RICHMOND, Va. – (Friday, June 21, 2019) – The Richmond Kickers (3-6-3) will be looking to end their winless streak Saturday night as they take the trip down to Statesboro, Ga. to face South Georgia Tormenta FC (6-1-4). Kickoff at Erk Russell Park is set for 8:00 p.m. and the match will be available to stream through ESPN+.
Saturday’s match will mark the second of three meetings between the Kickers and Tormenta FC. Akira Fitzgerald posted three saves and a shutout when the two teams met back on April 6, battling to a scoreless draw at City Stadium. The two clubs will meet once more August 31, again at Erk Russell Park.
The Kickers come into this match on the heels of a 0-2 home defeat to Chattanooga Red Wolves SC last Saturday night. Chattanooga jumped ahead 1-0 in the 63rd minute with Sito Seoane setting up Amirgy Pineda for the opener. In stoppage time, the pair would reverse roles as Seoane scored the insurance goal to give Red Wolves SC all three points. It would prove to be a frustrating night for the Kickers, holding both an advantage in shots (16-11) and in possession with 57%.
Tormenta picked up a 2-0 road victory at Orlando City B in their last match. Coming out of the halftime break scoreless, Mikie Rowe put Tormenta on the board in the 54th minute. South Georgia doubled their lead in the 86th minute when Yaw Amankwa assisted on Alex Morrell’s team-high tying third goal of the season.
The Kickers continue their road trip next Saturday night, June 29 as they travel to face Chattanooga Red Wolves SC at David Stanton Field. The kickoff for that match is at 7:00 p.m. and will be available live on WTVR CBS 6.3 (Comcast 206, Verizon FiOS 466) and streaming online through ESPN+. Stay up to date with all of the Kickers news at www.richmondkickers.com.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Richmond: Midfielder and captain Maxi Rodriguez (#21) recorded 101 passes and had an accuracy of 86.1% in last Saturday’s match against Chattanooga. He leads USL League One with 851 passes this season. Defender Wahab Ackwei (#18) continues to put up impressive distribution numbers, having a passing accuracy of 89.2% of 74 passes. Ackwei is also in the top leaders for passes this season, ranking fifth in the league with 656 passes. Forward Joe Gallardo (#10) is going to be looking to get back on the scoresheet after four goals this season, tying him in third in league action. Gallardo joins Akira Fitzgerald as the only two players to play in every match in 2019 USL League One regular season.
Tormenta: Forward Mikie Rowe (#9) scored his first goal of the season in Tormenta’s 2-0 win over Orlando City B last Saturday night. The Irish international continued through the Tormenta system, playing last season with South Georgia Tormenta FC 2 in USL League Two. Forward Alex Morrell (#14) scored with four minutes to go until the final whistle to ensure Tormenta’s win against Orlando. Morrell brings USL Championship experience to Tormenta after scoring two goals in 34 matches for the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Goalkeeper Pablo Jara (#1) leads USL League One with seven shutouts, just ahead of Kickers goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald who has five shutouts.
