RICHMOND, Va. – (Monday, August 27, 2018) – The Richmond Kickers (6-16-3) will make their first-ever trek to face USL newcomers Nashville SC (9-7-8) at First Tennessee Park Tuesday night for an 8:30 p.m. kickoff. This match will be available on the Kickers Official Television partners WTVR CBS 6 on the 6.3 sub channel (Comcast 206, Verizon FiOS 466) and streaming on ESPN+.
Tuesday night’s match will mark the first meeting between the two clubs. Richmond will be looking to pick up just their second win on the road this season, with a road record of 1-10-0. Nashville has been a strong home club this season with seven wins, two draws and two loses.
The Kickers will want to get their last match out of their heads, after falling to the defending USL Champions, Louisville City FC 0-6 at City Stadium. The visitors jumped to a 2-0 first half lead behind goals from Cameron Lancaster and George Davis IV. Louisville put on four more second half goals from José Carranza, Niall McCabe and a brace from Luke Spencer.
Nashville comes into Tuesday night’s match on the heels of a deflating 1-2 home loss to Bethlehem Steel FC. Chris Nanco put Steel FC up in the 23rd minute. Nashville would be dealt a blow in the 31st minute as Ismaila Jome saw his second yellow card of the night and was sent off. The home side looked to salvage a point late, with Justin Davids netting the equalizer with six minutes to go. With one of the last kicks of the game, Adam Najem picked up the game winner deep into stoppage time to steal all three points on the road.
Following Tuesday’s match, the Kickers will head to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to take on Indy Eleven Saturday at 7:00 p.m. That match will be available on WTVR CBS 6.3 (Comcast 206, Verizon FiOS 466) as well as streaming online through ESPN+. Stay up to date with the Kickers at www.richmondkickers.com.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Richmond: Forward Koby Osei-Wusu (#24) made his return to the Kickers Starting XI Saturday night, making his 11th start of the season. The George Washington University product has one goal in his rookie season, scoring his first professional goal in the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against Reading United. Midfielder Raul Gonzalez (#27) looked to be the option for David Bulow to replace Alex Lee at right back Saturday night against Louisville. Now in his second season, Gonzalez has one goal and one assist over 23 appearances. Defender Mekeil Williams (#55) lead the Kickers defense with five clearances Saturday night. He is second for the Kickers this season in that stat, plus leads the club with 14 blocks in his 20 appearances this season.
Nashville: Forward Brandon Allen (#32) joined Nashville midseason from Bethlehem Steel FC and leads the club in scoring with six goals. The Georgetown University product already has two goals against the Kickers this season, netting both in the season opener. Midfielder Lebo Moloto (#10) leads Nashville with five assists in 23 appearances, including picking up his fifth assist in their last outing against Bethlehem Steel FC. Moloto joined the club after spending the 2017 season with Swope Park Rangers, where he scored seven goals over 33 matches. Goalkeeper Matt Pickens (#18) is tied for second in the USL for clean sheets this season with 11, only one behind the leader Maxime Crépeau of Ottawa. Pickens made the move to Nashville after four seasons with the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
