Among 79 teams in the USL Academy, the Kickers U20 squad earned 4th place in the country to cap off their inaugural season that started as runners-up in the Academy Cup
On Nov. 8th, 2023, The Richmond Kickers announced an expansion of our partnership with Richmond United and the launching of the 2024 USL Academy U20 program. Bridging the gap between professional soccer and youth soccer, the USLA U20 team is intended to be a developmental platform and a true second team to the professional team, similar to the European clubs’ U21 or U23 teams.
The first roster consisted of current signed young professionals, Beckett Howell and Landon Johnson, Academy Contracted players Griffin Garnett and James Sneddon, and Richmond United players from the oldest age groups. After a couple months of scouting, the club announced our USLA player pool that contained 40 players.
With the roster intact, the team began preparing for the USL Academy Cup being held in Tampa, FL. The annual preseason event took place in mid-March of 2023 and sparked the start to the USL Academy season. At the 2023 Academy Cup, the U20 squad was drawn to Group A alongside USL Championship club academies Hartford Athletic and Colorado Switchbacks FC and Tampa Bay United, USL 2 affiliate and a feeder club to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL Championship. Dispatching Tampa Bay United 3-0 and Colorado Switchbacks FC 4-1 and playing Hartford Athletic to a 0-0 draw, the Kickers U20 won Group A and earned a trip to the Championship match. Taking on Indy Eleven, the Kickers controlled the majority of the match, but fell short of the title, losing 1-0 to only one shot from Indy Eleven. Despite the loss, the 2023 Academy Cup was a tremendous success to kick off USL Academy programming here in Richmond.
In USL Academy league play, the U20s participated in the South Atlantic Division with North Carolina FC (USLC), Tobacco Road FC (USL 2), Wake FC (USL2), Salem City FC (USL 2), and Virginia United FC. The division regular season consisted of 10 league matches with the first place team securing an automatic bid to the USL Academy Finals. The regular season ended on September 8th and the Kickers hosted rival NCFC at City Stadium in front of a supporting crowd. After beating North Carolina 3-1 on the road, Kickers U20 fans got to witness the squad win again, this time 2-0. The U20 squad sealed the South Atlantic Division Championship and their bid to the USLA Finals at home in their inaugural regular season finale. Every member of the player pool contributed to the inaugural season on the pitch. Not only did every player get playing time, but the Kickers consistently fielded a roster with 15- and 16-year-old players. The U20 side finished the season 9-1-0, tied for third place in goal differential (22) and fourth place in goals against (8) in the whole 79 team academy league.
The preparations for the USLA Finals were varied for the young squad: as Richmond United started their regular season in the Elite Clubs National League, many of the younger players had a chance to compete in their own age groups, while those in the first team environment helped the first team make a playoff push. At the conclusion of the Richmond Kickers Pro team playoff run, we finalized the selection of a 23 man roster that would prepare for the USL Academy Finals.
The USLA Finals featured 13 division winners & 3 wildcard teams in a single elimination bracket of 16 teams. In the round of 16, the Kickers U20 defeated St. Petersburg FC (2-0) and then the Utah Red Wolves (1-0) in the quarter-finals. Moving onto the semifinals, the Kickers U20s fell to AC Connecticut, 2-0 to head to the 3rd place match. The following day, a talented Real Colorado team scored twice early in the first half and ended up taking the 3rd place finish with a 2-1 win despite the Richmond squad’s strong drive to draw even through the whole second half. At the end of it all, the Kickers Academy side finished 4th in the nation out of 79 full time USL academies. Beyond the team success in the inaugural year, we got to send off our college commits (Sandor Preda, Carson Friedlein, Tobe Ibe, Will Dunn, Gabe Cox, Jackson Carlyon, Noah Hiort-Wright, Nicholas Simmonds) on a high note, and provided the players in Richmond a great opportunity to develop and be evaluated for potential first team opportunities in the future..
Conner Cappelletti, the Kickers USL Academy Head Coach, commented:
“We made some loud noise in this inaugural year of the Richmond Kickers U20’s. This first year wasn’t a ‘let’s do it and see how it goes’ type of deal. This was Step 1 in our initiative to not only foster and develop our youth, but also win with our youth and do so by playing our style and brand of football. With every ‘first year’ in things, there are obstacles and even with these, we had 15-year-olds competing against 25-year-olds in some games, academy players getting called into first team training, academy contracted players playing important minutes and key roles for the first team, and academy players sign first team contracts. This year laid a foundation for what is to come from the Richmond Kickers and it set the bar high for the future of the program. Words will never begin to express how appreciative and lucky I am to be working with such amazing mentors like Darren Sawatzky and Mika Elovaara, and I am so incredibly thankful for the opportunity and support given by Rob Ukrop.”
Beckett Howell, USLA co-captain said:
“I loved having the opportunity to be a leader and good example to the younger guys. We had a really close group which made everything a lot easier. On the field, everyone showed passion and played with pride for Richmond. Unfortunate that we didn’t come back with a trophy, but we developed things more important than that.”
Mika Elovaara, Kickers Director of Player Development and Methodology and Head Assistant Coach to the First Team, and Richmond United Technical Director added:
“The launch of our USL Academy program was a tremendous success. Serving our community is an inherent part of our club, and there is no better way to do it on the technical side than provide true opportunities for the young men in Richmond to pursue their dreams and goals on the field. Conner [Cappelletti] and Evan [Goalkeeper coach Munn] have done an amazing job leading and guiding the young men in our USL Academy roster to success in the first year. Most importantly, this foundational year showed that we will not hesitate to play the young, inexperienced players even when it matters the most in the national playoffs – whether it be the first team or the USL Academy team. That is what Richmond Kickers are all about. That is the only way players truly develop; when you believe in them, give them the right opportunity to succeed, and support them through the process. I am excited for what lies ahead here in Richmond.”
Liam O’Connell, USL Men’s Technical Director, commented:
“The USL Academy Finals always presents an opportunity for our clubs to showcase the top talent they’ve identified and brought into their Senior Team pathways. It’s especially rewarding when we can see a real emphasis being put on player development and promotion to the next level from those leaders in the space. This most recent edition of the USL Academy made it evident that Richmond Kickers is exactly one of those clubs, as they are fast becoming a premier destination for top young players aspiring towards playing at the professional level.”
