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Richmond Kickers USL-2 playoff preview

14 Aug, 2008

The Richmond Kickers host the Cleveland City Stars this Saturday, August 16th at 7:00 pm at the University of Richmond in the USL Second Division Semifinals. Entering postseason play with the #2 seed, Richmond (14-4-2, 44 points) received a First Round bye.  The winner of Saturday’s single-elimination Semifinal will advance to the USL-2 Championship at a host site to be determined. 
 
The Kickers meet the City Stars for the third time this season and hold an all-time series 2-0-3 record against the sophomore club.  The two teams last played in Richmond on July 19th when the Kickers came away with their first regular season win over the Stars by a 3-1 margin.  Courtesy of a pair of David Bulow tallies, bolstered by an own goal, the Kickers win over Cleveland in July was the tiebreaker between the two teams who, at the time, were tied for second in the league standings.  Stars forward Ryan Stewart connected with defender Mark Schulte in the final minute of regulation to prevent the shutout.   
 
Previously, the Kickers and the Stars battled to a scoreless draw in Cleveland on June 28th, in the midst of Richmond’s mid-season road stand as the two teams have clashed for three stalemates over the past two seasons.  Last season’s fixtures resulted in two identical 1-1 draws, including a home tie during which Kickers midfielder Sascha Görres gave the home side an early lead with a 16th minute goal, which was followed closely by a Cleveland equalizer at the 28th minute mark.  Earlier that season, the two teams battled to a deadlock by the same scoreline in Cleveland on July 20th.  Again, the home team took the lead, this time with the Kickers having to level the score on a last-minute tally.  The USL-2 rivals also met during last year’s US Open Cup when the Kickers ousted the City Stars in the Second Round by a 2-1 score, boosting Richmond to the Third Round and their eventual home win over the LA Galaxy (MLS).   
 
Cleveland is coming off a pair of back-to-back road draws to conclude the regular season.  After downing top-seeded Charlotte, 1-0 at home, the City Stars battled the Eagles on the road to a 1-1 tie.  Twenty-four hours later, Cleveland finished up the 2008 campaign with a scoreless stalemate in Wilmington.  Meanwhile, the Kickers avenged an earlier season loss to Crystal Palace Baltimore last weekend with a 5-0 roll to conclude the regular season.  Forward David Bulow notched two goals and added an assist while Mike Burke recorded a goal and an assist.  Midfielder Ralph Pace bolstered the scoreline when he converted a late penalty kick while Adrian Bumbut solidified the victory seconds later.  Back-up goalkeeper Mark Murphy earned his first professional clean sheet, making four saves on the night and bringing his goalkeeper record to 4-0-0. 
 
Players to Watch
Kickers: Richmond’s roster boasted the third consecutive USL-2 Player of the Week, as the league honored David Bulow (#10) this week for notching two goals and an assist during last week’s 5-0 win over Crystal Palace Baltimore.  In his third season with the Kickers, Bulow leads the team with 11 goals and four assists for 26 points, good for second in the league in points and goals.  One week prior, newcomer Fabian Dawkins (#17) took the USL-2 Player of the Week honors after helping the Kickers clinch a bye to the Semifinals with a pair of goals and an assist during a back-to-back wins over Wilmington.  In just five games played, the Jamaican forward has made an immediate offensive impact for the Kickers, finishing the regular season fourth in scoring with three goals and two assists for eight points.  Midfielder Mike Burke (#19) has been named USL-2 Player of the Week twice this season and most recently earned Team of the Week honors for recording a goal and an assist over Baltimore last weekend.  The veteran finished the regular season second on the team in scoring with seven goals and eight assists for 22 points.  Defender John Gilkerson (#21) joins the Kickers on loan from the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer.  Gilkerson signed a developmental contract with the Red Bulls, prior to the 2008 season out of Winthrop University and has made six appearances with the Kickers this season, contributing to three shutouts.  Two-time USL-2 Goalkeeper of the Year (2006, 2007), Ronnie Pascale (#22) posted a regular season goals against average of 1.08.  Good for second in the league with seven shutouts, he added an eighth clean sheet during Open Cup play.            
 
Stars:  Leading the Stars with eight goals and one assist for 17 points during the regular season, forward Sallieu Bundu (#11) tallied a pair of goals during Cleveland’s First Round win over Western Mass on Wednesday night.  Last season’s Defender of the Year, Mark Schulte (#13) doubles as an offensive threat, adding two goals and three assists on the season.  He opened scoring over Western Mass Wednesday, burying a header past a diving Western Mass goalkeeper.  Defender Muso Otieno (#2) led the Stars defensive unit to their 10th shutout on the season in Wilmington with a 0-0 draw to conclude the regular season.  His defensive effort earned USL-2 Team of the Week honors, alongside goalkeeper Eric Reed (#00) who posted seven saves for his seventh shutout of the season.  Allowing just seven goals in 12 games played, Reed boasts of a goals against average of just 0.583.    
 
USL-2 Playoffs
The top six teams qualified for the USL-2 playoffs, with the Kickers slated to face the #3 Cleveland City Stars who ousted the #6 Western Mass Pioneers on Wednesday, August 13th.  Top-seeded Charlotte will take on #4 Crystal Palace Baltimore who snuck by the defending USL-2 Champion, #5 Harrisburg City Islanders in the other Semifinal match.  Baltimore and Harrisburg battled to a 2-2 draw during regulation and overtime before eight rounds of penalties eliminated the City Islanders for this year’s run for the Championship.  The two Semifinal winners will advance to the USL-2 Championship match on Saturday, August 23rd at a host site to be determined by a bid process.   
 
Over the past 15 seasons, Richmond has qualified for post-season play 13 times, including six league (seven overall) Championship appearances.  The Kickers reached the league title match in 2007 for the fourth time in the past six seasons, narrowly missing their second consecutive league title after nine rounds of penalty kicks.  Richmond’s previous Championship appearances (1995, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2006) include winning the “Double” with the Premier League title and US Open Cup 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.
 
The second-year franchise, Cleveland, has qualified for postseason play for the second time in their brief history.  Finishing second in the league last season, just two points behind the Regular Season Champion Richmond, the City Stars dropped a narrow 1-0 overtime Semifinal decision to the eventual USL-2 Champions Harrisburg City Islanders. 

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