USL-1 Richmond Kickers

Richmond to host celebration in honor of Ukrop

Published on August 30, 2005 under USL First Division (USL-1)
Richmond Kickers News Release


RICHMOND, VA - (Tuesday, August 30, 2005) - The Richmond Kickers return home after a three-week road stretch to face the Portland Timbers in the Kickers last regular season home game on Saturday, September 3rd at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Richmond Stadium. During the match, the Kickers will host a celebration in honor of Rob Ukrop, Richmond's most notable soccer hero. Ukrop, an eleven-year Kickers veteran and franchise record-holder in several categories, announced his retirement from professional soccer in December 2004. The Kickers will acknowledge Ukrop's contributions on and off the field by retiring his #6 jersey during halftime. The first 1,000 youth fans in attendance will receive a limited edition Rob Ukrop #6 replica t-shirt.

The Kickers last two games of the season arrive in the form of a home-and-away match-up with 2004 Western Conference Champion Portland Timbers, under the guidance of 2004 Coach of the Year, Bobby Howe. Richmond will host Portland for the second time in history, last facing the Timbers on June 29, 2002 when the Kickers came away with a 2-0 victory. Still in playoff contention after recently dropping a 2-0 decision to the Minnesota Thunder, Richmond holds onto to a fourth place tie with Seattle in the USL First Division standings with 38 points, six points ahead of sixth-place Portland. The Kickers and the Timbers will exchange home field advantage one week later when the Kickers travel to Portland for their last regular season match of the 2005 campaign.

Kickers: With three of the past four matches ending with a 1-1 draw, three Kickers players tallied their first goals of the season, each with an equalizer. 2004 Defender of the Year Finalist, Peter Luzak was the first to register with a last minute equalizer against Seattle on August 13th while midfielder Tim Brown created a similar situation one night later with a second-half goal to tie Vancouver. Most recently, 2004 Kickers leading scorer and USL Rookie of the Year Finalist, McColm Cephas was the hero with the equalizer in Charleston during the final seconds of regulation. Midfielder Joey Worthen has returned to the lineup after being hampered with numerous injuries for the majority of the season. He tallied two goals (4/22/05, 4/30/05) prior to his injuries.

Timbers: Forward Byron Alvarez, leads the Timbers in scoring with seven goals and one assist for 15 points and is currently tied for 10th in the league in points. Timbers second-leading scorer, forward Dan Antoniuk (6g, 2a, 14 pts), was responsible for two goals in the 2-1 win over Atlanta last weekend, pushing Portland past the Silverbacks in the standings. Midfielder Shaun Higgins earned USL First Division Team of the Week honors last week for his last minute equalizer in the 1-1 draw against Seattle on August 20th.

A tight race for playoff positioning, the top six teams in the 12-team USL First Division standings will advance to post-season play. At the conclusion of the regular season, 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.

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