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Kiley Fitzgerald, a rising junior at University of Richmond and a Richmond United alumna, joined the inaugural Richmond Ivy squad as a midfielder. (Photo by Jessica Stone Hendricks Photography courtesy Richmond Ivy Soccer Club)

Score!

A new women’s soccer team — the Richmond Ivy — prepares for the pitch

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Get ready, Richmond: There’s a new team in town.   

The Richmond Ivy Soccer Club takes the pitch at City Stadium on May 11 for its inaugural match with a roster of collegiate players from Richmond, Manakin-Sabot, Glen Allen, Midlothian and beyond. 

The Ivy is part of the Richmond Kickers organization and will play in the United Soccer League’s pre-professional W League, launched in 2022. The “pre-professional” designation means the players are participating without wages but with paid coaching and administrative staff, as well as covered travel and kit costs.  

The goal, according to the Kickers’ front office, is for the Ivy to give collegiate players the chance to compete against new opponents during the summer and perhaps prepare themselves for a future in professional soccer, whether as players, coaches or administrators.

“Soccer can be a platform to open doors,” says Ivy head coach and Richmond native Kimmy Cummings. “I want young women to feel the kind of love around the game that they deserve. I want young females in the stands to see themselves on the pitch in the future, to think ‘I can coach one day,’ to see all the different roles and make it real for them.”  

Forwards 

Ivy players are just old enough to remember the Richmond Kickers Destiny, the semiprofessional women’s team that competed here from 2004 to 2009 in the United Soccer League’s W-League. That league operated from 1995 to 2015, giving elite amateurs the chance to play alongside professionals from other countries while maintaining their college eligibility. 

During its six-season run, the Richmond Destiny showcased talented players including Becky Sauerbrunn, who went on to win two World Cup titles and serve as the U.S. Women’s Nationals Team captain, and the University of Virginia’s Nikki Krzysik, Chantel Jones and Sinead Farrelly. Cummings played for the Destiny, then went on to serve as head coach for two Richmond United teams in the Kickers’ elite program for young contenders seeking college or professional careers.  

Cummings hopes the Ivy can inspire the next generation of players. “I want anyone and everyone I come into contact with to love soccer as much as I do,” she says. “I think about where soccer was when I was growing up, and man, would I kill to be playing right now. The investment in this area in soccer is exponential for what it was. What a time to be a young female playing soccer in Richmond.” 

Kickoff  

The USL W League debuted with 44 teams in 20 states, playing games from mid-May to mid-July. “When we set out to build the [new] W League, we saw it as an opportunity to play the game and to support the game, [which are] byproducts of the movement to increase the opportunity to be involved in the sport,” says Joel Nash, USL senior vice president for youth and pre-professional leagues. “We want players, clubs and fans to see the professional potential of these players.” 

Nash says the U.S. women’s national soccer team’s success has inspired young athletes, but the path to professional play is complicated. “Where USL wants to excel — in any and all of our platforms and leagues — is to support a player’s journey … which is never linear,” he says. “There are great successes followed by fallbacks. There’s a really big gap from being a high schooler to playing pro [soccer]. The majority of professionals are now elite collegiate players. The W League is that bridge. We want players to see the league as a step up from what they’ve experienced, where they have the best chance to play professionally, or it can be a capstone to their career, something they cherish.”  

This summer the W League will have 80 teams across the country playing in four conferences, each with geographically determined divisions. The Ivy will play in the Mid-Atlantic division, with the Charlottesville Blues and Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Inferno — also league newcomers — as well as Christos FC (Baltimore), Eagle FC (Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania), Northern Virginia FC (Leesburg), Patuxent FA (Upper Marlboro, Maryland) and Virginia Marauders FC (Winchester).  

“We want the right number of clubs in each division, so the clubs aren’t traveling extensively to compete — a condensed footprint,” Nash says. “The biggest asset for U.S. soccer is the size of our country, but that’s also a challenge.”  

