Aug. 26, 2010
RICHMOND, VA-- Led by four former ODU Soccer standouts, the Richmond Kickers will compete in the USL Pro Title Second Division Championship match Saturday, Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. live on Fox Soccer Channel.
Forward Edson Elcock ('06), midfielder Bobby Foglesong ('09), midfielder Ross Mackenzie ('06) and defender Yomby William ('07).
Yomby William, the 2009 Defender of the Year is also a two-time First Team All-League selection. The former Kansas City Wizards (MLS) defender led one of the stingiest defensive units, surrendering just 20 goals on the season. He is the only Kickers player to start and play every minute of the regular season, he led the team in minutes with 1800, while leading the backline to a league-high seven shutouts. Chipping in offensively, he tallied one goal during U.S. Open Cup action.
Edson Elcock was second on the team with five goals along with one assists for11 total points and Foglesong added two goals.
Despite having met 40 times since the club's inception in 1993, the Kickers and the Battery meet in Saturday's high-stakes Championship match for the first time in history. Prior to the 2010 campaign, the Battery realigned with the USL Second Division after 13 seasons in the top flight. The heated rivalry between the two clubs has been renewed as the all-time series remains deadlocked at 18-18-4, including a 2-2 split this season.
The defending champions earned their eighth league Championship appearance with a decisive 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the USL Second Division Semifinals in Richmond last week. Forward Matthew Delicâte contributed a goal and an assist to boost the Kickers to the final round, while goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale preserved his ninth clean sheet of the season to stifle the Riverhounds' potent offense. The Kickers concluded the regular season with a record of 9-5-6 and 33 points, five points behind Charleston who earned a bye and the right to host the title match, finishing as regular season champions with a record of 11-4-5.
Over the past 18 seasons, Richmond has qualified for postseason play 16 times, and reaches the title match in 2010 for the sixth time in the past nine seasons. The Kickers defeated the Charlotte Eagles in 2009 to claim the USL-2 title for the second time. Previously, the Kickers hosted the Championship in 2007, narrowly missing their second consecutive league title after nine rounds of penalties. The Kickers have appeared in the USL League Championship on seven occasions (1995, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) including winning the Premier League 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.
Saturday's match-up marks the Battery's first appearance in a USL Championship game since 2003 when they defeated the Minnesota Thunder 3-0 to claim the USL First Division title. Last season, the fourth-seeded Battery was ousted from postseason play by the Montreal Impact in the USL-1 Quarterfinals.