Kickers sizzle in matinee

The Richmond Kickers didn't bring cherry bombs or ladyfingers to their Fourth of July matinee with the Charlotte Eagles. They did, however, bring the next best thing: forward David Bulow.

Bulow, hotter than a proverbial firecracker, scored a pair of first-half goals to carry the Kickers to a 3-0 victory over Charlotte yesterday at University of Richmond Stadium. Bulow's goals, his sixth and seventh of the USL-2 season, lifted Richmond into sole possession of second place in the USL-2 standings. The Kickers (6-2-5, 23 points) trail front-running Harrisburg by only three points.

"We're starting to click, absolutely," Bulow said. "This is the nature of pro sports in America. You want to be peaking when it's time to get ready for the playoffs, and that's what I think we're starting to do."

Bulow scored carbon-copy goals in the 10th and 39th minutes. In both instances, he slithered into a fissure in Charlotte's interior defense and redirected long shots by defender William Yomby.

"Just a case of being in the right place at the right time," Bulow said. "I'd like to say it was all skill. But I've got to be honest: There was some luck involved, too."

In addition to scoring twice, Bulow helped set up the Kickers' second goal in the 34th minute. He and midfielder Gerson dos Santos rode a give-and-go wave into the attacking zone. Eagles goalkeeper Steve Ceus deflected, but did not smother, dos Santos' hard shot from the right side. The rebound squirted toward the right corner.

Dos Santos, a former VCU standout, regained possession a stride or two from the end line, turned and fired from an all-but-impossible angle. His shot skipped across the mouth of the goal, clipped the left-hand post and caromed into the net. The goal was his first as a pro.

Richmond's mindset shifted from offense to defense soon thereafter. Yomby, a capable and imposing defender, drew a red card in the 42nd minute for interfering with an Eagles player on a breakaway. Yomby and Eagles forward Amaury Nunes were running stride for stride in pursuit of a corner-bound through ball when contact, initiated by Yomby, brought Nunes down about 40 yards from the goal. Kickers coach Leigh Cowlishaw needed but four words to express his displeasure: "an extremely harsh decision."

Indeed. Yomby's ejection forced the Kickers to play a man down for 48 minutes against one of the league's most dangerous offensive clubs. Said Cowlishaw: "Defensively, we were superb."

Kickers defender Kenny Cutler said the early offensive eruption helped significantly.

"It does a lot for your confidence when you have a nice margin to work with," Cutler said. "You're not as tight. You're not as apprehensive. If you have to play a man down for an entire half and you're only ahead by, say, 1-0, you might be inclined to panic a little bit - which of course is just going to make matters worse."

The Kickers will return to UR Stadium next Saturday for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Bermuda Hogges.

Charlotte ------------------------- 0 0 - 0
Richmond ------------------------- 3 0 - 3

Scoring - 1, Richmond, Bulow 6 (Yomby), 10th minute; 2, Richmond, dos Santos 1, 18th; 3, Richmond, Bulow 7 (Yomby), 39th

Shots: Charlotte 11-8

Saves: Richmond, Pascale 4; Charlotte, Ceus 3

Corner kicks: Richmond 6-3

Offsides: Charlotte 5-1

Fouls: Richmond 8-4

Yellow card: Burke, R, 28th

Red card: Yomby, R, 42nd

Referee: Mark Gorak

Attendance: 3,577