Kickers Advance On PKS.
Unable to advance a team to the semifinals after 210 minutes in a home-and-away series, the game was decided on kicks from the penalty stripe. The Kickers made all five of theirs, while the Whitecaps made only four.
Richmond’s Robert Ssejjemba, Matthew Delicâte, Sascha Görres, Joey Worthen and Kevin Jeffrey all converted,while Vancouver’s Chris Franks’ missed shot resulted to be the difference.
The Kickers, seeded #6 in the six-team playoff, will hosts the #2 seeded Rochester Raging Rhinos in the first leg of the home-and-away aggregate score series this Friday, September 23rd at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Richmond Stadium.
The two draws is a continuation of the Kickers struggles to win a game, but is also a reflection on the team’s strong defensive play. Richmond has not won a USL First Division game since a July 2-1 win over the Atlanta Silverbacks. That winless streak now stands at 0-4-9.
The last time the Kickers played the Rhinos, the two tied 0-0 in back-to-back games, first in Richmond and then in Rochester in late July.
West coast rivals Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers faced off in the quarterfinals, as the Sounders edged the Timbers 3-0 on aggregate. In a re-match of the 2004 USL First Division Championship Finals, Seattle will face Montreal in the semi-final round this weekend.
All playoff rounds will be two-legged aggregate score series with the exception of the USL First Division Championship with the Host determined on a bid basis to be played on Saturday, October 1st. The Kickers and Rhinos meet in the second leg at Frontier Field in Rochester, NY at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 25th to finish the series. The match will be televised LIVE on Fox Soccer Channel.
USL First Division Semi-Finals
1-Montreal Impact vs. 4-Seattle Sounders
Leg 1: 9/23 @ Seattle 10:00 p.m.
Leg 2: 9/25 @ Montreal 4:00 p.m.
2-Rochester Raging Rhinos vs. 6-Richmond Kickers
Leg 1: 9/23 @ Richmond 7:00 p.m.
Leg 2: 9/25 @ Rochester 7:00 p.m. – LIVE on Fox Soccer Channel