Cowlishaw, Cutler reunite to power Kickers

So powerful was the first impression made by Leigh Cowlishaw upon Kenny Cutler that Cowlishaw is now getting the opportunity to make a second impression.

Cutler. a skilled and savvy midfielder/defender, joined the Richmond Kickers in March after four seasons with Real Salt Lake of MLS. In the process, he reestablished connections with Cowlishaw, the Kickers' veteran coach. Cowlishaw worked as a Richmond Strikers youth coach while attending the University of Richmond in the early 1990s. Cutler, then a pre-teenager, was one of his players.

"We all knew him" from his career as an irrepressible scorer at UR "and we were all pretty much in awe of him," Cutler said. "We were hanging onto every word, I remember that. Anything he said, anything he showed us, we basically took it as gospel."

Cowlishaw recalls Cutler, now 27, as a very nice player on a very nice team.

"The entire group was special and certainly Kenny helped make it so," he said. "But if you're asking if I saw something that separated him from the pack, even then," Cowlishaw hesitated. "I'd be hard-pressed to say that."

Then? Perhaps not. Today? Absolutely.

Cutler, a natural midfielder, accepted a new position -- defense -- when he returned to his hometown. He and goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale are the only Kickers who have been on the field for every minute of the club's five games.

Cutler, a prep All-American at Douglas Freeman High School and a first-team all-ACC performer at Clemson, has helped solidify a defense that has allowed but three goals in Richmond's past four games.

"The first few exhibition games, I was absolutely lost," Cutler said. "I hadn't played (defense) in 10 years, maybe more, and the pace and the way you see things is so different." On more than one occasion, he said, "I got caught completely out of position."

Exposure and repetition cured those ills. With the arrival of each new week, Cutler said, "I feel more comfortable as an individual and as a group I think we're more comfortable with each other. I'm a lot more confident now. Is it perfect?" He shook his head. "No. It's not. But I feel like I'm getting there."

As does Cowlishaw. In addition to talent, Cowlishaw said, Cutler brings discipline and diligence to the Kickers' lineup.

"He's one of the most professional players I think I've ever been around," Cowlishaw said. "To spend four years in MLS and then come to a supposedly lower level and still be willing to prepare the way he does and work as hard as he does -- not only in games but also in training -- to me, that's very impressive."

Cutler considered retirement after being released by Real Salt Lake following the '08 season. He did so briefly. Very briefly. "I knew I wasn't ready to stop playing soccer," he said. The prospect of returning to Richmond to play in front of family and friends, he said, was immediately appealing. So was the prospect of once again playing for Cowlishaw.

Said Cutler: "I thought, 'If he says, "OK," I'll jump at the opportunity.'"

Contact Vic Dorr Jr. at (804) 649-6442 or .