Complete U.S. Open Cup Coverage

David Bulow

TheCup.us Best of 2011 review

by

As we head into the New Year with US Open Cup qualification for 2012 already under way in the USASA and all the entrants for the higher divisions (reportedly) set, we thought we would take a look back at the year 2011. We wanted to honor the great performances in the US Open Cup and by the teams and players in all competitions for the American domestic clubs. Here is the debut of TheCup.us annual honors.

US Open Cup Best 11 Performances of 2011

11 – Eric Kronberg & CJ Sapong (Sporting KC):

Qualifying for the tournament during and after a long road stretch to start the season due to stadium construction was no easy task, and the club could not be faulted if they chose to pass on playing in the event. Instead, the team dominated in qualifying with a pair of Kronberg shutouts and three goals from Sapong to top Houston, 1-0 in overtime, and New England, 5-0. Kronberg would go on to get a third shutout in the Third Round tournament opener for KC, blanking Chicago Fire’s PDL side, 3-0.

10 – Stefan Dimitrov (NY Pancyrprian Freedoms):

After being one of the club’s leading players in qualifying, he continued his stellar performance in the tournament. He struck the opening goal in the team’s 2-1 First Round win against Brooklyn Italians and nearly saw his team upset USL Pro’s FC New York in the Second Round, falling in penalties after a scoreless draw.

9 – Kitsap Pumas:

The best performance by a club from the fourth tier of US Soccer, Kitsap survived a difficult road trip to El Paso in the First Round, advancing on penalties after a scoreless draw. They then dominated fellow PDL side Real Colorado, 3-1, before giving the MLS Sounders a tough test on their home turf before exiting in a 2-1 decision.

8 – Jackson (FC Dallas):

The midfielder was the game MVP in the club’s first two contests, tallying a goal and assist in the thrilling 3-2 victory against Orlando City in the Third Round and finding the back of the net once again in their win at home against Real Salt Lake.

7 – Zach Lubin (Kitsap Pumas):

Filling in for the regular starter at the last minute, the netminder came out on top in a goalkeeping duel on the road against the El Paso Patriots. After a scoreless 90 minutes, he made a fantastic double-save in overtime and then stopped a penalty in the shootout to send the Pumas onto the Second Round.

6 – Dominic Oduro (Chicago Fire):

A maligned start to his MLS campaign resulted in a trade to Chicago, where he would revive his reputation with some success in the Open Cup. Part of the success included game-winners in the Quarterfinal and Semifinal matches against Richmond and New York. Oduro, Player of the Round for the Semifinals, also finished second behind Seattle’s Fredy Montero for TheCup.us Player of the ‘Tournament.

5 – Chicago Fire:

A club struggling in league play (and ultimately missing the postseason), the Fire advanced from pre-tournament MLS qualifying, kicking it all off with a win over defending MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids, 2-1, before topping San Jose in penalties after a 2-2 draw to earn the berth. In the tournament they edged perennial upset-power Rochester, 1-0, before clobbering a second-string Red Bulls, 4-0, and ending the amazing run of Richmond, 2-1, to reach the championship, where they fell, 2-0, to Seattle.

4 – Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders):

The Sounders played four games en route to the title. He netted the game-winner in the last three as they topped three consecutive MLS opponents, earning Player of the Tournament honors.

3 – David Bulow (Richmond Kickers):

He finished as the leading scorer of the tournament with six goals, doubling the tally of those behind him. The effort propelled Bulow into the all-time scoring leader for the Modern Pro Era with 14. With a hat-trick in the First Round, two goals in the Second he tied Johnny Menyongar and MLS great Jaime Moreno at 13. He notched the table-leading goal in a 2-0 Quarterfinal win against Sporting Kansas City. Unfortunately he had to watch his team play without him in the Kickers’ Semifinal loss to Chicago when he received a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation when he was cautioned late in the Kansas City match.

2 – Seattle Sounders:

Any other year and Seattle would have been in the top spot, which is undoubtedly where they would be for a team of the decade vote. You do not need to say anything more than Three-Peat.

