Hunter sits one game after red-card ejection

Richmond coach Leigh Cowlishaw called it a "rookie mistake." And the red card issued to forward Ben Hunter near the end of Saturday's 1-0 win at Western Mass., is going to cost the Kickers one of their top offensive threats against Charlotte on Saturday at University of Richmond Stadium.

Hunter, who had received a yellow card in the 75th minute, said something to one of the linesmen and picked up a red card, which is an automatic ejection and one-game suspension.

"That's disappointing to us, because there was absolutely no need for him to get that red card," Cowlishaw said. "He did everything right. He was going to the corner flag, got fouled, slowing the game down. But for some strange reason, he reacted to something and said something to the linesman.

"It put us in a situation, under pressure, for the last couple of minutes of the game, and also now, we've lost a valuable player for the Charlotte game."

The Eagles come to town with the best record (4-0-1, 13 points) in the United Soccer Leagues Second Division, while the Kickers (2-2-0, six) are struggling to stay out of the lower half of the league.

McEachron delivers in pinch-hit role

Former Kickers defender Trevor McEachron, in a fill-in role, played the full 90 minutes vs. Western Mass., and worked well with Kelvin Jones on the back line to help goalkeeper Ronnie Pascale (six saves) register his second shutout.

"The two of them played together for two years, so they did great," Cowlishaw said. "I'm sure Trevor is not as fit as he would normally be, because he's working full time, but he was magnificent back there. They [Western Mass.] had some chances, but they very rarely got behind us. I felt we defended a lot better as a back four and as a group."

McEachron, who works for a car rental agency in Northern Virginia, played the game as a favor to Cowlishaw. Any chance he might join the club on a full-time basis?

"We'd love to have him," Cowlishaw said. "We tried to recruit him very hard through the off season. I know all the players would love to have him involved. I wouldn't say it's out of the realm of possibility, but he's got to look out for his future."

Despite long bus ride, Kickers got three points

Both of Richmond's wins have come over Western Mass., which is 2-0-1 against other teams. The Kickers had to overcome a wet field, as well as the usually aggressive Pioneers and their fans, to post a victory.

"Western Mass. is not an easy place to get three points," Cowlishaw said. "To get a win on their field, on a bus ride that took us 13 hours, I'm very, very pleased. We have the tiebreaker over them now, I guess. But they're a very good team. They will take up a lot of points."

Now comes what Cowlishaw calls a "pivotal game" against Charlotte. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

"A win will get us right back in the mix for the first or second position," he said. "If we don't, then we know we'll be battling to make the playoffs."

Ex-Kicker Ferruzzi takes FC Dallas reins

Former Richmond midfielder Marco Ferruzzi has been named interim head coach of FC Dallas (Major League Soccer). Ferruzzi replaces Steve Morrow, who was fired yesterday.

Ferruzzi has been an assistant coach for four years with FC Dallas, which is 2-3-3 in the MLS' Western Conference. Ferruzzi spent four seasons (1999-2002) with the Kickers when they belonged to USL1. He was named team MVP in 2002 before leaving for the Minnesota Thunder.

Ferruzzi will make his coaching debut against Real Salt Lake on Saturday in Dallas. -John Packett