Support for FC Richmond soccer coach and former William and Mary player, Ian Stowe who is battling a tumor continues to come from all areas of the soccer community. Today the Richmond Kicker organization announced they will hold a benefit exhibition match to support #stowestrong.
From Kickers Press Release:
RICHMOND, VA – (Friday, February 10, 2012) – In support of Ian Stowe's battle with cancer, the Richmond Kickers and The College of William & Mary are pleased to team up for a benefit exhibition match on Friday, March 23.

StoweStrong
By Pat McStay
The Virginia soccer community was hit hard a few weeks ago when William and Mary graduate and FC Richmond youth soccer coach, Ian Stowe was diagnosed with Germinoma, a type of germ cell tumor typically resulting from a failure of germ cells to migrate properly in the body.

Chesterfield United Football Club in Richmond, VA has had multiple players from their youth teams selected to participate in prestigious international tournaments and an elite women's showcase.
JoJo Taylor and Jackie Zerull invited to participate in the Puma Elite Women's Showcase held in July Puma has informed Chesterfield FC that two of their very talented young women, JoJo Taylor and Jackie Zerull, were selected to participate in the Puma Elite Women's Showcase held in July.

U-15 Girls' National Team to Hold Mega-Camp in Florida Katie Cousins of the Richmond Kickers will be the lone representative out of Virginia for the upcoming U-15 Girls' National Team mega-camp set to take place in Sunrise, Florida from Feb. 11-18.
Cousins was part of the group of 48 players chosen by U.

Let's get the obvious out of the way up front, shall we? There is not currently, nor has there ever been, a full, traditional system of on-field-merit-based promotion and relegation in any American pro soccer endeavor that I'm aware of[1].

With that said, the essence of promotion and relegation, the ability to move between levels of a nebulous pyramid, does exist, and has for more than a decade[2].

One of the premier youth soccer tournaments in Virginia, the Jefferson Cup, has released the names of girls teams accepted for 2012 tournament play.
The Jefferson Cup will be played in the Richmond, VA area and is partnered with SportsQuest. According to the official Jefferson Cup website, the tournament was rated No.

One of the premier youth soccer tournaments in Virginia, the Jefferson Cup, has released the names of boys teams accepted for 2012.
The Jefferson Cup will be played in the Richmond, VA area and is partnered with SportsQuest. According to the official Jefferson Cup website, the tournament was rated No.

Date Opponent Time 4/7 at Charlotte Eagles 7:00 pm 4/15 vs. Wilmington Hammerheads 6:00 pm 4/21 at Richmond Kickers 7:00 pm 4/28 vs. Richmond Kickers 7:30 pm 5/5 vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds 7:30 pm 5/11 at Antigua Barracuda FC 7:00 pm 5/13 at Antigua Barracuda FC 4:30 pm 5/24 vs.

The Richmond Strikers, a long established club in Virginia with a rich history in soccer are bringing 20 teams to the 2012 Cardinal Cup.
"This is a natural fit for two strong clubs to get together at a great event." says Tournament Director Steve Lovgren. The Cardinal Cup continues to grow and attract teams to the SYA name and brand.

The upcoming Virginia Youth Soccer Convention is heading to the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Friday, February 3, and Saturday, February 4, 2012.
For complete Convention details go to the VYSA Convention Page

With it being New Year's Eve, I figured it was time to take a look back at the 2011 wishes that I'd posted at the end of last year.
1. Return to the Playoffs - This was filled 100%, not only did KC qualify for the playoffs again, but the team won the regular season Eastern Conference crown and had home field advantage.

The USL announced the list of finalists for the annual USL Organizational Awards and some local clubs are well represented in many different categories.
D.C. United Women, Fredericksburg Hotspur/Impact, Virginia Beach Piranhas, Richmond Kickers, and the NoVa Majestics and their administrators have all been named as finalists in the following categories:
2011 USL Organizational Awards Finalists
Rookie Franchise of the Year W-League D.

A trip to Wembley is starting to come into view for the non-league clubs that are still involved in this year's FA Trophy, but yesterday's First Round matches saw the qualifiers from the last round joined by the clubs of the Blue Square Premier and we have highlights and goals from no less than seven of yesterday's matches.