1 – Richmond Kickers:

What can you say? In the 17 years of the Modern Pro Era of the tournament you can count on one hand the kind of lower division club performances equal to what the Kickers accomplished this year, becoming the first-ever team to win back-to-back road matches versus MLS opponents. They topped Columbus at Crew Stadium, 2-1, in the Third Round and stunned Kansas City, 2-0, in a thunderstorm-plagued match in the Quarterfinals. The run, which started with a pair of games against fellow USL Pro clubs and no amateur sides, did not see the team trail until it came to an end on the road in Chicago during the Semifinals.

All Competitions Best of 2011

Major League Soccer Club: Los Angeles Galaxy

It was not an easy choice between the star-laden Galaxy and the Open Cup darling Sounders as both were excellent across nearly all competitions. LA won MLS Cup as Seattle crashed out early in the playoffs again. On the other hand, Seattle knocked LA out of the early rounds of the Open Cup yet again on its way to winning their third consecutive title, making those two events basically even. In the end, that left the MLS Supporters’ Shield and CONCACAF Champions League, both of which the Galaxy were the better side. LA won their group in CCL action while the Sounders were second in theirs – both advancing to this spring’s Quarterfinals. And in the regular season, the Galaxy finished four points better as they finished one-two with LA having the better of Seattle on the narrowest of margins, 1-0 on aggregate, in their two league contests on the year – making the season opener back on March 15 the possible deciding factor in this honor as the point swing would have made Seattle Supporters’ Shield winners instead.

Major League Soccer Player: Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders)

With three goals in the Open Cup, he was tied with several other players for second in scoring. In MLS, he finished tied for fifth in both goals (12) and assists (9). He was also tied for sixth in CCL scoring with three goals.

Lower Division Professional Club: Orlando City

Based on Open Cup performance, selecting Richmond would have been the obvious choice. However, Orlando City dominated USL Pro this season, finishing with a 15-3-6 record and going on to capture the league double with a playoff championship in equally dominating fashion. In the Open Cup, the Floridians blew past amateurs ASC New Stars, 4-0, before becoming the first non-MLS team to oust Charleston, 1-0, in the Second Round. They gave CCL club and MLS Cup finalist FC Dallas a tough outing in the Third Round, finding themselves on the wrong end of a thrilling 3-2 contest that saw both clubs score in stoppage time.

Lower Division Professional Player: Miguel Gallardo (Orlando City)

If David Bulow was the star of the Open Cup, it was Gallardo during the USL Pro season. The netminder controlled the box with a league-leading 0.681 GAA, finishing first in shutouts (11) and tied for first in wins (12). He allowed only one goal in postseason contests against Charleston and Richmond and had a shutout in the works during the final before mistakenly taking down a Harrisburg player outside of the box, receiving a red card for the foul and allowing the City Islanders to force a 2-2 draw that saw the Lions take the title in penalties.

Amateur Club: NY Pancyprian Freedoms

The perennial USASA giants came into the tournament as defending USASA Open Cup champions and as reigning Cosmopolitan League title holders, suffering only one loss in a 11-1-4 campaign. The Freedoms topped the NPSL’s Brooklyn Italians, 2-1, in the First Round and nearly upset USL Pro FC New York in the Second Round. They took the pro club to penalty kicks in a scoreless contest before being eliminated in sudden death penalties. The club would go on to capture a second straight USASA championship, downing AAC Eagles, 6-0, in the semifinal and claiming the title in penalties after a 2-2 draw against ASC New Stars.

Amateur Club Player: Milton Blanco (Fresno Fuego)

He finished first in the league in assists (14) and tied for sixth in goals (12) to finish first overall in total points with 38. He helped lead Fresno to an unbeaten 13-0-3 season that came to an end in the second round of the playoffs, 1-0, by the professional Kitsap side that went on to win the league title. Four of Blanco’s goals came in the opening four Open Cup qualification games of the season, leading the team to a perfect 4-0-0 record that was not quite enough as they missed out on the division’s berth in the tournament to Ventura County on tiebreakers.

Professional Women’s Club: Western NY Flash

Dominant from start to finish, the newcomers to WPS finished 14-3-2 on the season and went on to win the league double with the playoff championship.

