RICHMOND, VA – (Thursday, March 31, 2016) – The Richmond Kickers travel for their first away match of the 2016 season this Friday, April 1 when they take on the Wilmington Hammerheads. The match will be broadcast live from Legion Stadium on YouTube.com/USL at 7:00 p.m.
The Kickers opened the 2016 campaign with a 3-1 win over the Harrisburg City Islanders last week at City Stadium. Captain Michael Callahan opened the scoreline in the 16th minute with forward Jason Yeisley adding a second tally seven minutes later. Sophomore midfielder Yudai Imura notched a third goal for the home side minutes after the second half restart before the City Islanders pulled a goal back to avoid the shutout.
Meanwhile, the Hammerheads also collected three points in their 2016 debut with a 2-1 upset over expansion side Orlando City B on the road last week. Following a 30 minute lightning delay, Ashani Fairclough became the first player to score against the USL newcomers with a 46th minute tally but Orlando rallied back 10 minutes later with the equalizer before Logan Miller’s goal of the week put the match away in the 64th minute.
The Kickers and the Hammerheads meet for the first time since June 20, 2015 when they battled to a scoreless draw at City Stadium in a match that was cut short by violent thunderstorms and terminated following the 45th minute. Earlier in the season, the Kickers shut out their longtime rivals a 3-0 in Richmond after rallying for a 2-2 tie in Wilmington during the 2015 season opener.
The two clubs swap home field advantage on Saturday, May 7th when the Kickers host Wilmington at City Stadium before closing out the three game series at Legion Stadium in the regular season finale on Friday, September 23.
Following this weekend’s road game, the Kickers return to Richmond to host the I Heart Carytown Craft Beer Festival, presented by Bon Secours Sports Medicine, at City Stadium on Saturday, April 9. Celebrating RVA’s most iconic shopping district, the party starts at 3:00 p.m. with live music by Hollywood Cemetery, a mini-Carytown marketplace featuring locally-owned restaurants, food trucks and handcrafted items from Carytown boutiques, 20+ craft beers on tap and the Kickers pro game versus Rochester at 5:00 p.m., to showcase why Carytown is the best place to Eat, Shop and Play. Tickets are on sale now at www.richmondkickers.com.
