Richmond Earn a Point at Home, Draw 1-1 Against Portland Hearts of Pine

RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers welcomed Portland Hearts of Pine to City Stadium for a tightly contested battle under the lights, drawing 1-1. After falling behind in the first half, Richmond owned nearly 60% of the possession in the second half and found the equalizer in the 74th minute to secure a point at home.

Richmond generated plenty of attacking pressure throughout the night, with Darwin Espinal recording a match-high six shots including two on goal. Portland took the lead before halftime, but the Kickers continued to push after the break and were rewarded when Owen O’Malley set up Josh Kirkland for the equalizer in the 74th minute. Yann Fillion and the defense held strong through the closing minutes, including a crucial stoppage-time save, as Richmond secured the draw.

Portland was led by Matteo Kidd who scored the goal for his side, putting them on the board in the first half. 

Breaking Down The Action 

• Portland earned an early free kick in the 14th minute, but the attempt went straight to Yann Fillion, who made the save.
• Ali Sasankhah played a long ball to Darwin Espinal in the 18th minute, who carried it to the top of the box before forcing a save from the Portland goalkeeper.
• Matt Bolduc found Espinal just outside the box, and his quick strike narrowly missed the target in the 21st minute.
• Three minutes later Harold Hanson connected with Espinal again, but his effort from the top of the box sailed just over the crossbar.
• Portland worked its way into the Richmond box in the 25th minute, but Sam Layton stepped in to break up the pass before Beckett Howell cleared the danger.
• Portland threatened again moments later, but Howell stayed with his man, disrupted the initial attempt, and cleared the ball away.
• No. 98, Matteo Kidd, opened the scoring for the visiting side in the 37th minute, 0-1.
• Espinal nearly leveled the match with a free kick from the top of the box that struck the post in the 43rd minute. Richmond followed up on the rebound, but the second effort went just wide.
• Portland led Richmond 1-0 at halftime.
• Josh Kirkland fired from outside the box, but his shot went narrowly wide of the left post in the 54th minute.
• Espinal curled an effort toward goal in the 56th minute, forcing the Portland keeper into a diving save. Bolduc collected the rebound and fired again, but the goalkeeper denied him as well.
• Tyler Freeman entered the match for Zahir Vazquez in the 61st minute.
• Austin Amer and Tarik Pannholzer came on for Sasankhah and Bolduc in the 70th minute.
• Owen O’Malley won the ball on the right side of the box and picked out Kirkland, who calmly finished to bring the Kickers level in the 74th minute, 1-1.
• Landon Johnson entered for Kirkland in the 78th minute.
• Portland earned a free kick into the box in the 84th, but Fillion stood tall to deny the resulting header.
• Fillion came up with a crucial late save to preserve the draw in stoppage.
• The final whistle sounded with a level score of 1-1.

Notable Numbers  

Series History  

• The Kickers now hold a 0-2-2 record against Portland Hearts of Pine all-time.
• The two clubs last faced each other on June 24, 2026, with Portland claiming a 5-1 win in Maine.

Up Next 

• Richmond remains at City Stadium hosting Forward Madison in the Henny Derby on Saturday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. EST. Get your tickets for Night at the Museums today at richmondkickers.com/tickets and follow all of the action live at @richmondkickers on Instagram, Facebook and X (Twitter).