Professional Women’s Player: Abby Wambach (MagicJack)

It was a tough decision with WNY’s Christine Sinclair finishing tied for first in goals (10) and assists (8). Wambach, however, was tied for third in goals (9), having played in three fewer games. More importantly, the US international was the standout performer in the FIFA World Cup over the summer while Canada’s campaign fell flat.

Amateur Women’s Club: Atlanta Silverbacks

The W-League champions suffered only one loss on the year, an early season defeat to rival Charlotte, 3-1. Since that game, the Silverbacks gave up only two more goals during the regular season, finishing the campaign with seven shutouts. After a wild 3-2 opening round playoff win against the New Jersey Wildcats they went on to blank Charlotte, 1-0, and dominate the two Canadian giants. They topped Vancouver, 3-1, in the semifinal and shockingly crushed the perfect Ottawa Fury (12-0-0, 3-0-0) in the championship game with a stunning 6-1 result.

Amateur Women’s Club Player: Edite Fernandes (Santa Clarita Blue Heat)

With players on Canadian sides dominating the scoring charts it was Edite Fernandes that stood out in the W-League. She finished with nine goals and five assists on the season (fourth in goals, assists and points)  to help guide the second-year club to a regular season title in the Western Conference, a group home to powerhouses like Pali Blues, Vancouver Whitecaps and Seattle Sounders.

Note: Pro clubs (and their players) in amateur leagues were ineligible for amateur awards. For men, they were categorized with Lower Division Professional Clubs and for women, they were categorized with Professional Women’s Club, etc.

2011 US Open Cup: Finalists for TheCup.us Player of the Tournament unveiled

by

The top four finalists for TheCup.us Player of the Tournament (from top left, clockwise): Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders), Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle Sounders), Ronnie Pascale (Richmond Kickers) and David Bulow (Richmond Kickers)

The 2011 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup tournament will undoubtedly go down in history with the Seattle Sounders and Richmond Kickers as the leading stories. Both clubs made history, resulting in two players from each club as the four finalists for TheCup.us Player of the Tournament honors. The duo of Osvaldo Alonso and Fredy Montero are up for the award from the champion Sounders and David Bulow and Ronnie Pascale are in the running from Richmond.

The award, to be announced Thursday, October 13, is voted on by the staff of the definitive US Open Cup site TheCup.us and a selected panel of members of the North American Soccer Reporters, which also selects the MLS Player of the Week. The panel previously honored Alonso, Pascale, Bulow as TheCup.us Players of the Round along with Dominic Oduro (Chicago Fire), Mike Fucito (Seattle) and Zach Lubin (Kitsap Pumas).

Also receiving votes for the honor were Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson and Pumas netminder Bryan Meredith.

Alonso, Player of the Round for the Final, started in all four matches of Seattle’s historic run to the championship, leading the team defensively along the way and capping it off with a goal in stoppage time of the 2-0 championship against Chicago. Leo Gonzalez was the only other Sounder to start all four contests while Jeff Parke and Mike Fucito were the only two others to see action in all four games.

Montero scored the game-winning goal in each of the last three contests in guiding the Sounders to the historic championship, also topping in addition to the Fire, fellow league Champions League sides Los Angeles Galaxy and FC Dallas in the Quarterfinal and Semifinal rounds.

Bulow finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with six goals, becoming the career leading in US Open Cup goals in the modern professional era (1995-present) with 14. With a hat-trick in the First Round, two goals in the Second he tied Johnny Menyongar and MLS great Jaime Moreno at 13. He notched the table-leading goal in a 2-0 Quarterfinal win against Sporting Kansas City.

The venerable Pascale added yet another accolade to his fantastic lower division career, earning Player of the Round honors in leading Richmond to the shutout win in Kansas City. The victory made the Kickers the first lower division club to win back-to-back road games versus MLS opposition in the history of the tournament.

2011 US Open Cup Second Round: David Bulow of Richmond Kickers flying high as TheCup.us Player of the Round

by

Richmond Kickers striker David Bulow was selected as TheCup.us Player of the Round for his Second Round brace en route to leading the club to a 4-1 victory against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.

A candidate the week before for a hat-trick in a 4-1 win against the Dayton Dutch Lions, Bulow’s double put him in rarified air on the career scoring list for the Professional Era (1995-present) of the US Open Cup, making him the leading choice for the honor.

