On March 4th, the Richmond Kickers announced who they had been drawn against for the 2024 edition of the US Open Cup. With all the chaos surrounding this year’s Cup, it is a minor miracle that they even got games on the field. But all the boardroom drama is a story for a different day. On March 20, The Kickers will take on Christos FC in the opening round of the US Open Cup. We chatted to Lawerance Sancomb, the general manager of the USL League Two side, to get a look at how much this club has grown over seven years.
If you are not familiar with who Christos FC are as a club, I don't blame you, as that is a memory I have blocked out as well. Back in 2017, Christos made the journey down to Richmond to play against the Kickers in that version of the US Open Cup. In 2017, the Kickers lost on of a 79’ minute goal from Geaton Caitabino as Christos became the media darling that year, making it to the next round against DC United and pushing them to the very brink before losing. When speaking about that historic team, Sancomb mentioned how just being with that group of men was special. “The trips, the laughs and all the fun we had. That’s what it’s all about,” was something that Sancomb highlighted as the high point of that 2017 squad.
Photo Cred: Thecup.us
Background of the Club
Christos FC might not be as well-known a squad as their DMV brethren D.C. United but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their history and success. They won the National Amateur Cup in 2016 and the National Open Cup in 2016 and 2018. Sancomb notes that the national championship and the Open Cup wins are all great wins, but in his coaching career he notes how the biggest and proudest victory was “when our guys won the US Regional Semifinal in Buffalo NY with 9 guys!” He recalls how “those boys showed so much character and determination that day, it is something our club will never forget!” In the club's recent history, they have won the MSSL regular season league title in the Spring and Fall of 2023 along with a Rowland State Cup Championship. Since then, they have added some quality players in the new year and recently won the Stewart Cup Championship which lands them in the Regionals for the US National Amateur Cup starting in April. The club has also qualified for Regionals in the Werner Fricker Cup after participating in the Rowland State Cup Championship. Christos FC is currently the #1 seed in the quarterfinals of the MDV Cup played between top teams in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia.
Photo Cred: Capital Gazette
Lawrence takes us into how the club was founded. He starts by crediting Jamie Haislip and his two brothers, Jesse and Jody, for being the creators that built the team. All of them were friends who played college and club ball together. Now for the name “Christos”, Sancomb explains that came across in a simple manner that they “got our local liquor store to sponsor us and the rest is history.” Christos FC has had some legendary and up-and-coming talent play for the club in the past. Some of those are Ben Bender and Andrew Privett of Charlotte FC, John Bell of the Seattle Sounders FC, Taylor Calheira of NYCFC, Pete Mangione and Ben Stitz of FC Cincy, just to name a few. As of recently, some of the more notable players are Alejandro Arbelaez, Anthony Dragisics, Eli Belcher, and Josh Morgan who are midfielders, Kyle Saunderson who is a center-back, Clement Blamo who is a striker.
Current History
Being a USL League 2 club, Christos has to get creative in how they recruit players. They tend to only take local talent (Maryland) or guys who play for the colleges in their area. Most of the local college coaches and high-level club coaches have played for Christos, so they let the club know who they should bring on and who are the kids in the future to keep an eye on.
Photo Cred: US Soccer
This club recently made the jump up from NPSL to USL L2 in 2022. What led to this choice was that they felt their guys needed to be pushed and wanted to give them the best platform possible to get opportunities to play pro. In the future, they hope to possibly move into the pro realm, but for now they are comfortable and happy where they are now and “if that is where we stay, we won’t be upset about it.”
More recently, the club made it to the second round of qualifying for the US Open Cup, but did have their struggles in league play. Sancomb attributes this last year to the depth of the roster. He states that they knew that they would have some young players coming through who they would have to learn throughout the year and help them move forward into this season. Having such a plethora of talent, made it very difficult to nail down a single style of play. Baltimore tends to generate a very unique type of soccer player. The area produces high-level, technically gifted players, who aren’t afraid of turning it into a back-alley brawl. Due to the multitude of professions the players have, it is very difficult for the club to consistently train. Sancombhas hopes to continue to advance and play weekly with all of their Cup participation along with MSSL to fill in the weekends they don't have other matches scheduled.
Now with the draw done, Kickers fans are getting a match that they have been clamoring for since that upset loss in 2017. But given the history between the clubs, Christos FC is looking to play spoiler once again. The Kickers will have to bring their A-game to hold off this regional rival.
Photo Cred: Richmond Kickers
