RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers (0-1-1) fell 1-0 to FC Naples in a hard fought match on Saturday at City Stadium.
The Kickers battled in front of 5,494 fans in their USL League One home opener, the first of 16 regular season league matches in 2026.
Goalkeeper Yann Fillion made three saves and added two punches, including multiple in key moments to keep the deficit at one goal. Despite going down a player after a red card to Andrew Richman, the Kickers continued to push forward, highlighted by a dangerous run from Josh Kirkland in the 55th minute that just missed the target. Richmond nearly found a late equalizer in the 90th minute when a header off a corner drifted just wide. Darwin Espinal followed with a stoppage-time strike that forced a save from the goalkeeper.
FC Naples was led by Kevin O’Connor who put the visiting team on the board.
Breaking Down The Action
- FC Naples got their attack started with a corner in the 12th minute, leading to a pair of successive punch outs from Yann Fillion.
- In the 25th minute, FC Naples opened the scoring with a goal from Kevin O’Connor to take a 1–0 lead.
- Richmond went into halftime trailing 1–0.
- Andrew Richman was shown a red card, leaving Richmond down a player in the 42nd minute.
- In the 49th minute, Fillion made an impressive diving save to deny FC Naples from the top of the box.
- In the 55th minute, Josh Kirkland ran onto a long ball from Sam Layton and created a strong chance, but his shot went just wide of the post.
- In the 90th minute, Richmond nearly found an equalizer, but a header from a corner kick went just past the post.
- In stoppage time (90+3’), Darwin Espinal fired a long-range shot that was tipped away by the goalkeeper.
- The final whistle sounded with the score 1-0 in favor of Naples.
Notable Numbers
- 1: Saturday marked the Kicker’s 2026 USL1 home opener.
- 1: Andrew Richman made his 2026 season debut for the Kickers.
- 2: The matchup marks the second game of the Kicker’s 2026 USL1 regular season.
- 3: Yann Fillion made three saves and added two punches.
- 15: Sean Vinberg and Sam Layton tallied a total of 15 clearances.
- 5,494: Attendance for the Kickers home opener.
Series History
- With the result, Richmond now holds a 0-3-0 record all-time against FC Naples.
- The matchup marked the third all-time between the two USL1 opponents, with FC Naples beginning play in 2025.
Up Next
- The Kickers return to the road, traveling to Covenant Health Park to challenge One Knoxville SC on Friday, March 27 at 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on CBS 6.3 and ESPN+ with live updates and links available at richmondkickers.com or @RichmondKickers on X (Twitter)
