 15 CHARLOTTE EAGLES 7:00 PM UR Stadium

Sat, May 23 CRYSTAL PALACE BALTIMORE 7:00 PM UR Stadium

Sat, May 30 WESTERN MASS PIONEERS 7:00 PM UR Stadium

Sat, June 6 HARRISBURG CITY ISLANDERS 7:00 PM UR Stadium

Sat, June 13 @ Real Maryland Monarchs 6:00 PM Richard Montgomery HS

Sun, June 14 @ Pittsburgh Riverhounds 7:05 PM Chartiers Valley HS

Sat, June 20 @ Charlotte Eagles 7:00 PM Charlotte Christian

Fri, June 26 @ Pittsburgh Riverhounds 7:05 PM Chartiers Valley HS

Sat, July 4 CHARLOTTE EAGLES 1:00 PM UR Stadium

Sat, July 11 BERMUDA HOGGES 7:00 PM UR Stadium

Sat, July 18 @ Crystal Palace Baltimore 7:00 PM UMBC

Wed, July 22 @ Wilmington Hammerheads 7:00 PM Legion Stadium

Wed, July 29 @ Harrisburg City Islanders 7:05 PM Skyline Sports Complex

Sat, August 1 REAL MARYLAND MONARCHS 7:00 PM UR Stadium

Sat, August 8 @ Wilmington Hammerheads 7:00 PM Legion Stadium

Sat, August 15 WILMINGTON HAMMERHEADS 7:00 PM UR Stadium

Home games played at UR Stadium (just off the Downtown Expressway)

*Exhibition

Check out the Richmond Kickers Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from February 11, 2009


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