USL-1 Richmond Kickers

Kickers To Face Syracuse In Eastern Conference Semi-Final

Published on August 31, 2004 under USL First Division (USL-1)
Richmond Kickers News Release


RICHMOND, VA – (Tuesday, August 31, 2004) – The Richmond Kickers (17-8-3, 54 points) finished in second place in the Eastern Conference and will look to avenge two earlier season home losses to the third-ranked Syracuse Salty Dogs (15-8-5, 50 points) in the first round of the 2004 playoffs on Friday, September 3, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Richmond Stadium. This match will be the first leg of a two game home and away aggregate score series. Due to scheduling conflicts at the Salty Dogs' home venue, P&C Stadium, the second leg will be held at SUNY (State University of New York) Cortland in Cortland, NY on Sunday, September 5, 2004 at 5:00 p.m.

Early in the season, the Kickers and the Salty Dogs exchanged victories, with Richmond defeating Syracuse 2-1 on June 25th before dropping a 2-0 decision at home on July 7th. Most recently, the Salty Dogs defeated the Kickers, 2-1 at UR Stadium on Wednesday, August 18th. The winner of this weekend's series will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals to take on either Rochester (#4) or Montreal (#1). The next round will also be a two game home and away aggregate score series.

"The team has had an exceptional regular season," says Richmond Kickers head coach Leigh Cowlishaw. "However, we all realize that this counts for nothing and we must go out and perform to our potential if we are to defeat Syracuse."

Last Weekend

Richmond rookies Clyde Simms and McColm Cephas led the Kickers to victory over Eastern Conference regular season champion Montreal Impact last weekend in the final regular season match for both teams. With only one loss in 14 straight games, Syracuse had similar success in Virginia Beach the night before, picking up three points to leap over Rochester and expel Atlanta from post-season play.

Players To Watch

Kickers: The Kickers have three former Virginia Commonwealth University forwards in the Top 20 point leaders in the A-League, two being rookies. Richmond Kickers 2004 regular season leading scorer, McColm Cephas is tied for eighth in the league with 24 points (10 goals, 4 assists) while rookie Matthew Delicâte and veteran Kevin Jeffrey are tied for thirteenth with 20 points each. Goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale leads the league in goalkeeper wins with 16 and is ranked fifth for his lowest goals against average as starting goalkeeper of .98.

Salty Dogs: Forward Machel Millwood leads the Salty Dogs with six goals and four assists for 16 points and scored the equalizer in the Syracuse/Virginia Beach match last week, allowing the Salty Dogs to clinch a playoff berth. Forward Mauro Carabajal is the Salty Dogs fourth leading scorer with four goals and one assist for nine points in only 10 games played. He tallied the game-winning goal during the Kickers final regular season home game on August 18th in the final seconds of stoppage time. Goalkeeper Byron Foss is ranked eighth in the A-League for 21 goals against and ranked sixth for a goals against average of 1.004.

Richmond and Syracuse were both eliminated from post-season play in 2003. After competing in the A-League Championship against Milwaukee on September 9, 2002, Richmond did not qualify for the playoffs the following year for only the second time in the Kickers 12-year history. Syracuse, established two years ago, has clinched their first-ever playoff berth. The Kickers recorded the most goals (44) in the Eastern Conference and secured the best road record (9-3-2) in the A-League, tied with the Portland Timbers of the Western Conference.

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USL First Division Stories from August 31, 2004


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