Another challenge is finding the right ownership group for league teams. “It’s about having a certain amount of structure or guardrails that we know will make a successful W League club,” Nash says.  

As one of the longest continuously running professional soccer clubs in the country — and with a decades-long relationship with the USL — the Kickers were asked to join the W League at its inception. “We wanted to see if the timing was right for them,” Nash says.   

It wasn’t then, but it is now. 

Throw-in  

The Richmond Kickers organization is run by a group known as 22 Holdings, which bought the club in late 2018. The bland name conceals the soccer firepower found in the ownership team, which is helmed by local legend Rob Ukrop.   

Richmond native Ukrop played for the Kickers in 1993, their first season, and then played on U.S. national teams and professionally until retiring in 2004. He was also on the 1992 Davidson College men’s soccer squad that advanced to the NCAA Final Four. After a 2018 reunion celebrating that run, Ukrop and four teammates decided to go into business together and bought the Kickers. “We have an energy executive from D.C., two guys in private equity and a dermatologist,” he says.   

When Nash initially approached Ukrop about joining the new W League, the answer was no.  

 “We wanted to make sure we were on solid footing for the men’s pro team, so we passed on the first two years [of the W League],” Ukrop says. What finally tipped the scales was the W League’s expansion over its first two years. “Travel is a killer part of our league,” Ukrop continues. “We knew the women’s team had to be a bus league to be close to [financially] sustainable. Now, Lancaster is our farthest trip.”  

Ukrop sees the W League as a multidimensional opportunity, offering more than might be readily apparent. “The W League is a chance for kids to connect with young women players, to aspire to,” he says. “It’s also good for women coming out of the spring college season to have a chance to stay fit before they head back to college. And the team gives us six more nights at City Stadium, which we think is good for the community. In the past, we’ve done 200 events in a year at the stadium, which has an incredible history. That brings people together.”  

Ukrop says the Kickers’ success can be traced to strong leadership that includes president and COO Camp Peery, and men’s head coach Darren Sawatzky. For the Ivy, the Kickers’ first hire was Sporting Director Madeline McCracken. She played for Richmond United and the Richmond Strikers, competed on two college teams, and played professionally for DSC Arminia Bielefeld in Germany from 2020 to 2023.   

“She’s hard-working, understood the game,” Ukrop says. “She’s come in and worked on the men’s side with registration, training sessions and the environment we’re trying to create. She’s the rock star here, doing the heavy lifting. It’s hard when you’re trying to build this thing out.”  

McCracken says the offer to return to Richmond was one she couldn’t pass up. “Coming back home to Richmond has been a dream come true,” she says, noting that her days as a player were coming to a close. “I was looking to transition to the equipment world in sports, but I knew immediately this was something I had to do. This is a city with passionate people who love soccer, who love the game.”  

Plus, she says, the Richmond Kickers organization has a foundation the Richmond Ivy can rely on. “They’ve got a wonderful formula here of being honest with players, where coaches truly care about you,” she says. “This is a healthy environment for players to thrive and succeed in. We’re looking forward to bringing these players in and exposing them to a higher level [of competition], which is good for their development. We’re hoping to set them up for more success in the future for what they want to do, on and off the soccer field.”  

Substitutions  

McCracken and Cummings worked together to find players, scouting at nearby colleges and reaching out to locals who may compete farther away during the school year. At press time, 14 players had committed, with at least one player for every position.  

“We’ve been very strategic in the way we’re building this team,” McCracken says. “We want a team the region connects with and understands. A lot of our players are from the region and have played with Richmond United and the Kickers. They’ve grown up in this system. Many will come home and stay with families; if they come from out of market, they might have college housing [in place].”  

Those connections are essential for the team to coalesce in a short period of time. “Culture is so important,” Cummings says, noting that she’s coached many of the players on previous teams. “They have a feel for how I run a team and what’s important to me. I don’t want a player rolling in one minute in advance [of practice]. The atmosphere is professional.”  

