1995 US Open Cup Final
Richmond Kickers (USISL Premier League) at El Paso Patriots (USISL Pro League)
SISD Student Activities Complex – El Paso, Texas
Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET
TV: Prime Sports Network / ESPN International
At the beginning of the 1995 US Open Cup, many in the American soccer community figured the Final would be a showcase for the A-League, the top professional league in the United States. But instead, the country’s national championship will feature a showdown between the two leagues of the United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL).
The El Paso Patriots of the USISL Pro League (Div. 3) will host the Richmond Kickers, the tournament’s lone entry from the USISL Premier League (amateur) at the SISD Student Activities Complex in El Paso.
The winner is set to represent the United States in the 1996 CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup tournament where they were scheduled to play Mexican champion Necaxa (the competition ultimately was abandoned before the U.S. representee could participate).
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 makeup of the rosters for the Kickers and Patriots are vastly different. The Patriots squad is full of players with experience playing in Mexico, including six Mexican nationals.
The Kickers roster is made up mostly of current and former college players. Ten of those players were college All-Americans, including five from the University of Virginia, the four-time defending NCAA Champions under head coach Bruce Arena.
The fact that the Kickers are an amateur team is mostly to allow any college players to maintain their NCAA eligibility, although a handful of players do receive a salary. Richmond’s annual operating budget is roughly $300,000, not too far below the estimated $350,000 budget for the Patriots.
Going into the game some of the Kickers have a bit of a chip on their shoulder.
“We’re going into this with something to prove,” Rob Ukrop, Richmond’s leading scorer said about the Final. “Some guys from other teams have told me how we were supposed to win the Premier League title because we have a pretty experienced team and we were facing amateur competition. A win today will give us legitimacy.”
HOSTING DRAMA
There was frustration from the Richmond Kickers side as they had to travel to Texas for the championship game. Both teams were lobbying to host the game, but ultimately, the Patriots won over the tournament’s Open Cup committee by moving the game from Dudley Field (site of the team’s First Round and Semifinal matches), a converted baseball stadium, to the Socorro Independent School District (SISD) Student Activities Center. Dudley Field’s capacity was around 4,500, while the SISD Center was more than double the size, with a seating capacity of about 11,000 fans.
According to the El Paso Times, the Patriots submitted a 30-page proposal that included moving the game to the SISD Center and the Open Cup committee awarded the game to El Paso.
“We want to make this thing as big as possible,” Patriots GM Mitch Doblado told the Times.
As of the day before the game, there were about 3,000 tickets sold for the game.
The Kickers were disappointed not to host. They thought the quality of the field at the University of Richmond Stadium and their ability to draw crowds would give them an edge. Richmond’s home stadium also seats twice as many fans as the SISD Center, with a capacity of 22,000.
“We had more than 5,000 show up for our (USISL Premier League) playoff final in the pouring rain,” Richmond’s Rob Ukrop told the El Paso Times.
ROAD TO THE 1995 US OPEN CUP FINAL
The Richmond Kickers had to work extra hard to get to the Quarterfinals. The USISL Premier League side had to beat the same opponent twice in the First Round. After knocking off USASA club Spartans SC 5-2 on June 11, the Spartans protested the result and it was upheld, forcing a replay on July 2. Then, Richmond would win the replay against a shorthanded Spartans team by the score of 6-1.
In the Quarterfinals, the Kickers defeated the A-League’s Atlanta Ruckus 2-1. Rob Ukrop and Scott Snyder provided the scoring for Richmond, although Ukrop was forced to miss several games due to a broken cheekbone after a collision with Atlanta’s John Doyle. Ben Crawley, another one of the stars from the University of Virginia dynasty, assisted on both goals and was voted TheCup.us Player of the Round.
In the Semifinals, Richmond faced the Chicago Stingers of the USUSL Pro League and came out on top after a back-and-forth game. The Kickers took the lead three times only to see Chicago equalize each time. The last time, Chicago’s Don D’Ambra tied the game in the 88th minute, but then Ukrop, who came off the bench still recovering from a broken cheekbone, drew a penalty a minute later. Ben Crawley stepped up and converted the PK in the 89th minute to give the Kickers a 4-3 win in what many believe to be the game of the tournament.
