The Richmond Kickers, an amateur team from the USISL Premier League, found themselves one win away from reaching the 1995 US Open Cup Final. While hosting the Chicago Stingers of the USISL Pro League at University of Richmond Stadium, the Kickers let an early lead get away only to battle back and re-take the lead in the second half. But when Don D’Ambra scored an 88th minute equalizer for the Stingers, it seemed like the magic had run out on the Kickers.
A minute later, with extra time looming, Richmond was awarded a penalty kick. Ben Crawley, the Player of the Round winner from the Kickers’ Quarterfinal upset of the Atlanta Ruckus, played hero again by converting the PK to send his team to the Final.
With the win, Richmond became the first Virginia-based club in the history of the US Open Cup to reach the championship game.
1995 US Open Cup Preview: The state of American soccer in 1995
1995 USOC Round 1 POTR: Carlos Llamosa
1995 USOC Q-Finals POTR: Ben Crawley
1995 USOC Semis POTR: Jake Arrambide
1995 USOC Final POTR: Jeff Causey
1995 USOC Player of Tourney: Rob Ukrop
1995 US Open Cup Results (click on the score of the game for a match report)
The play that led to the winning penalty began with Rob Ukrop.
Ukrop came on as a sub in the 70th minute, his first appearance since breaking his cheekbone against the Atlanta Ruckus in the Quarterfinals on July 12. After receiving a pass deep in the Stingers end of the field, Ukrop was brought down in the penalty area by Stingers goalkeeper John Howard. Surprisingly, Ukrop, the team’s top scorer and a player who scored in each of the last two Open Cup games, did not take the penalty kick.
That role was left to Ben Crawley, who had been struggling from the spot in practice. “We’ve been practicing penalty kicks all week, and I was the worst one,” Crawley said. “I wanted to take it. I didn’t see anybody else rushing to it, so I just took it.”
The Kickers got off to a very quick start, scoring just 34 seconds into the game. The Kickers Scott Snyder, with his back turned to goal, found Brian Kamler with a back heel pass. Kamler then beat Howard with a shot and before the 4,667 fans could get settled in their seats, Richmond had a 1-0 lead.
“Usually 15 seconds in, you don’t expect to score,” Kamler told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “Somehow, the ball got played across to Snyder, and I was just fortunate that he had a good back heel.”
The lead only lasted eleven more minutes. Kickers defender Mike Clark misplayed a high ball and Chicago’s Don D’Ambra took control of it and fired a shot from the left side past Kickers goalkeeper Jeff Causey to tie the game. D’Ambra, a standout indoor player with the Milwaukee Wave was a big reason for the Stingers run to the Semifinals. The Philadelphia native assisted on David Linn’s game-winning goal in the 89th minute against the New York Centaurs in the Quarterfinals.
Howard made two big saves in the middle of the half to keep the game tied. In the 25th minute, Richie Williams beat an offside trap, but Howard came off his line and forced Williams’ shot to settle into the side netting of the goal. Five minutes later, Howard stopped a breakaway attempt from Ben Crawley.
In the 38th minute, Richmond did get their second goal when John Hall blasted a shot from 35 yards out.
Just before halftime, Chicago tied the game back up when Richmond’s Kevin Scott pushed David Richardson in the penalty area. The referee pointed to the spot and Steve Morris stepped up and scored the PK. It was Morris’ second goal of the tournament. The Milwaukee Wave indoor standout scored the competition’s lone golden goal when his 99th minute tally eliminated the AAC Eagles in the First Round.
About 15 minutes into the second half a scuffle broke out that involved nearly every player on the field, holding up play for almost five minutes. Matt Knowles, signed by Chicago days before the game, found himself sent off after throwing a punch at Crawley. Chicago’s Art Wywrot and Richmond’s Mike Clark received yellow cards for their part in the fracas.
“One of their players took down one of our players,” Crawley said. “I got in there to try to break it up, and (Knowles) got me in the nose.”
Richmond, playing with a man advantage, once again took the lead in the 69th minute when Scott Snyder headed home a free kick from John Hall.
With two minutes remaining, it looked like the Kickers were on their way to a second straight pro team upset, but the Stingers would tie the game for a third time. Dom D’Ambra scored his second goal of the game after taking a pass from Steve Morris and the game appeared to be headed to extra time.
Just a minute later, Crawley would convert the second penalty kick of the game to put the Kickers into the US Open Cup Final against the El Paso Patriots who had upset the A-League’s Seattle Sounders 1-0 last weekend.
Crawley, who had experience taking penalty kicks when he played for the University of Virginia, wasn’t fazed about the moment.
Crawley told the Richmond Times-Dispatch: “It’s just a matter of confidence.”