Kickers Release 2005 Pro Schedule
Published on January 12, 2005 under USL First Division (USL-1)
Richmond Kickers News Release
RICHMOND, VA â (Wednesday, January 12, 2005) â The Richmond Kickers Professional team will open their 2005 USL First Division schedule against the Atlanta Silverbacks on Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Richmond Stadium.
Due to the recent restructuring of the United Soccer Leagues, the Eastern and Western Conferences have been replaced with a single table, the USL First Division. The 28-game balanced schedule will allow all teams to play each other home and away, supplemented with an equal number of additional rivalry games. Under the new division structure, the Kickers will face west coast rivals Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps as well as the Minnesota Thunder home and away. In addition, the Kickers will meet traditional rivals Atlanta Silverbacks, Charleston Battery and Virginia Beach Mariners twice at home and twice away and will face the Toronto Lynx, Rochester Raging Rhinos, Puerto Rico Islanders and the defending A-League Champion Montreal Impact.
The Richmond Kickers will play all of their home matches at the University of Richmond Stadium during the 2005 regular season. All but two home games will be played on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday evening, with the exception of one Monday afternoon and one Wednesday morning match. Eight home games will begin at 7:00 p.m. while games on Sunday, May 8th versus Montreal Impact, Sunday, July 17th versus Charleston Battery and Sunday, August 7th versus Vancouver Whitecaps, will begin at 6:00 p.m. The Kickers will host a "School Day" on Wednesday, May 11th at 11:00 a.m. and will face the Charleston Battery again on Monday, May 30th (Memorial Day) at 4:00 p.m. The Richmond versus Rochester Raging Rhinos match will be featured live on Fox Sports World on Friday, July 22nd at 8:00 p.m.
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
In 2005, all USL First Division teams will automatically qualify for the U.S. Open Cup in 2005. Four USL First Division teams will enter the tournament in each of two consecutive rounds. Based on 2004 regular season results, Charleston, Minnesota, Seattle and Vancouver will enter in the Second Round of the tournament on June 29th while Atlanta, Portland, Richmond and Rochester will receive byes into the Third Round, joining four Major League Soccer teams and eight Round Two winners on July 13th.
Playoff Structure
Per the restructuring guidelines, the USL First Division will have a six-team playoff field in 2005 where the #1 and #2 overall seeds (based on regular season points and league tiebreakers, if applicable) will receive Round One byes. All playoff rounds will be two-legged aggregate score series with the exception of the USL First Division Championship with the Host determined on a bid basis to be played on Saturday, October 1st.
Round One
1 - #3 seed vs. #6 seed
2 - #4 seed vs. #5 seed
USL First Division
3 â Game 1 winner vs. #2 seed
4 â Game 2 winner vs. #1 seed
USL First Division Championship
Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
2005 RICHMOND KICKERS PRO SCHEDULE
Day, Date Opponent Time (EST) Stadium Sat, Apr 16 ATLANTA SILVERBACKS 7:00pm UR Stadium
Fri, Apr 22 VIRGINIA BEACH MARINERS 7:00pm UR Stadium
Sat, Apr 23 @ Virginia Beach Mariners 7:30pm Va Beach Sportsplex
Sat, Apr 30 TORONTO LYNX 7:00pm UR Stadium
Sun, May 8 MONTREAL IMPACT 6:00pm UR Stadium
Wed, May 11VIRGINIA BEACH MARINERS 11:00am UR Stadium
Fri, May 13 @ Virginia Beach Mariners 7:30pm Va Beach Sportsplex
Sun, May 15 @ Atlanta Silverbacks 6:30pm DeKalb Memorial
Sat, May 21 MINNESOTA THUNDER 7:00pm UR Stadium
Mon, May 30CHARLESTON BATTERY 4:00pm UR Stadium
Fri, June 3 SEATTLE SOUNDERS 7:00pm UR Stadium
Sat, June 11 ATLANTA SILVERBACKS 7:00pm UR Stadium
Fri, June 17 @ Charleston Battery 8:00pm Blackbaud Stadium*
Fri, June 24 @ Puerto Rico Islanders 8:30pm Juan Ramon Stadium
Sat, July 2 PUERTO RICO ISLANDERS 7:00pm UR Stadium
Wed, July 6 @ Montreal Impact 7:30pm Claude Robillard
Sat, July 9 @ Atlanta Silverbacks 6:30pm DeKalb Memorial
Sun, July 17 CHARLESTON BATTERY 6:00pm UR Stadium
Fri, July 22 ROCHESTER RAGING RHINOS 8:00pm UR Stadium*
Sat, July 30 @ Rochester Raging Rhinos 7:35pm Frontier Field
Sun, July 31 @ Toronto Lynx 6:00pm Centennial Stadium
Sun, Aug 7 VANCOUVER WHITECAPS 6:00pm UR Stadium
Sat, Aug 13 @ Seattle Sounders 10:00pm Qwest Field
Sun, Aug 14 @ Vancouver Whitecaps 10:00pm Swangard Stadium
Sat, Aug 20 @ Charleston Battery 7:30pm Blackbaud Stadium
Sat. Aug 27 @ Minnesota Thunder 8:05pm James Griffin Stadium
Sat, Sept 3 PORTLAND TIMBERS 7:00pm UR Stadium
Sat, Sept 10 @ Portland Timbers 10:00pm PGE Park
*Game Televised LIVE on Fox Sports World
USL First Division Stories from January 12, 2005
- Vancouver hosts Toronto in Home Opener April 24 - Vancouver Whitecaps
- Raging Rhinos open season at Vancouver April 30 - Rochester Rhinos
- Charleston Battery Schedule Released - Charleston Battery
- Timbers unveil 2005 schedule - Portland Timbers
- Kickers Release 2005 Pro Schedule - Richmond Kickers
- Lynx Announce 2005 Schedule - Toronto Lynx
- USL First Division Schedule released - USL-1
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