The Player of the Round award is voted on by the staff of the definitive US Open Cup site TheCup.us and a selected panel of members of the North American Soccer Reporters which also selects the MLS Player of the Week.

This Week

Photo: Richmond Kickers / Suz Kitsteiner

Bulow delivered the opening score 17 minutes in when he stationed himself at the six and drove in a low cross from Edson Elcock. He nearly doubled the lead two minutes later on a fantastic diving header only to see it slide wide of the far post.

Pittsburgh would level terms on the half-hour mark, but Bulow restored the advantage four minutes before the break, finishing off another low cross at the six on a ball from Sascha Gorres.

Bulow is the first player for the Kickers to be named Player of the Round by TheCup.us, which has selected the honor since 2006.

Historically

Bulow’s five goals in the past two rounds lifted him from being tied for 11th in goals since 1995 to a tie for first with Johnny Menyongar and all-time MLS leading scorer Jaime Moreno. When he entered the tournament he was level with former MLS greats Ronald Cerritos and in the process of leading Richmond to a pair of wins, passed MLS stars Josh Wolff, Carlos Ruiz, Dante Washington and Sebastien Le Toux among several of his USL peers. All of the mentioned MLS players but Le Toux, who is only in his third MLS campaign, rank among the league’s top 25 in the all-time scoring table for the league.

Playing more than four games is a rare occurrence in the US Open Cup where lower division clubs are, for the most part, eventually eliminated by the Major League Soccer teams, who themselves are limited to four matches by entering in the Third Round. That makes being a scoring leader on the all-time list for the Pro Era a lofty list. A player must either have two or three standout tournament performances or tally in a vast number of different tournaments.

David Bulow and the Richmond Kickers
In 2004, Bulow made his US Open Cup debut with the Cape Cod Crusaders of the PDL. The amateur side had a nice run (along with teammates who also went on to play professionally like Kurt Morsink, Scott Palguta and David Mahoney), where they
reached the Third Round. He scored a goal in a 4-1 win over NY Greek American Atlas (USASA) to start the tournament and added two more in a 3-2 upset of the Western Mass Pioneers (3rd Division) in Round 2. In their Round 3 match on June 30, 2004, the Crusaders fell short of a date with D.C. United when the A-League’s Richmond Kickers eliminated them 1-0 on a David Hayes golden goal in the fourth minute of extra time. Ronnie Pascale was in net for the Kickers that night, and playing opposite Bulow for the Kickers was current strike partner Matthew Delicate.

Bulow is becoming a mixture of the two. After scoring three goals in his debut campaign in 2004 with the PDL Cape Cod Crusaders, he had scored only five more goals in four further appearances. In comparison, Menyongar scored the bulk of his goals, 12, in his first three campaigns while Moreno scored more than one goal only twice (3 in 1996, 4 in 2000) in his eight campaigns. Retiring this past offseason and now coaching in DC’s youth academy, his last came a year ago, joining Menyongar, who had moved to the top in 2008.

In a stroke of coincidence, the Kickers drew the Columbus Crew for the Third Round contest in which Bulow could surpass Moreno as the Pro Era scoring leader for the tournament. The Crew are the club of Jeff Cunningham, who is currently one tally back of Moreno in the all-time MLS scoring table, leaving Moreno in a position where he could see both honors disappear in one week. Cunningham, though listed as questionable by the Crew for Sunday’s match against Colorado with a right hamstring strain, came into the game for the final 15 minutes but saw few opportunities as the club led 4-1 already. The next Columbus match is at Dallas Saturday.

Odds are in Bulow’s favor to also finish as the tournament’s leading scorer. Only four tournaments since 1995 have seen a scoring leader reach six goals in a given tournament on a total of six occasions. Five players have led four different tournaments with five goals. Last year, Miami FC’s Paul Araujo Jr. (now with Real Salt Lake) and Nate Jaqua of Seattle Sounders FC both netted five goals to tie for scoring honors.

It was not a case of Richmond getting a favorable draw against amateur clubs that allowed Bulow to run up his tally. Instead, the Kickers have played two fellow USL Pro clubs thus far, and the midfielder has only three goals in 13 league appearances, scoring his last April 30.