Hampton and Richmond striker Dan Thompson's proposed move to Portsmouth has fallen through, with a host of Premier League clubs circling, according to The Daily Star.
The non-league forward has been heavily linked with a move to the south coast, however Stoke City have also reportedly lodged a bid.

This week's Non-League Videos of The Week are a day late, but we think that we they are are worth the wait. This week, we are concentrating on the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy. With a place in the First Round of the competition at stake, this is a competition with a very tangible prize at the end of it a day out at Wembley come the end of the season.

A new youth soccer tournament created by the merger of the Chesterfield United Icebreaker and the Kickers Invitational, The Ultimate Cup tournament features a Girls and Boys weekend, scheduled to launch February 24-26, 2012 and March 2-4, 2012. Applications are available; click here for the Girls Weekend application, and here for the Boys Weekend application.

As part of the 2011 Thanksgiving Interregional, the U.S. Under-14 Boys' National Team will hold a domestic training camp from Nov. 23-23 in Chula Vista, Calif. Of the 36 players called into camp, 23 were identified through U.S. Soccer Training Centers.
George Braima
Eric Calvillo
Kevin Coleman
Luca de la Torre
Michael Gutierrez
Julian Hall
Sebastian Henao
Lagos Kunga
Weston McKennie
Logan Panchot
Michael Pimlott
Christian Pulisic
Juan Ramirez
Juan Riley
Elijah Rice
Abraham Romero
Andrew Romig
Kevin Silva
Raheem Taylor-Parkes
Trey Vinson
Derek Waldeck
Kees Westra
Haji Wright
Also, six players are currently listed as members of a Development Academy team roster: Braima (Crew Soccer Academy), De la Torre (Nomads SC), Dawson McCartney (NJSA 04), Weston McKennie (FC Dallas), Rice (Chicago Magic), Romig (Richmond Kickers), Silva (PDA).

The Southeast Regional portion of the US Club Soccer National Cup XI will be taking place in Richmond, VA June 23-26, 2012.
The National Cup XI Regional is open to U-11 through U-18/19 and Adult teams as part of US Club Soccer's national championship competition.
For more details follow the link: US Club Soccer - National Cup XI Southeast Regional

Three U14 boys from Virginia clubs will be taking part in the upcoming U.S. Under-14 domestic training camp as part of the 2011 Thanksgiving Interregional from Nov. 23-28 in Chula Vista, Calif.
Andrew Romig (Richmond Kickers; Midlothian, Va.), Trey Vinson (PWSI Courage 97 Red; Manassas, Va.

Hey, remember that? Yeah, I was a little slack in updating our pickem game results after the final. It's possible that I only just recovered from celebrating Osvaldo Alonso's cherry-on-top goal. But there's no time like the offseason. . wait, what's that? The season still isn't over yet? Whatever.

Former D.C. United player and University of Virginia player and assistant Richie Williams has been named by U.S. Soccer as the new Head Coach of the U-18 men's national team.
While at UVa Williams played underneath former U.S. Men's coach Bruce Arenas. Williams went on to play for both the Richmond Kickers (1994, 1994-1995, 2004-2005) and D.

HARRISONBURG, Va. - The No. 18-ranked William and Mary Tribe women's soccer team extended its winning streak to 10 matches on Friday night, defeating the James Madison Dukes on the road, 3-1. With the win, the College improves its record to 14-1-2 overall and to 9-0 in the CAA. With the loss, James Madison falls to 7-7-2 on the year with a mark of 4-4 in league action.

Alonso, Montero Both Finalists For US Open Cup Player Of Tournament

Joining them are David Bulow and Ronnie Pascale of the Richmond Kickers. Bryan Meredith didn't make the cut, but DID receive votes.

Chesterfield United FC parents David and Sarah Glass have recently returned to the country after a life changing trip to Kenya, Africa. They went to Africa in coalition with the Start With One Kenya project that is a non-profit organization that believes in individuals taking the step to join forces with other people to create the lasting change the world needs.

John Gilkerson is looking to help his team the NSC Minnesota Stars grab the final playoff spot in the North American Soccer League (NASL) as the regualar season wraps up.
Gilkerson is a former Richmond Kicker and a native of Winchester, VA. who began his professional career in 2008, when the New York Red Bulls selected him in the Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft.

