Can Kickers defeat Pioneers for third time?

The Richmond Kickers have beaten league rival Western Mass. twice already this season, outscoring them by a 4-0 count. Will that make any difference when the teams meet again tonight in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup in Ludlow, Mass?

"Means nothing," Richmond coach Leigh Cowlishaw said. "The only positive for us, I think, is that we've done that trip. Everyone knows the surroundings. It's not going to be a new environment for us. We know what's expected. It's going to be a very vocal crowd.

"It's going to be close. They very easily could have won that game [1-0] at the start of the season. We got maybe a fortunate goal. But I think we're going to be much stronger than the last time we went up there. The motivation of playing an MLS team is very high with this group, as it is with Western Mass., I'm sure."

The winner advances to a third-round match with the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer on July 1 in New Britain, Conn.

Richmond reached the second round with a 3-0 win over the Fredericksburg Gunners (Premier Development League) two weeks ago.

Two-week road stretch coming up for Kickers

The Cup game kicks off a lengthy road trip for the Kickers, who could have six matches away from home in the next two weeks, if they get past Western Mass.

Richmond (5-4-1) goes to Cleveland on Saturday and Pittsburgh on Sunday for back-to-back United Soccer Leagues Second Division games. Then, a possible Cup date with New England would be followed by a July 4 game at Real Maryland and a trip to Bermuda on July 6. The Kickers aren't home again until July 12 against Pittsburgh.

So far, the road hasn't been kind to the Kickers, who are 1-4-0 away from University of Richmond Stadium.

"This is where you've got to reduce those mental errors," Cowlishaw said. "You've got to dig deep. You're not going to be playing perfect soccer away from home. You've got to battle a lot and make sure you can find a way to win. We're going to have to manage the games and play as many players as possible.

"It's going to be another test to see how strong this squad is and how well we've improved defensively, because so far we've been quite poor on the road. If you want to be a champion, you have to be much better on the road than [1-4]."

Ssejjemba, Charlotte: more than just soccer

Robert Ssejjemba thought his soccer career might have been over after last season with Richmond, when he got a college coaching job. But he wound up with Charlotte and has helped the Eagles to an 8-1-2 record and the top spot in USL2.

"I had some thoughts going on," Ssejjemba said. "After the season, I got a part-time job coaching and I loved it. I wanted to do more of it. In between there, I got in touch with the Eagles and we talked. One thing led to another, and I went over there."

Charlotte also has an outreach Christian program that extends to Africa, which was appealing to Ssejjemba, who is from Uganda.

"It just made sense for me to be in Charlotte," he said. - John Packett