Professional Era Scoring Leaders (1995-present)

# – Player – Last Goal
13 – Johnny Menyongar – 2008
13 – Jaime Moreno – 2010
13 – David Bulow – 2011
12 – Melvin Tarley – 2009
11 – Sebastien Le Toux – 2009
10 – Byron Carmichael – 2009
10 – Dante Washington – 2004
9 – Tomas Boltnar – 2006
9 – Randi Patterson – 2009
9 – Carlos Ruiz – 2007
9 – Matthew Delicate – 2011
9 – Josh Wolff – 2005
8 – Ronald Cerritos – 2006
8 – Brian McBride – 2002

Bold – Playing for a 2011 Open Cup team

Professional Era Leaders Among 2011 Open Cup Participants

13 – David Bulow (Richmond Kickers)
9 – Matthew Delicate (Richmond Kickers)
7 – Chris Albright (NY Red Bulls)
7 – Nate Jaqua (Seattle Sounders)
6 – Paulo Araujo Jr (Real Salt Lake)
6 – Jeff Cunningham (Columbus Crew)
6 – Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)
6 – Jamie Watson (Orlando City)
5 – Davy Arnaud (Sporting KC)
5 – Dominic Oduro (Chicago Fire)

Leading Scorers by Year

Year – Goals – Players
2010 – 5 – Nate Jaqua (Seattle Sounders), Paulo Araujo Jr (Miami FC)
2009 – 3 – Five players
2008 – 5 – Sebastien Le Toux (Seattle Sounders)
2007 – 5 – Sebastien Le Toux (Seattle Sounders)
2006 – 4 – Four players
2005 – 6 – Herculez Gomez (LA Galaxy), Melvin Tarley (Minnesota Thunder)
2004 – 4 – Julian Nash (Chicago Fire Reserves)
2003 – 4 – Amado Guevara (Metrostars)
2002 – 4 – Johnny Menyongar (Minnesota Thunder)
2001 – 5 – Abdul Thompson Conteh (DC United)
2000 – 6 – Josh Wolff (Chicago Fire), Welton (Miami Fusion)
1999 – 6 – Mugurel Dimitru (San Diego Flash)
1998 – 4 – Jason Acres (Chicago Stingers)
1997 – 6 – Marquis White (San Francisco Bay Seals)
1996 – 4 – Doug Miller (Rochester Raging Rhinos)
1995 – 4 – Shawn Medved (Seattle Sounders)

2011 US Open Cup Second Round: Richmond Kickers roll over Riverhounds, earn date with Columbus Crew

by

Richmond Kickers Pittsburgh Riverhounds celebration 2011 US Open Cup
The Richmond Kickers celebrate one of their four goals on Tuesday night. Their eight goals in the first two matches is the most since they scored nine in the first two games in 2005. Photo: Suz Kitsteiner | Richmond Kickers

The Richmond Kickers offense continues to hit on all cylinders as they dismissed fellow USL Pro team, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 4-1 in the US Open Cup Second Round. The Kickers, who defeated the Dayton Dutch Lions (USL Pro) by the same score in the opening round, received two goals each from David Bulow and Matthew Delicate to cruise into a Third Round matchup with the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer.

Combined with his hat trick in Round 1, Bulow now has a tournament-high five goals, which is already a club record for a single tournament. The two goals on Tuesday give him 13 for his career, which puts him into a three-way tie with Jaime Moreno (DC United) and Johnny Menyongar (Rochester Rhinos / Minnesota Thunder) for first place on the Professional Era (1995-present) goalscoring chart.

Just like their opening round match, the Kickers attempted to get out to a fast start, and the early pressure paid off. Bulow opened up the scoring in the 17th minute when Edson Elcock crossed a ball into the box from the right wing and the tournament’s leading scorer was there to tuck it past goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap to make it 1-0.

After a spectacular diving header went wide for Bulow moments later, it was the Riverhounds who leveled the match in the 30th minute. Chad Severs received a ball inside the box off the head of Jason Yeisley, who found space and nodded it into the back of the net to tie the game.

