RICHMOND, VA – (Friday, August 24, 2007) – The Richmond Kickers are pleased to announce that midfielder and captain Mike Burke was named USL Second Division Most Valuable Player at the USL2 Championship awards banquet this afternoon.

The USL2 Assist Leader with nine on the year, Mike Burke assumed the role of captain upon the mid-season retirement of veteran defender Kevin Knight, finishing the regular season tied for scoring on the team with three goals and nine assists for 15 points.

In his eighth season with the Kickers, Burke eclipsed the all-time career assists leaders to hold the sole position in the franchise with 38 assists overall. He continues to reside in third place on the Kickers all-time career points list with 90 (26g, 38a).

Burke was a USL2 First Team honoree and USL2 Most Valuable Player Finalist en route to the 2006 USL2 Final, where he was honored as the Championship Game MVP.

Burke is the third player in the history of the USL Second Division to win the honor without having won the Scoring or Goal Scoring Championship the same season. He is the first to do so since Craig Beeson of the Everett BigFoot who won it in 1996. Giovanni Savarese also won the award in the league’s first year in 1995 without a scoring title as he led the Long Island Rough Riders to the championship.

The 2006 USL Second Division Champions Richmond Kickers will defend their title this Saturday, August 25, 2007, hosting the Harrisburg City Islanders in this year’s final match.  Kickoff is slated for 8:00 pm at the University of Richmond Stadium (just off the Downtown Expressway) and the match will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel at 10:00 pm.  Tickets are $15 (youth and adult) and can be purchased in advance via RichmondKickers.com.