Richmond, VA (June 12, 2007)- The 2006 USL-2 champion Richmond Kickers knocked out the PDL champion Michigan Bucks from the First Round of the US Open Cup tournament last night at UR Stadium by a final score of 4-2. The home team jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead on restart goals from the Kickers in the 17th and 36th minutes. The Bucks inability to close down the set pieces eventually led to their demise, as goal keeper Steve Clark (Oakland) had no chance to save either. The local crowd disbursed as the rain and lighting set in at halftime, causing a delay of over 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Not to be discouraged by the delay, the Bucks came out in the second half and took the action to the professional side, creating several great scoring opportunities. After pounding the Richmond goal for most of the second half, the Kickers looked to have iced the game with a goal in the 70th minute, to make the score 3-0. The youngsters had no quit in them on this night and proceeded to score the next two goals within three minutes to make the score close. Buck’s coach Dan Fitzgerald substituted Xavier Balc (Ohio State) and Nic Djokic into the Bucks second half lineup. The two spark plugs combined for two goals in the 73rd and 76th minute, as Djokic put the Bucks back within reach. As the Bucks pushed forward to collect the all important game tying goal, Richmond iced the game with a fourth strike in the 86th minute to send them on to the Second Round of the US Open Cup Tournament to host the Cleveland City Stars (USL-2).
“The Kickers played a great game of soccer tonight, said Bucks owner Dan Duggan. “They were smart, disciplined and tough minded enough to hold off our late match comeback. Give them all the credit, as they are a fine team and we wish them all the best as they continue to represent the USL is their quest of bringing home the Lamar Hunt trophy.”
The Bucks return to Premier Development League (PDL) action at home this Friday night when they have a rematch with the Toronto Lynx at Saline High School (south of Ann Arbor) at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $10 Adult (16 and over) and $5 Youth (under 5 free).
For more information, visit the team web site at buckssoccer.com.
Michigan Bucks vs. Richmond Kickers
University of Richmond Stadium
June 12, 2007
Scoring Summary:
RICH -- Robert Ssejjemba ’7
RICH -- Trevor McEachron ’36
RICH -- Sascha Gorres ’70
MICH -- Nik Djokic ’73
MICH -- Nik Djokic ’76
RICH -- Matt Watson ’86
Lineups
Richmond: 22-Ronnie Pascale, 7-Trevor McEachron, 5-Kelvin Jones, 16-Steven Wolfe, 15-Evan Harding, 23-Sascha Gorres, 19-Mike Burke, 18-Matt Watson, 17-Ihor Dotsenko, 10-David Bulow, 14-Robert Ssejjemba (11-Nowaf Jaman 77’)
Head Coach: Leigh Colishaw
Michigan: 25-Steve Clark, 3-Mike Holody, 4-Kyle Russell (23-Eric Brunner 45’), 12-Joe Donoho (18-Doug DeMartin 86’), 22-Ian Daniel (16-Nik Djokic 45’), 17-Piotr Nowak, 14-Alex Morisset, 7-Ty Shiplane (6-Xavier Balc 66’), 8-Nate Jafta, 21-Mkhokheli Dube, 10-Kenny Uzoigwe
Head Coach: Dan Fitzgerald
Misconduct Summary
MICH -- Kenny Uzoigwe '62 (caution)
MICH -- Mike Holody '80 (caution)
RICH -- Ihor Dotsenko '85 (caution)
Referees: Shaun Papperman, Robert Velbis, Bill Dittmar, Kyle Falce