With both teams creating chances heading into halftime, Bulow would strike again before the break. Sascha Gorres delivered a cross into the box and once again, Bulow was on the other end, inside the six, with his record-tying 13th career Open Cup goal. The goal broke a couple of club records, as he became the Kickers’ all-time goalscoring leader in the competition and broke the team’s single-tournament record of four which was held by McColm Cephas (2005) and Kevin Jeffrey (2001).

Pro Era Goalscoring Leaders
(1995-present)
13 – Jaime Moreno (DC United)
13 – Johnny Menyongar (Rochester / Minnesota)
13 – David Bulow (Richmond / Cape Cod)
12 – Melvin Tarley (Minnesota Thunder)
11 – Sebastien Le Toux (Seattle Sounders)

After halftime, Gorres would create a two-goal gap with a cross to the top of the box for Delicate who placed a header above the outstretched arms of Gilstrap, who had come out to get the ball.

Down 3-1, Pittsburgh threw everything forward to get back in the game, but Richmond would put the game away in the 81st minute when Delicate fired an unstoppable shot into the upper corner from just outside the penalty area. For Delicate, it was his eighth career US Open Cup goal, moving him into a tie with Ronald Cerritos and former US international Brian McBride for sixth on the Pro Era chart.

With the win, Richmond has still never lost to a 3rd Division team in the Open Cup and will face off with the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium next Tuesday. The game will be the first meeting between the two teams since the Kickers dropped a 3-0 decision to the Crew in that same stadium back in 2002. Brian McBride and Dante Washington scored for the MLS team that day.

TheCup.us Match MVP: David Bulow

Scoring:
RIC: David Bulow (Edson Elcock) – 17th min.
PIT: Chad Severs (Jason Yeisley) – 30th min.
RIC: David Bulow (Sascha Gorres) – 41st min.
RIC: Matthew Delicate (Sascha Gorres) – 52nd min.
RIC: Matthew Delicate (Ross MacKenzie) – 81st min.

Lineups

RICHMOND: GK Ronnie Pascale; D Sascha Görres, Henry Kalungi, Yomby William, Luke Vercollone (Stanley Nyazamba 69′); Jamel Wallace (Ross Mackenzie 58′), David Hertel, David Bulow, Edson Elcock, Shaka Bangura (Evan Harding 54′); F Matthew Delicâte

PITTSBURGH: GK Hunter Gilstrap; D Nikola Katic, Sterling Flunder, Mike Seth (Jeremy Deighton 70′), Louie Rolko; Tommy Gray, Matt Fondy (Matthew Tuttle 70′), Sammy Appiah, Shintaro Harada; F Jason Yeisley, Chad Severs

Cautions
85′: Appiah (Pitt)

Ejections:
None.

Attendance: 1161

2011 US Open Cup First Round: Bulow hat trick leads Kickers 4-1 rout of Dayton

by

Bulow tallied three for Richmond (Suz Kitsteiner / RichmondKickers.com)

David Bulow propelled himself up the Modern Era US Open Cup tournament goal scoring list with a hat trick to lead Richmond to a 4-1 first round victory over USL PRO rival Dayton Dutch Lions at University of Richmond Stadium.

Bulow was inserted in the lineup along with Shaka Bangura to replace regular starters Matthew Delicate and Edson Elcock, whom head coach Leigh Cowlishaw was resting for the Kickers USL PRO game against Harrisburg on Friday. Bulow and Bangura provided all the offense Richmond would need on the night. Bulow started the scoring eight minutes after the kickoff, when he scored on a 15 yard shot following a header assist from Stanley Nyazamba.

Bulow would strike again when he met a pass from Bangura in full stride at the top of the 18-yard box and blasted a shot past Dutch Lions goalkeeper Brian Visser. Bulow completed his hat trick by converting from the penalty spot in the 65th minute, and Bangura put a bow on the rout with a goal of his own with two minutes remaining. The completion of the hat trick came five minutes after Dayton found the net for the only time on a 60th minute penalty kick from Marvin van der Pluijm.

Bulow’s goals were his eighth, ninth, and 10th in Open Cup play, and is now tied for 3rd in Modern Era goal scoring with Sebastien Le Toux of the Philadelphia Union. Ahead of Bulow and Le Toux are Melvin  Tarley with 12 goals, and Johnny Menyongar and Jaime Moreno with 13.

