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USL Richmond Kickers

Kickers Head West

August 28, 2014 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Richmond Kickers News Release


RICHMOND, VA - (Thursday, August 28, 2014) - The Richmond Kickers (13-2-10, 49 points) head west this weekend for a pair of USL PRO regular season matches against the Orange County Blues (9-17-0, 27 points) on Saturday, August 30 and LA Galaxy II (14-7-5, 47 points) on Monday, September 1. Kickoff is set for 10:00 p.m. EST and 10:30 p.m. EST live from University of California Irvine's Anteater Stadium and StubHub Center, respectively, on YouTube.com/RichmondKickers.

The Kickers enter this weekend's west coast swing after suffering a narrow 3-2 loss to Orlando City last week at City Stadium. Conceding an early two-goal lead, the Kickers pulled a goal back on a George Davis IV tally before Orlando added to the scoreline in the second half. Later, Nate Robinson's first goal of the season sparked a comeback but the late game surge was not enough to overcome the lead-leaders who snapped the Kickers' 21-game unbeaten streak and handed them their first loss at City Stadium since June 22, 2012.

Meanwhile, Orange County is looking to end a three-game slide to keep their playoff hopes alive, most recently dropping a hotly contested 2-1 loss to the Wilmington Hammerheads last weekend. The Kickers meet the Orange County Blues for the first and only time this season, having last faced off on the west coast in July 2013 when the Kickers posted a come-from-behind victory with a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes of regulation. Earlier that season, the Kickers held a first half edge until the Blues rallied with an 88th minute equalizer to steal a point from City Stadium to narrow the Kickers' all-time series record advantage to 2-1-3.

Forty-eight hours later, the Kickers travel cross town to face LA Galaxy II on Monday for the lone match-up between the two clubs this season and for the first time in franchise history. With a roster comprised of first team players, USL PRO players and LA Galaxy Academy players, LA Galaxy II joined USL PRO prior to the 2014 season, as LA Galaxy is the first Major League Soccer Club to own and operate a lower division professional team within the club's player development structure. Storming to a third place position in the USL PRO standings, LA Galaxy II reside just two points behind the second-place Kickers following a 1-0 mid-week win over Real Salt Lake Reserves Wednesday night.

The Kickers conclude the 2014 USL PRO regular season on the road with a rematch against Orlando City on September 6 before kicking off postseason play at City Stadium with a Quarterfinal match-up on Saturday, September 13. Tickets are on sale now at RichmondKickers.com.

Playoff Structure

The 2014 USL PRO Playoffs will include the top eight finishers in the table, with the quarterfinals (No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, etc.) set for the weekend of September 12-14. The semifinals featuring the four remaining teams will be played the following weekend, with the 2014 USL PRO Championship set for the weekend of September 26-28. All playoff rounds feature a single-game knockout format and teams will not be re-seeded following each round.

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