Richmond Ivy SC caps inaugural season, inspires next generation at impassioned home finale (2024)

In front of 5,841 green-clad, impassioned fans, Richmond Ivy SC capped its inaugural season on a pristine Friday night at City Stadium with a high-flying 4-2 defeat to Lancaster Inferno and continued to galvanize the next generation of young female athletes.

For the season, the Ivy drew a total of 28,866 fans with an average of 4,811 for each of its six home games, a number among the nation’s elite throughout USL W League, and on par with some National Women’s Soccer League professional teams.

Ivy coach Kimmy Cummings said she would have loved for her club (6-1-5, 19 points, fourth place in eight-team USL W League Eastern Conference Mid-Atlantic Division) to make a playoff push — only the division’s top team continues into the postseason.

But at the end of the day, the Ivy’s inaugural season was about much more than results, as pre-professional women’s soccer returned to the River City for the first time since 2009.

“It far exceeded everything I could have expected,” Cummings said of the Ivy’s first season.

Two moments on the night stood out to Cummings, and neither occurred on the field of play.

The first came when a young girl in the stands walked up to her confidently and told Cummings “that’s going to be me one day, I want you to write my name down, because I’ll see you in five years,” gesturing to the players on the pitch.

When Cummings got to the other end of the stadium, a mother with tears in her eyes told her, “Thank you so much for doing this.”

“I was like ‘Yeah, we appreciate everything you’ve given to us,’” Cummings said.

“She said, ‘No, no, no. These girls are sitting here and they actually believe that will be them one day. So thank you for bringing that to Richmond.’

“For me, to be able to build that in Richmond, to be able to provide that for young females where they see themselves on this field, that’s why we did it.”

Ivy forward and VCU player Kanna Matsuhisa created a golden opportunity in the 20th minute with a deft touch and through-ball to open up space on the right wing for Christopher Newport player Madie Vincent.

Vincent slid a perfect cutback pass to onrushing fellow Captains player Hanna Heaton, a Gloucester native who slotted her shot into the bottom-right-hand corner of the net to make it 1-1.

Heaton said the environments her team have encountered on the road throughout the season have been nothing compared to the support they’re shown at City Stadium.

“A goal is a goal, but a goal here feels like you’re on top of the world,” said Heaton, who wheeled away upon scoring to celebrate with fans in the supporters club dubbed “The Vineguard,” in Section O of City Stadium, which, for Ivy games, bears the moniker “The Greenhouse.”

“It’s an amazing feeling. The fans, they get behind you, they cheer you on. This whole development was an amazing thing. There was nothing like this when I was growing up. There was no great girls teams around that we could go support. To see the young girls, the look in their eyes when they watch the game and watch us girls, it’s pretty inspiring.”

After a decidedly even, back-and-forth first half, the Inferno (9-1-1, 28 points) controlled swaths of the second period to build a 4-1 advantage.

Ivy forward and VCU player Kendyl Sarver cut the deficit to 4-2 in the 79th minute when she hammered home a shot off a Matsuhisa corner.

As the Ivy applied constant pressure attacking the stadium’s north end in the game’s waning moments, much of the 5,841 in attendance were on their feet, urging Richmond on in full throat, producing a climactic atmosphere befitting of the energy generated by the club throughout its inaugural season.

Following the final whistle, Ivy players walked arm-and-arm to Section O at City Stadium’s south end to thank their most devoted fans.

Defender, team captain and VCU player Ava Pustover will cherish memories of long bus rides with her teammates and joyous goal celebrations.

“When I was young, there were no girls teams like this, no girls games that you could go watch,” she said. “Knowing I can be that for someone else, it means so much to me because they have someone to look up to, it’s something they can do. It’s such a cool experience.”

Ivy sporting director Madeline McCracken has been the administrative mastermind behind the club’s first season from a roster construction and community engagement standpoint.

She said her favorite aspect of the Ivy’s campaign was getting to know the players off the field, and seeing them engage with the community they inspired, particularly a younger generation of fans.

“That’s why we’re here, is to give these young girls something to look forward to, someone to look up to,” McCracken said.

“We hope that they see themselves in our players, and that this is something that pushes them to continue to play and to love the game.”

McCracken talked to a young fan at the game on Friday who told her “I don’t even love soccer, but I’m here and I had the best time ever with my friend, she loves soccer.”

“It’s the coolest response you can possibly get, because that’s your target. That’s why we’re here, is to give these young girls something to look forward to, someone to look up to,” McCracken said.

“We hope that they see themselves in our players, and that this is something that pushes them to continue to play and to love the game ... that’s the kind of impact we’re having on these young girls. That means the world to us ... connecting with and reaching out to that next generation.”