“U-16 Academy beats Kickers for the second time this season”

Richmond Strikers U-16 Academy 1 – 0 Richmond Kickers U-16 Academy

On Saturday December 1st In Williamsburg, the Strikers Academy players played their second and final game against cross-town rivals Richmond Kickers. Early in the game, Strikers created a couple of opportunities from down the flanks. The best chance for the Strikers came from Justin Pugh whose header was saved by the Kickers goalkeeper. In the meantime, Kickers had two opportunities to get on the scoresheet: a free-kick from on top of box was well struck which required a brilliant save from Billy Groben and a shot from Kickers left defender that hit the outside of the post. It was just a matter of time before the Strikers opened the scoring. Pugh, who had come close earlier, struck a 30 yard shot that beat the goalkeeper. RSK 1-0 KIC

In the second half, the Strikers managed to keep control of the game by establishing good possession. Shiffman had a few long range shots slightly off target and Bobby McDonnell had a chance to score on a one vs. one situation but his shot went wide. On the other side, the defenders were winning their battles and depriving Kickers from creating any scoring opportunities.

The U-16 Academy team finished the first part of the season with a 3-5 record. They will be participating in important competitions in the next few weeks: Nike Friendlies in Bradenton, Raleigh Showcase and the Disney Showcase.

“U-18 Academy loses the game in the first half”

Richmond Strikers U-18 Academy 1 – 2 Richmond Kickers U-18 Academy

Contrary to the first game of the season against the Kickers, the U-18 boys had a slow start and saw themselves trailing 2-0 at half-time. A few isolated attempts on goal from Will Bates and Ben Anderson did not manage to find the net while the Kickers took advantage of defensive errors to get on the scoreboard. Towards the end of the first half, the Kickers had a couple of opportunities to increase their lead. The second half saw the Strikers side emerge. Faster play and quick combinations as well as substitutions, turned the flow of the game around. Clear cut chances were created by Haboush, Bates and Ownby. On a great combination started by Medairos, the ball was played wide to Haboush whose crisp ball in on the ground found Ownby. RSK 1-2 KIC

As the game started to get more physical, the Strikers remained very dangerous only to find themselves running out of time. The score would stay at 1-2.

U-18 upcoming events: Nike Friendlies in Bradenton and Raleigh Showcase

Hot and cold weekend for U-18 Academy

VA Rush U-18 Academy 2 – 2 Richmond Strikers U-18 Academy

The U-18 game, at times, saw two sides dominating each other. Richmond Strikers were off to a fast start when Brian Ownby picked up a through ball from defender Zach Summers to beat Rush goalkeeper in the 6th minute. VA RUSH 0-1 RSK. In the 20th minute, Ownby dribbled past several Rush defenders to score his second goal of the day. VA RUSH 0-2 RSK.  As half time approached, the Rush side seemed to pick up some energy and became more dangerous. In the 31st minute, the Strikers defense backed off and let a Rush player strike the ball past goalkeeper Cameron Murray. VA RUSH 1-2 RSK. This goal marked the beginning of a spell of constant pressure from VA Rush. The Strikers players struggled to deal with Rush’s tighter pressure on the ball and the lack of space to maneuver.

In the second half and especially the last fifteen minutes, the Rush attacks were getting extremely dangerous. In the 78th minute, a poor Strikers clearance turned into a quick Rush equalizer: VA RUSH 2-2 RSK.  In the final minutes, Rush served a ball in the box and almost scored the game winner, while the Strikers could have scored a fortuitous game winner themselves when Will Bates’ shot just slipped by the post.

Head Coach Erwan Le Crom said, “At the end of the day, I am obviously disappointed with our second half performance. I give credit to the VA Rush players who took the game to us. We could not find the key to counter their pressure and struggled to maintain good possession of the ball on this tiny field. On the other hand, I feel lucky to earn the tie since Rush had two great chances in the final minutes.”

Richmond Strikers U-18 Academy 5 – 0  Bridge FA U-18 Academy

After a 3-3 tie at Bridge FA in October and the previous days’ very average performance, the U-18 Strikers academy players had the opportunity to redeem themselves…. and so they did! Two early special “strikes” from forwards Will Bates (through ball from Robert Medairos) and Brian Ownby (through ball from Joseph Haboush) saw the Strikers take a 2-0 lead in the first ten minutes. It was not the first time that the U-18’s had taken an early lead but this time they were all determined to push on and not let the visitors back in it. Maintaining possession of the ball well and varying their attacks, they remained dangerous throughout the entire first half. In the 25th minute, Ownby scored his second of the day and Bates picked up the assist. Just before half time, on a personal effort, Will Bates increased the lead. RSK 4-0 BRIDGE FA

In the second half, Strikers maintained the pressure and succeeded to add a fifth and final goal as Ownby combined well with Bates again to score this third of the day.

Le Crom said, “I am happy how the team reacted after a disappointing result on Saturday. I saw players who were eager to play good soccer and make the team benefit from their personal talent.”

Tough weekend for the U16 Academy team

VA Rush U-16 Academy 4 – 0 Richmond Strikers U-16 Academy

On Saturday, the U-16 squad visited the Virginia Rush team which they had beaten 2-1 earlier in the season. The Rush players started the game on a high note and immediately applied pressure on the Strikers. It did not take them long to create chances and get on the scoreboard. In the 12th minute, miscommunication in the back gave the opportunity for Rush to take a 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, on a breakaway, Strikers keeper Daniel Kitchen made a great save but unfortunately the rebound fell to the feet of another Rush striker who finished the opportunity. In the 36th minute, Rush increased its lead to 3-0 and scored a fourth goal in injury time off a corner kick.  

