Richmond Kickers Play For USL Title

The sixth-seeded Richmond Kickers shocked the United Soccer League by eliminating the second-seeded Rochester Raging Rhinos 4-2 on aggregate in the semifinals of the USL First Division playoffs. came away with a 3-1 advantage over the second-seeded Rochester Raging Rhinos during the first leg of the USL First Division Semifinals.

Richmond forward Matthew Delicâte snapped a 315-minute scoreless streak in the 12th minute on an assist from forward McColm Cephas to set the stage for an opening 3-1 win at home. In the second game the Kickers tied the Rhinos 1-1 in Rochester.

The outburst in the home semifinal game was a breakout for the Kickers offense which has had trouble scoring goals in the second-half of the season.

An own goal in the 15th minute briefly equalized the score for the Rhinos before Delicâte and Cephas paired up again for a second Richmond goal in the 55th minute followed by a third Richmond goal by midfielder Joey Worthen in the 65th minute.

The winner of the Semifinal round will be determined this Sunday, September 25th as the Kickers travel to Rochester for the second leg of the home-and-away, aggregate goal series.

In the second game Chris Carrieri fed Delecate for his third goal of the series in the 51st minute for a 1-0 Richmond lead. Doug Miller tied it for Rochester. Only 6,195 fans were on hand for the game, the final one to be played in Frontier Stadium. Next year the Rhinos will move to the 17,500-seat PAETEC Park.

The Seattle Sounders, who scored in the 90th minute to edge top-seeded Montreal 2-1, advanced on aggregate (4-3) over the Impact. Those two teams had tied 2-2 in the semifinal opener.

Seattle will host the USL First Division championship game on Saturday, Oct. 1.