Bulow scored his first five tournament goals playing for the Cape Cod Crusaders in the PDL, tallying three in 2004 and two more in 2006. He has scored three others for the Kickers, one each in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

The Kickers will face another USL PRO league rival, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, on June 21 at University of Richmond Stadium.

Highlights (RichmondKickers.com)

Highlights from CBS 6 Richmond (begins at 0:50)

RECAP: Dayton Dutch Lions | Richmond Times-Dispatch

Scoring Summary
7th minute: David Bulow (Stanley Nyazamba)
17th minute: David Bulow (Shaka Bangura)
60th minute: Marvin Van der Pluijm (PK)
65th minute: David Bulow (PK)
89th minute: Shaka Bangura (Ross Mackenzie)

Starting Lineups
Kickers: GK Ronnie Pascale, Yomby William, Henry Kalungi, Sascha Goerres (David Hertel 45’), Luke Vercollone, Mike Callahan (Edson Elcock 67’), Bobby Foglesong (Ross Mackenzie 42’), Nozomi Hiroyama, Stanley Nyazamba, Shaka Bangura, David Bulow

Dutch Lions: GK Brian Visser, Evan Schwartz, Kyle Segebart, Mettin Copier, Happy Hall (Marvin van der Pluijm 45’), Bret Jones (Shane Smith 57’), Joel DeLass, Mikael McNamara, Lucien Seymour, Kolby LaCrone (Julius Willie 45’), George Davis IV

Shots                      Saves                       Fouls                      Corners
Dayton:     8            Dayton:      0            Dayton:     9            Dayton:       6
Kickers:     7            Kickers:      3            Kickers:      7            Kickers:       2

Cautions:
60’: Bulow (Richmond)
78’: Schwartz (Dayton)
90′: Schwartz (Dayton)

Ejections:
90’: Schwartz (Dayton)

Referee: Andrew Chapin

Assistant Referees: Robert Velbis, Jim Sadowski
Fourth Official: Charles Carson
Attendance: 722
Weather: 78°, clear

2009 First Round: RailHawks beat Richmond in rematch of 2007 Quarterfinals

by

WakeMedSoccer Park – Cary, N.C.
2
FT
 1
Daniel Paladini (Diallo) 14’
Hamed Diallo 48
         
20’ David Bulow (PK)

The Carolina RailHawks will move on to face another USL Second Division team after defeating the Richmond Kickers 2-1.

Hamed Diallo scored the game-winner just after halftime, and assisted on the opening goal early in the first half to lead the way for the home side at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC. Richmond tied the game in the 20th minute on a David Bulow penalty kick. The game was a rematch of the 2007 Open Cup Quarterfinals when the RailHawks eliminated the Kickers 1-0, en route to an appearance in the Semifinals in Carolina’s inaugural season.

The RailHawks will advance to host the Wilmington Hammerheads in the Second Round next Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Lineups

RailHawks: GK Eric Reed, Devon McKenney, Mark Schulte, Jeremy Tolleson, John Gilkerson, Amir Lowery, Josh Gardner, Joseph Kabwe, Daniel Paladini, Matt Watson, Hamed Diallo (Sallieu Bundu – 68’)

Kickers: GK Ronnie Pascale, Sascha Görres, Yomby William, Henry Kalungi, Kenny Cutler, Luke Vercollone, Kelvin Jones (Adrian Bumbut – 50’), Gerson dos Santos (Ross MacKenzie – 83’), Chris Carrieri, David Bulow (Mike Burke – 50’), Matthew Delicâte

Shots: RIC 6, CAR 3
Saves: RIC 0, CAR 3
Fouls: RIC 10, CAR 14
Corners: RIC 3, CAR 4

Cautions:
54th minute: Devon McKenney (Carolina)
59th minute: Henry Kalungi (Richmond)
76th minute: Joseph Kabwe (Carolina)

Ejections:
None.

Referee:    Daniel Fitzgerald
Assistant Referees:   Saeed Mohamed, Chris Spivey
Fourth Official:    Mark Kadlecik
Attendance:    1,362
Weather:    Rain

2008 First Round: Richmond disarms the Fredericksburg Gunners, 3-0

by

The Fredericksburg Gunners’ first Open Cup run was cut short by the Richmond Kickers, who are making their 10th trip to the tournament. Kickers score a trio of first half goals to beat the Gunners 3-0.