The Strikers went into half-time 4-0 down. In the second half, there was a small reaction from the orange and black but not enough to reduce the deficit.

Richmond Strikers U-16 Academy 2 – 3 Bridge FA U-16 Academy

On Sunday, the U-16 players were ready to play and decided to leave the previous days performance behind them. It only took six minutes to take the lead against Bridge FA as Alec Schaffer finished a cross from left midfielder Carl Weber. However, the lead was short lived as a few minutes later, Bridge FA benefited from a series of poor clearances to make it 1-1. Nevertheless, the U-16 players continued to play hard and were dangerous throughout the first half.

In the second half, the Strikers continued to control the game and saw their efforts rewarded when Jake Summers hit a right footed shot from the top of the box; 2-1 Strikers. With ten minutes to go, the Strikers managed to hand the visitors a gift when Bridge FA made the best of another bad clearance and tied the game 2-2. With a few seconds left in the game, a breakaway saw a Bridge FA forward being taken down by goalkeeper Billy Groben just outside the box. The free kick got deflected and with the Strikers keeper going the opposite way, the ball slowly trickled over the line. RSK 2-3 Bridge FA

Head Coach Erwan Le Crom had this to say after the game, “Soccer games have their own twists! I am obviously extremely disappointed to lose a game in the last 10 minutes especially after controlling the other 70 minutes. The Players showed a lot of determination and courage after yesterdays 4-0 loss. At times, we saw some good soccer and created the necessary chances to win the game. It was good to see them fight back and get back on track. Unfortunately, when you don’t finish your chances, you know it can come back and haunt you. And today it did!” 

The Richmond Strikers Academy teams are back in action against the Richmond Kickers on Saturday December 1st at the Warhill Sports Complex in Williamsburg. The U-16 team play at 12 noon and the U-18’s are at 2:00 pm.

STRIKERS ACADEMY TEAMS WIN LOCAL DERBY
GAMES AGAINST RICHMOND KICKERS

Late Walden strike wins it for U-16’s; U-18’s team effort secures 3-1 win

After a 3 week break, the Strikers Academy players were eager to get back to conference action and improve their overall records.

Richmond Strikers U-16 Academy 2 – 1 Richmond Kickers U-16 Academy

The U16 team started their game at 12pm on Striker park field 2 against city rivals, Richmond Kickers. A good start to the game from the Strikers produced a couple of early chances: Nick Wright had a 20 yard volley that was stopped by a quality save from the Kickers goalkeeper. A few minutes later, Justin Pugh managed to break down the right flank and crossed the ball to Nick Wright whose touch lobbed the goalkeeper.

10th min: RSK 1-0 KIC

During the rest of the half, the Strikers created a series of chances from counter attacks but none found the back of net.

The beginning of the second half saw a determined Kickers team putting pressure on the ball which resulted in the Strikers defenders having to step back. Direct balls from both teams, at times, produced a very tight game with neither team creating much. From a Kickers free kick, a ball was served in the box, without being cleared, and ended up with a shot on the ground away from Strikers goalkeeper Billy Groben. RSK 1-1 KIC. The Strikers substitutions seemed to bring some energy to the orange attacks. Weber, Hayashi and Summers started to get the ball more in the final third and began to cause problems. It looked like the score would remain at 1-1, but with ten minutes to go, a fantastic 25 yard strike from left back David Walden surprised the goalkeeper who could only tip the powerful shot onto the inside of his post. Strikers kept the lead until the final whistle for the 2-1 win.

Richmond Strikers U-18 Academy 3 – 1 Richmond Kickers U-18 Academy

The U-18 Academy players took the field right after their younger counterparts. The U-18 Strikers Academy team, leading their conference with a 2-1-1 record, had all the intentions to follow the U-16’s. It did not take long for the U-18’s to make their mark: Co-captain Ben Anderson found striker Brian Ownby on the right hand side of the box with a lovely ball. Ownby took the ball in his stride and unleashed a vicious low shot across the keeper into the bottom corner of the net. 2nd min: RSK 1-0. Strikers continued their pressure and attacks on Kickers goal without being able to increase their lead. The Strikers enjoyed long spells of possession with Ben Anderson pulling the strings in the center along with midfield partner Robert Medairos. Ownby was a constant threat up front and the Kickers had a hard time containing him.

In the second half, Strikers had most of the play and managed to add a second goal at the 60th minute. Coming off the bench as a left midfielder, David Knause made a run down the left flank to receive a ball from Carlos Velazquez. Knause’s whipped in cross found Brian Ownby making a near post run. Brian’s firm side foot finish made it 2-0 to the Strikers. The intensity level of the game seemed to drop and not long after going 2-0 down, the Kickers got on the scoreboard. A swift counter attack ended with a break away and a good finish. 70th min: RSK 2-1 KIC.  Strikers immediately responded when Ownby’s looping header hit the woodwork. Once again, Strikers relied on players coming from the bench to increase their lead. With ten minutes to go, Brian Ownby produced a quick step over to beat his defender and hit a left footed shot across the goalkeeper which hit the post. Sam Schaffer was in the right position as he gobbled up the rebound and gave the Strikers a two goal advantage. Strikers continued to pressure the Kickers and nearly grabbed a fourth. The final whistle was blown and the Strikers won 3-1.

The Strikers Academy teams have a busy and important weekend ahead of them.  Both teams will be playing their second and final games against VA Rush (Saturday November 17 in Virginia Beach) and against Bridge FA (Sunday November 18 at Striker Park).