RICHMOND, VA – (Thursday, July 21, 2016) – The Richmond Kickers (7-6-5) return to regular season action this Saturday, July 23 to host Toronto FC II (5-11-5) and Craft Beer Fest at City Stadium. The party starts at 5:30 p.m. with over 20 craft beers and ciders on tap, live music by Salted Dog Blues Band, and RVA food trucks before the Kickers battle Toronto FC II at 7:00 p.m.
The RVA Trolley will be operating a continuously running, free, hop-on-hop-off trolley loop from City Stadium to Carytown from 5:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. After the game, fans are invited to take the trolley to Citizen Burger Bar (2907 West Cary Street) to join the Kickers pro players at the post-game party. Craft Beer Fest tickets including game admission and a drink ticket are on sale now for $12 at www.richmondkickers.com.
The Richmond Kickers return to regular season action at City Stadium this Saturday following a three-game road stand. After struggling to gain points on the road this season, the Kickers rebounded with back-to-back shutouts over the Harrisburg City Islanders and Pittsburgh Riverhounds, posting 3-0 and 2-0 wins respectively.
Most recently, the Kickers hosted Swansea City AFC of the world famous English Premier League at City Stadium, claiming a historic 2-0 victory over the formidable opponent in front of 7,128 fans. A 90-minute lightning delay at the end of the first half followed a Swansea own goal before Kickers forward Anthony Grant solidified the victory with a 74th minute tally to hand the home side their first victory over a Premier League opponent in club history.
Meanwhile, Toronto FC II will play their second game in four days following a midweek clash against the Rochester Rhinos. After conceding a goal in the first half, Toronto rallied for the equalizer when Skylar Thomas leveled the score with a perfectly placed header to level the score at 1-1 and extend the club’s unbeaten streak to three matches.
Saturday’s game closes out a three-game series between the Kickers and TFC II who exchanged home and home 1-0 win earlier this season. Brian Ownby’s lone goal lifted the Kickers to victory at City Stadium before Toronto avenged the loss at the Ontario Soccer Centre 11 days later, courtesy of Sal Bernal’s late tally.
Players to Watch
Kickers: Jamaican forward Anthony Grant (#9) made history last week with a second half tally against Swansea City AFC to hand the Kickers their first-ever win against an English Premier League side. Breaking into the starting lineup last month, the 2015 PDL Most Valuable Player notched his first professional goal in the Kickers 3-1 win at City Stadium last month after adding an assist against FC Montreal two weeks earlier. Newcomer Sunny Jane (#10) notched his fourth goal in a Kickers uniform in last week’s 2-0 win in Pittsburgh, one week after adding a tally in club’s 3-0 win in Harrisburg. The Lesotho National Team forward signed with Richmond prior to the 2016 season after spending two years with the Wilmington Hammerheads. Goalkeeper Travis Worra (#48) returned to Richmond on loan from the club’s official Major League Soccer affiliate, D.C. United earlier this month, and immediately posted back-to-back shutouts against Pittsburgh and Swansea City. Starting 11 matches in his sophomore season with D.C. United’s first team, he made 12 appearances in goal for the Kickers on loan during the 2015 campaign, posting 31 saves and five shutouts.
TFC II: Called up to Toronto FC II from the Kia Toronto FC Senior Academy in August 2015, midfielder Raheem Edwards (#48) leads the team with six goals and two assists in his sophomore season. The Canada U23 midfielder added a goal and an assist in last week’s 4-2 win at Harrisburg before adding an assist on the game-tying goal against Rochester earlier this week. Anchoring the midfield in all but one match this season, midfielder Sal Bernal (#31) notched his first goal of the season in May to lift TFC II to a 1-0 victory against the Kickers. Selected in the fourth round of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC, Bernal made 12 appearances with the USL side last year following four seasons at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. On loan from the Toronto FC First Team, goalkeeper Quillan Roberts (#40) became the seventh Academy player to graduate to the senior team in 2012. Posting 25 saves in seven appearances during the 2016 campaign, he backstopped TFC II side that shut out the Kickers at Ontario Soccer Centre earlier this season.