Richmond scored all of its goals in the first 25 minutes, starting with midfielder Eliot Paschalis’ tally in the 11th. Stanley Nyazamba doubled the lead in the 20th minute. The final goal came three minutes later, when David Bulow converted a penalty kick, awarded when Nyazamba was brought down in the penalty area by Fredericksburg defender Jay Bownes.

With the win, the Kickers have won the opening game of the tournament in nine of their 10 appearances and they move on to face USL Second Division rivals Western Mass Pioneers in the Second Round on June 24.

Scoring Summary
11th minute: Richmond – Eliot Paschalis (David Bulow)
20th minute: Richmond – Stanley Nyazamba
24th minute: Richmond – David Bulow (Penalty)

Lineups
Kickers: GK Ronnie Pascale, Kelvin Jones (Pat Viray – 88’), Trevor McEachron, Evan Harding, Anthony Catalano, Sascha Görres (Adrian Bumbut – 61’), Luke Vercollone, Eliot Paschalis, Ian Bennett (Adam Chavez – 71’), David Bulow, Stanley Nyazamba (Mike Burke – 83’)

Gunners: GK Ken Manahan, Henry Kalungi, Tennant McVea, Cameron McCarthy (Sean Hinkle – 73’), Jonathan Bownes, Daniel McGarry (Berin Boracic – 45’), Stephen Nsereko, Ryan Johnson (Cameron Petty – 55’), Justin Lescow, Matthew Lacey, Andrew Wheeler (David Sanford – 60’)

Shots                 Saves                   Fouls                Corners
Gunners: 7       Gunners: 3           Gunners: 8     Gunners: 3
Kickers:   8       Kickers:  3             Kickers  3       Kickers:  5

Cautions:
23rd minute: Jonathan Bownes (Fredericksburg)

Ejections:
None.
 
Referee:    Shaun Papperman
Assistant Referees:   James Conlee, Bill Dittmar
Fourth Official:    Alex Addison
Attendance:    592
Weather:    Hot, humid 100º

2007 US Open Cup Round 3: Galactic upset! Richmond eliminate LA Galaxy 1-0

by

David Bulow of the Richmond Kickers scores a goal against the LA Galaxy in the Third Round of the 2007 US Open Cup. Photo: Brian Zimmerman
David Bulow of the Richmond Kickers scores a goal against the LA Galaxy in the Third Round of the 2007 US Open Cup. Photo: Brian Zimmerman

The Richmond Kickers pulled off the biggest upset in franchise history with a 1-0 win against Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy. David Bulow pounced on a mishandled corner kick in the 29th minute and the Kickers defense held the Galaxy off the scoresheet for the rest of the game in front of their home fans at University of Richmond Stadium.

Landon Donovan of the LA Galaxy (left) and Matt Watson of the Richmond Kickers battle for the ball in the Third Round of the 2007 US Open Cup. Photo: Brian Zimmerman
Landon Donovan of the LA Galaxy (left) and Matt Watson of the Richmond Kickers battle for the ball in the Third Round of the 2007 US Open Cup. Photo: Brian Zimmerman

The Kickers’ Ronnie Pascale made four saves, while Galaxy backup keeper Steve Cronin stopped three for the visitors.

This was the first victory over an MLS team since the Kickers joined the USL Second Division at the beginning of the 2006 season. As a member of the USL’s First Division (called the “A-League” until 2005), the Kickers defeated two MLS teams, the Colorado Rapids in the Second Round of the 2000 tournament, and DC United in the Fourth Round in 2004.

The defending Second Division champions, and winners of the 1995 US Open Cup, will move on to the next round to play the Carolina RailHawks, who upset their MLS opponent Chicago Fire also by a score of 1-0.

As a side note, for those of you paying attention to one of the subplots of this year’s tournament, this means that the chances of the Harrisburg City Islanders hosting a “dream game” involving the Los Angeles Galaxy and David Beckham are over. The City Islanders will be donating the money raised to the Harrisburg Department of Parks and Recreation.

Copyright © 2026 • Built by Jacob Martella Web Development