Boys ECNL RL Finals - Norco, California

The U14 Boys Elite Red 09 competed in the ECNL Finals this past weekend in Norco, California, July 14-17th. The team was coached by Sean Kastetter and Perry Richards. The boys started their journey by beating Florida Kraze 1-0 in the quarterfinals with a goal from Jhoan Giraldo. They faced Legends FC in the semi finals and were down 2-0 at the half. The comeback started with a goal from Nathan D’Souza within the first two minutes of the second half. Parker Wootten scored the second goal to tie the game with header to the far post. As the team began preparing to go into PKs, Nathan D’Souza added the game winner with a turn and finish inside the box with 2 minutes left in the game.

They would play STA from New Jersey in the final. No team could break the deadlock during regular time which led to two 10 minute overtimes. In the last minute of the first overtime, Nathan D’Souza scored a left footed volley into the corner of the opponents goal. That would prove to be the game winning goal, as they became the first Richmond Kickers Youth team in history, to claim a National title.

Our U14 Boys were not the only Richmond team to bring home a National title that day. Richmond United’s U17 Boys claimed the ECNL National title earlier that morning against Seattle United 2-0.

NPL Finals - Denver, Colorado

Our U16 Boys Elite Black 07 team, coached by Perry Richards, competed in the NPL Finals in Denver, Colorado, July 6-9th. They are the first Richmond Kickers Youth team to attend this event. The fields were in front of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, home to the Colorado Rapids of MLS. Their tournament group consisted of Los Gatos United Soccer Club, Sockers FC, and FC Dallas. Sockers FC made it to the final, losing 2–0 to Tonka Fusion Elite.  

Although our 16’s did not qualify for the quarterfinals, the boys competed with each team during the tournament and showed they belonged there. They will start off their Fall season defending their U16 Virginia NPL Champions title with the hopes of securing a return to the NPL Finals in Summer 2024.

We are very proud of our U14 & U16 teams and how they represented our club on the National stage this summer. We look forward to seeing you all back at Nationals next summer!