As for players’ current collegiate loyalties, Cummings isn’t worried. “Being part of a team involves conflict,” she says. “How we manage through that is incredibly important. They’ve played together before and want to play together again and be part of this team.”  

McCracken adds, “We all bring something different to the table, whether on the soccer field or place of work or organization. It’s important to have different personalities to be challenged in a positive way. I’m sure there will be jokes here and there, because a lot of [the players] have grown up together. At our two combines, players have been jumping and hugging [one another]. They’re so excited to see each other again. When we’re all together, it’s one team, one city.”  

The enthusiasm is happening beyond the field, too, McCracken says, noting that more than 600 “Founders Club” memberships were sold before the season began. A brand reveal at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery’s Richmond taproom attracted hundreds of fans who posed for pictures in front of a wall of faux ivy with the team’s crest and happily waited in a winding line for a chance to scoop up team merchandise. “There’s been such great support and response from the community,” McCracken says. “People want to be a part of the inaugural season.”  

The Ivy’s first practice was May 1, and its first game is May 11. Ticket prices range from single-day general admission of $12 (in advance) and $17 (day of) to reserved midfield club seats at $30 or $35. A $90 package includes all six home games plus Ivy merch: a T-shirt, scarf and magnet. The Kickers also sell a City Stadium+ membership for $50 annually that includes perks and additional savings off ticket prices. 

No double-headers with the Kickers are planned, because the goal is for both teams to be celebrated equally, despite the men being paid professional players while the women are not. “[The Richmond Ivy] should feel on level footing” with the men’s team, Cummings says. “The only difference for us should be the colors on the field and the colors in the stands. Yes, we could pull from some men’s fans, but four-plus hours of soccer is a lot of soccer for a lot of people. We want to give each [team] their own platform and ability for fans to support their team.” 

Starters  

Christopher Newport University forward Madie Vincent will play for the Ivy this year, alongside CNU teammate midfielder Hanna Heaton. Vincent, a Smithfield native, commuted during high school to play with Richmond United and sees the Richmond Ivy as a homecoming.   

“I can better my game and make new connections; [this is] an [opportunity for players to come together] in the summer from all over the country,” Vincent says. “I’m excited to get involved in the community. Richmond has felt like home for years now. Some of my best friends live in Richmond.”  

While Vincent is working toward a biology degree with a concentration in kinesiology and considering medical school, she remains committed to soccer. “I have loved soccer since the age of 3, and I don’t see that going anywhere. If an opportunity arises, I don’t want to have any regrets. I know this Richmond team will compete for the No. 1 spot [in the league].”  

McCracken and Cummings hope to help Richmond Ivy players find and secure opportunities. “We have a duty to care for these players,” McCracken says. “We have them for a short period of time and want to develop them on and off the soccer field. In the W League, they can be scouted and seen from a young age. We’re hoping to get them excited about what can be on the soccer field and off the soccer field, as well. If players are interested in internships and the community, we want to put them on this path and make it easier for them.  

“We truly are building something from the ground up,” she continues. “We’re all working together to leave a legacy and make [the Richmond Ivy] something the people of Richmond are really proud of.”

Ivy: Creating the Crest

The Kickers hired Alex Kocher, creative director at locally based Easy Friday Co., to develop the Richmond Ivy brand. “We first discussed the ideas and themes that we felt represented Richmond and that helped us align on a set of values for the club,” Kocher said in a statement. “Every decision along the way — from the name, to color, font selection and iconography — were guided by these common ideas.” 

The club’s manifesto cites “the bonds of Ivy’s twisting vines” throughout the city. Ivy is said to be “elegant and beautiful … creative and tenacious … always striving for greatness, overcoming obstacles and climbing ever higher.”  

These ideals are represented by the club’s shield, which is deep green and brick orange with an upward-reaching vine. The points on the leaves represent both Richmond’s seven hills and the 11 athletes on the pitch, while subtle arches echo James River bridges. The club’s inaugural year, 2024, also figures in the design.