Written by: Patrick English
New York Red Bulls II midfielder Vincent Bezecourt sent a decent corner into the center of the box where it met a Hassan Ndam bicycle kick. The shot went off Chris Durkin’s chest, but deflected to the feet of Zeiko Lewis. Lewis shot the ball into the right corner of the net to give New York Red Bulls II a 1-0 lead. The Kickers will look to improve their attack next Saturday as they committed 14 fouls, lost the possession battle 58-42 and only attempted five shots, including just one on target.
Below are the top three moments from Saturday’s game.
The Kickers opened their 25th anniversary season with 11 new players, three of which made their Richmond debut on March 25 against the Harrisburg City Islanders. Three more players played for their first time in red on Saturday, with Evan Lee and Mikey Minutillo starting the game and Raul Gonzalez coming off the bench in the 64th minute.
After joining Richmond on Friday, Mikey Muntillo earned a spot in Leigh Cowlishaw’s starting lineup as the lone striker in the 4-2-3-1 system. While the Penn State graduate only had one shot on goal, he played all 90 minutes and was very involved in the Kickers’ game plan. He had perhaps Richmond’s best chance in the game when he received a Maxim Tissot pass at the center of the box in the 65th minute. However, his shot would hit the crossbar and bounce out.
Evan Lee signed with the Kickers over the winter, but was listed as a substitute in the opener before making his Kickers debut on Saturday as a defensive midfielder. He played 80 minutes, making 43 touches while completing 66.7 percent of his passes. Raul Gonzalez signed his first professional contract with Richmond this week and came on in the 64th minute, completing all three of his passes. He even had a chance on goal when Alex Lee sent him a ball from the right corner to the right side of the box, but his shot went wide left.
Matt Turner Diving Save
The Kickers have had a rotating goalkeeper carousel so far this season with two players coming down on loan spells from DC United. Matt Turner was between the sticks on Saturday and was called to action several times for five saves, only allowing the one goal to Zeito Lewis. His best save came early in the game when the Red Bulls drove the ball up the field to the feet of Ethan Kutler. He put a venomous shot from the top left of the box to Turner’s right, and he dove to catch the save.
Second Half Chances
Despite allowing the goal in the 69th minute, Richmond did not give up and had two of their best chances in the second half. The first, already mentioned in moment three, came in the 65th minute and resulted with Mikey Muntillo’s shot glaring off the crossbar. The second featured Fred Owusu Sekyere driving down the field and into the middle of New York’s box. He put a shot in, but Hassan Ndam blocked it to Maxim Tissot. Tissot tried another shot, but David Najem blocked it away.
