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After a disappointing tie last weekend, the Richmond Kickers are back in action tonight against Antigua Barracuda, the team that plays all of its games on the road this season. The D.C. United injury problems affect the Kickers as well, as it will determine how many of the loanees will be available to them tonight.

The Richmond Kickers earned a point in a 1-1 draw against the Wilmington Hammerheads, but it is a point that feels like a loss. While the teams played evenly the first 65 minutes, the Kickers turned up the pressure in the second half. A pair of goals kept each side even, but some questionable reffing and a lack of finesse on the final touches kept Richmond from the full three points.

Unlike their MLS affiliate, the Richmond Kickers are currently undefeated in league play, third on the table on overall points, and second in the table in points per game. And tonight they put that nine game streak on the line against the Wilmington Hammerheads, the first team that the Kickers will have played twice this season.

Just three days after another discouraging loss in MLS play, this time to the Portland Timbers, D.C. United travels 100 miles south to take on their USL Pro affiliate, the Richmond Kickers in the third round of the US Open Cup. The two teams are a stark contrast of results so far. We all know about D.

The Harrisburg City Islander's game plan coming into this match seemed to be to use their speed to challenge the Richmond Kicker's defenders. And at times Sainey Touray and Aaron Wheeler were able to use that speed and create chances. However, the Richmond Kickers were able to control the majority of the possession to earn a well deserved 2-0 victory.

The second round of the 100th edition of the US Open Cup is upon us, and this is the round in which most of the NASL and USL Pro teams enter the competition. The Richmond Kickers, featuring D.C. United loanees Andrew Dykstra and Michael Seaton, will take on New Jersey based Icon FC, who beat the Brooklyn Italians of the NPSL in the first round to earn a trip to Central Virginia.

After a win that left head coach Leigh Cowlishaw unsatisfied with the performance of his team, the Richmond Kickers are back in action tonight against the Los Angeles Blues, the first of three games in 8 days. The LA Blues are only one point behind the Kickers but have played three more games. For the first two years of its existence, the Blues have been the only USL Pro team west of Ohio, which has obviously put a lot of pressure on the team; this season marks the first season of the Phoenix FC Wolves and next season there will be a USL Pro team in Sacramento, which will allow the Blues a little more regional competition.

After earning a key three points on the road in Wilmington, North Carolina, last night, the Richmond Kickers came immediately home to prepare for the Charlotte Eagles. The Eagles currently sit two points shy of the Kickers, with two wins against Antigua Barracuda and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, and two ties against Orlando City and Rochester Rhinos.

The Richmond Kickers were able to take a 2-0 victory out of Wilmington over the Hammerheads before returning home to Richmond for the rest of the month. Each of the halves played out the same way: the Hammerheads started strong, controlling the run of play before the Kickers took control after 15 or 20 minutes.

The Richmond Kickers' massive homestand to open their USL Pro season continues tonight at 7pm against the Rochester Rhinos. The Rhinos played to a 0-0 draw against the Charlotte Eagles last night in a rainstorm in North Carolina; the Kickers have three such back to back games this season. This game is also the Kickers first matchup against another USL Pro team with an MLS affiliation, as the Rhinos are affiliated with the New England Revolution and have received loanees Tyler Polak, Bilal Duckett, Gabe Latigue, and Matt Horth.

In what is a rivalry day for all levels of D.C. United players, the Richmond Kickers continue their 21st season tonight against the Charleston Battery. And unless United and the Battery meet in the U.S. Open Cup, this could be the closest thing to a contested Coffee Pot Cup that we get this year. But make no mistake, these two teams are traditional rivals and traditional powerhouses, having combined for 7 league titles over their 21 years, and the Battery are the defending champions of USL Pro.

The Richmond Kickers played the Pittsburgh Riverhounds to an entertaining 0-0 draw last night at City Stadum in front of 3268 fans. Both halves started with the Kickers dominating possession, with the Riverhounds taking over in the middle of the half. In the first half, the Kickers were able to weather the storm and regain possession towards the end of the half, but in the second the Kickers bunkered in a bit.

The Richmond Kickers start off their 21st season tonight at 7:00 pm against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. The Kickers got off to a very slow start last season, one which left the team struggling to catch up the entire season. While they finished fourth overall, that was their worst performance in years and they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

After a rocky start to the preseason, the Richmond Kickers are finally on a roll. Their current streak started with a 6-1 win over Longwood University, continued with a 3-0 over Virginia Commonwealth University, and kept going with a 4-0 win last night over James Madison University. D.C. United loanees Conor Shanosky and Taylor Kemp got the start, with Shanosky playing center back and Taylor Kemp playing left back.

As everyone knows by now, D.C. United and the Richmond Kickers announced that they will be entering into an affiliate agreement for the 2013 USL Pro season, which means that at least four D.C. United players will be with the Kickers at any given time. Because of that announcement, your Richmond based correspondent (and Richmond Kickers fan) decided to head over to the Kickers' offices and speak with Head Coach and Director of Soccer Leigh Cowlishaw.

Ok so I haven't posted in almost a month. In that time it was the end of a summer class the start of fall classes, an earthquake, a hurricane, and the end of the Kickers season. But VCU's 4:0 win over Elon today had me thinking.Â

VCU was able to pick up a 4:0 win with goals coming from an own goal by Elon, Jason Johnson, Yoram Mwila, and Jose Carlos Castillo.

Who said kickers aren't real football players. On Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys won thanks to their sure-footed kicker. Dan Bailey was 6-for-6 on field goals to lift the Cowboys to an 18-16 victory over the Washington Redskins.

Said Bailey: "We had good snaps, good holds, great protection.

If you want to wait until the very end of your 2011 fantasy football draft to select your kicker, that's probably a good idea. There is so much parity in kickers especially this year that the quality isn't going to dip very far. In fact, you may strike gold with one of these sleeper kickers in 2011:

David Buehler, Dallas Cowboys
David Buehler may have the strongest leg in the NFL.

Peter Knezic, who's served as the FC Milwaukee Nationals director of coaching since the club's formation in 2000, is leaving his position at the end of the month.

The Cudahy native and former UW-Milwaukee and Milwaukee Wave standout will return to Milwaukee Kickers SC as a staff coach starting March 1 – he was hired as the Nationals' coaching director in 1991, a year after they started as a program within the Kickers.

D.C. United announced a pair of new trialists that will accompany the team back to Florida: Jan Frederiksen and Henry Kalungi. Frederiksen, who is 30 years old, was most recently with Polish team Wisła Kraków, although he previously played for more notable teams in Randers and Brøndby of Denmark.