The El Paso Patriots kicked off their 1995 US Open Cup with a 5-2 comeback win over 1989 Open Cup champs McCormick Kickers (Fla.). The Patriots scored five unanswered goals after falling behind 2-0 in the opening ten minutes. David Stewart led El Paso with a brace and Raul Gomez had a goal and an assist.
The Quarterfinals saw the Patriots travel North to Colorado Springs, Co. to upset the Colorado Foxes, the defending A-League champions. The Patriots won 2-0 on a pair of goals from Sal Mercado.
In the Semifinals the Patriots hosted the A-League’s Seattle Sounders in the mid-day El Paso heat that reached into the triple digits. Gabino Amparan’s 36th minute goal held up for a 1-0 shocker over a team that many consider the best outdoor soccer team in the country. El Paso goalkeeper Jake Arrambide, who prior to making the team through an open tryout, had only played high school soccer. He made six saves and earned TheCup.us Player of the Round honors.
LEAGUE FORM
While both the Patriots and Kickers advanced to the USISL postseason, the teams saw their seasons end very differently.
On Aug. 11, the Kickers won the USISL Premier League championship with a 3-1 win over the Cocoa Expos, a team they trailed in the Eastern Division for much of the year. Brian Kamler scored twice in a five-minute span early in the opening half, and Rob Ukrop countered the Expos’ lone goal in the second half. Ukrop finished ninth in USISL Premier League scoring race with 10 goals and four assists. Brian Kamler was named the “Sizzlin Four” (Semifinals) MVP.
After finishing the regular season 15-5 the Patriots fell short of the USISL Pro League title, stumbling in the South Central Division Final, losing 3-0 and 2-1 to the New Mexico Chilies on Aug. 17 and 20. Forward Rito Delgado finished the season as one of the top goalscorers in the USISL Pro League, racking up 25 goals.
INJURY REPORT
As far as injuries, Richmond was pretty much 100% healthy. Their top scorer Rob Ukrop was still ignoring his doctor’s recommendations to not play soccer while he heals from a broken cheekbone. He suffered that injury six weeks ago (July 12) in the Kickers’ Quarterfinal win over the Atlanta Ruckus (A-League). Ukrop had come off the bench in the Semifinal win over the Chicago Stingers (drawing the foul that led to the game-winning penalty kick) and all three games of the USISL Premier League Semifinals and Final)
On the flip side, El Paso came into the game slightly banged up coming off their USISL playoff games against New Mexico. David Stewart (knee, foot, thigh), midfielders Neri Baustista (knee) and Raul Gomez (knee) and defender Guillermo McFarlane (groin) were all listed as questionable for the game.
HEAD COACH MISSING
Richmond head coach, and former Manchester United star Dennis Voillet has more than the Open Cup Final to deal with. Viollet traveled down to Jacksonville University on Aug. 13 to begin preparations for the upcoming NCAA season. Violett plans to rejoin the team in El Paso the day before the game, and Kickers general manager Bobby Lennon has looked after the team in his absence. Voillet has been the head coach for Jacksonville since 1990.
WEATHER FORECAST
Viollet and Lennon knew their team was used to the hot summers of Richmond, but as the Seattle Sounders learned in the Semifinals, the heat in El Paso is different. The Richmond Times-Dispatch described the desert heat in El Paso as “El Sauna”. The Semifinal match saw temperatures reach the triple digits. The forecast was calling for temperatures in the mid-90s on gameday.
With that in mind, Lennon made sure his team acclimated to the local climate by practicing in the middle of the afternoon – the hottest part of the day – in the two days leading up to the Final.
“It’s going to be hot, that’s for sure,” Richmond’s Brian Kamler told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “It’s different than we’re used to because it’s a dry heat, but we’ll adjust.”
COLA WARS
In an interesting side issue, Pepsi-Cola of El Paso, a sponsor of the Patriots since 1992, made a possible $50,000 commitment to underwrite the Final, meaning they would make up any lack of ticket sales short of $50,000. The catch is that the venue for the game, the Socorro Student Activities Complex, has a deal in place with Coca-Cola, meaning Pepsi cannot place any signage at the stadium.
TELEVISION
The game was set to be broadcast on the Prime Network, while also receiving a larger global audience when the Final was picked up by ESPN International. It was the first game of the 1995 tournament to be broadcast on television and according to TheCup.us records, this marked the first time that two different networks were going to air the US Open Cup Final.