The offseason for the Richmond Kickers and USL has already started with major moves and shake-ups. Usually in the Off-season for Lower League clubs, the news can be slow and If you are not following some details can be left behind. We decided to bring it to an update on all the moves the club has been making since our last games against Central Valley Fuego.
The club announces signings and Roster moves
One thing that gets fans most excited and attached to their seats in the offseason is when team roster news starts to come out. One of the more known facts about the Kickers this offseason wasn’t who was leaving but more so who was staying. The Kickers started this offseason a step ahead of everyone as they had multiple players resigned already to multiple contracts (most of whom we have already covered in our podcast). Core Players such as Nathan Aune, Dakota Barnathan, Emiliano Terzaghi, and Nil Vinyals were brought back but there were also a few under-the-radar signings in there as well. One of the things that we mentioned in the Offseason update article was how Kickers have decided to kickstart the youth movement by having multiple players under the age of 19 play major minutes in the season. Landon Johnson and Beckett Howell signed deals this offseason that see them rejoin the club after being on academy contracts last season. Signing this pro deal means that these players are willing to forge college eligibility and become professional soccer players. As of yet, there has been no update on youth players Gabe Cox, Octavio Zerbini, and Nicholas Simmonds. With those signings, We resigned two more additional players Joao Gomerio and Justin Sukow, two of the better players from last year's team with room still left to grow. The club hasn’t said anything yet about what is going on with the other players on the roster as of yet but follow League One Updater to keep up to date on what is happening
Goalie Room Shake-up
One of the lingering questions coming into this offseason was who would be talking the realms at Goalkeeper spot with William Palmquist emerging as a capable number 1 during the season. Akira Fitzgerald entered the offseason with a new contract going to 2025 but the thought around many was that this was more of a coach-player contract than being the number 1. This offseason Richmond made the surprising off-season move of signing former Tormenta FC Goalkeeper Pablo Jara's Multi-year contract with the club. This would indicate that Kickers are looking to have a long-standing number 1 goalkeeper for the future and the likelihood of Palmquist staying in Richmond for a third year to be a backup is highly unlikely.
The schedule is out!!!
USL League 1 is going to look a little different from how it has in years past with now eight teams making the playoffs instead of six for the year before. The eight teams will play in a single knockout tournament at the end of the regular season with no team receiving a bye like in years past. The regular season will also look a little different, and now we will have a balanced schedule versus having to play some teams 3-4 times and others just twice. Looking at the Kickers schedule most of the games will take place on Saturdays which is always a positive for fans. But, if you look a little deeper you that there is a new addition to the schedule with the yet-to-be-named League Cup. The format for this competition is that the twelve teams in the league will be broken up into 3 groups. Richmond is placed in a group with Charlotte, Greenville, and South Georgia Tormenta. The winner of each of these groups will then move to four four-team single-round knockout tournaments. The fourth place will be selected by the innovation that this tournament is being which is there will be no draws. So if the game is even at the end of extra, instead of a draw they will go to penalty kicks to determine a winner. The fourth-place team with the most goals scored at the end of the group stage will progress to the knockout round. Having spoken with Richmond Kickers Owners Rob Ukrop about this, he stated that the league is taking steps to be progressive, He mentioned how the league is looking at the possibility of pro/rel and want to put itself in the best position to be if that does happen. When asked why is the league just focusing on the league cup being only League 1 for this year, he stated that the league is looking to expand for next year whether that is with different leagues and or teams.
W-league RVA announces Madeline McCracken as the Sporting Director
On November 1st, we got our first insight into how the W-League team will be shaped with the club announcing Madeline McCracken as Sporting Director. McCraken joins the club after playing professionally for DCS Arminia Bielefeld and stints as the assistant equipment manager at Colorado Switchbacks. She also has ties to the area as she once played for Richmond United under owner Rob Ukrop. McCracken will begin the process of hiring a coaching staff and filling out the roster for the newly formed team.
New Jersey sponsor for the W-league team
This past week the Women’s team announced that they will have a different jersey sponsor than the men’s side which is sponsored by Adidas. The women’s side will be sponsored by Hummel works with various European clubs and teams here in our league. The is no word of how long the kit deal is between the two but COO Camp Perry is stated as saying that this deal will allow them to be more creative with the kits and explore different designs. Perry also mentioned that more club news will drop about the Women’s team in March when they get closer to the season.
Richmond United joins USL Academy
Richmond United has entered a partnership with the Richmond Kickers to serve as the U-20 club for pro-side playing in USL Academy. “The Baby Roos” as we are going to call them, will serve as the development side for the pro side hosting players from the pro team and also those looking to get reps if they pursue college soccer. As of right now, no word has been mentioned on who will lead the Baby Roos
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