The 2011-12 Development Academy season kicked off this weekend with eight games in the South Conference. In the U-15/16 division, Concorde Fire started the season with two wins. Three goals from both Connor Antley and Cameron Moseley during the weekend helped the Fire to a 6-2 win against Richmond Kickers on Saturday and a 4-0 win against Virginia Rush AJ Auxerre on Sunday.

The 2011 Richmond Kickers had quite a year to remember with a run to the final four in the U.S. Open Cup (only non-MLS team) and a trip to the USL PRO Championship Game in the American Division Final.
Two members of the Kickers where also recognized by the USL for their great seasons as Head Coach Leigh Cowlishaw was a finalist for Coach of the Year and defender William Yomby was a finalist for Defender of the Year.

Gonzalo Segares -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire have found a rare winning stretch, so the team would prefer few to no changes toward its lineup now that it has a good thing going. Chicago posted back-to-back league wins, followed by a Lamar Hunt U.

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.

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.

The Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire advanced to the US Open Cup final on Wednesday night. Chicago beat the Richmond Kickers 2-1 at Toyota Park, taking a 2-0 lead with goals from Sebastian Grazzini and Dominic Oduro. Richmond scored in the 68th minute but were unable to come up with an equalizer. At the Starfire Complex in Tukwila, Washington, the home standing Sounders needed a 40th minute goal from Fredy Montero to shutout Dallas.

The two semifinal matches of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup were played in Chicago and Seattle Tuesday night. The Chicago Fire defeated the upset-minded D3 Richmond Kickers by a narrow 2-1 score before almost 9,000 partisan Chicago fans. In the latter match, the Sounders defeated FC Dallas, 1-0, earning the opportunity to host the [.

When I got up this morning there were some things on the "to do" checklist.

1. Make it to Toyota Park.

2. Advance to USOC Final.

3. Completely destroy my voice over 90 minutes of singing.

Mission accomplished.

I just got home. It is 12:26 AM and I've got a recap to finish.

Dominic Oduro -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- It was not the smoothest of performances for the Chicago Fire. But the home side did its job on Tuesday in topping the USL Pro's Richmond Kickers, 2-1, in the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Toyota Park.

By night's end, the final of the 2011 U.S. Open Cup will be set.

The Chicago Fire and Richmond Kickers square off in a battle of unlikely semifinal participants who are both looking to maintain their surprising runs (8:30 p.m., live stream on Chicago-Fire.com). The Kickers are the last non-MLS team remaining in the field and will look to beat their third straight MLS opponent, although the Fire enter the match in good form as winners of two straight games.

Two members of the Richmond Kickers where selected to the 2011 USL PRO All-League First Team today. Defender William Yomby and Forward Matt Delicâte where recognised for their outstanding play this...
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The next Timbers game isn't until September 10th. That's almost two weeks away. So what should we Timbers-loving folk do until then to pass the time? The obvious answer is, of course, to get deeply ingrained in one of the many fine European leagues that just recently started this month. However, I have a better proposition.

Frank Klopas -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The four-time Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champion Chicago Fire have touted their best available lineup throughout this year's tournament.
The same cannot be said for some other MLS squads, and you only have to look at the Fire's 4-0 quarterfinal win over a reserve-laden New York Red Bulls side on July 12 to come to that conclusion.

The Richmond Kickers suffered a heartbreaking end to the 2011 USL PRO campaign Saturday night, conceding a 3-0 loss to Orlando City in the American Division Finals. Orlando defenders Luke Boden...
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To play a full strength side or not to play a full strength side, that is the question posed to Frank Klopas tonight. The U.S. Open Cup Semi-Final matchup with the Richmond Kickers on Tuesday, August 30th looms large on the final decisions for tonight's Starting XI. Richmond's manager Leigh Cowlishaw finds himself in an even deeper dilemma as his Kickers team has a USL PRO Semi-Final tonight at 6:30 PM CST.

Fire's Dominic Oduro -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- It has been 16 months since the Chicago Fire have posted back-to-back victories. They have an opportunity to put an end to that trend when they host the 2010 MLS champion Colorado Rapids on Saturday at Toyota Park.