RICHMOND, Va. – (Friday, April 4, 2019) – The Richmond Kickers (0-1-0) return to City Stadium Saturday night to host South Georgia Tormenta FC (2-0-0) for a 5:00 p.m. kickoff. Saturday night is College Night where all college students can get tickets for just $10 with a valid student ID. The party starts with drink specials for the first 30 minutes when the gates open at 3:30 p.m., plus live music from the Hit List. The Kickers take the field at 5:00 p.m. to face Tormenta. This match will be streamed live on ESPN+. Tickets are on sale now at www.richmondkickers.com.
This will be the first ever meeting between the Kickers and Tormenta FC. Tormenta are in their second year of existence, having played the 2018 season in USL League Two, claiming the division title in their first season.
The Kickers will look to bounce back from last Saturday’s defeat to Lansing Ignite FC, 2-3 at City Stadium. Lansing netted a pair of goals Robinson Moshobane and Xavier Gomez to take the 2-0 lead into the halftime break. Four minutes into the second half, Lansing scored their third goal of the night through Kevin Coiffic. Maxi Rodriguez pulled a goal back in the 68th minute as Daniel Jackson controlled a deflected Lansing pass, and put it in the perfect spot for Rodriguez to smash it home for the first goal of the 2019 season. Eight minutes later, Joe Gallardo converted a penalty kick after a handball was called in the box. Despite the Kickers efforts late in the match, they could not complete the comeback.
Tormenta played their second of three matches in eight days Wednesday night, picking up a 3-1 home victory over the visiting FC Tucson. Tucson took the lead in the 55th minute through Devin Vega. Tormenta responded two minutes later as Lucas Countinho started the comeback tying the game up. One minute later and Tormenta was in the lead from Alex Morrell. Marco Micaletto sealed the victory in the 74th minute to ensure the three points. Conner Antley assisted on all three goals for Tormenta.
Richmond will hit the road for the first time this season, making the trip to Cooley Law School Stadium to take on Lansing Ignite FC Saturday, April 13. Kickoff for that match is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be available live on WTVR CBS 6.3 (Comcast 206, Verizon FiOS 466) and can be streamed live on ESPN+. Stay up to date with the Kickers at www.richmondkickers.com.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Richmond: Scoring the first goal of the 2019 season, midfielder and team captain Maxi Rodriguez (#21) made his mark on Kickers fans with a rocket of a shot to get the Richmond back into last Saturday’s match. The San Antonio native joined the Kickers this season after two seasons with San Antonio FC in the USL Championship. Midfielder Joe Gallardo (#10) netted his first professional goal Saturday night against Lansing, converting a penalty kick in the 76th minute. Developed through the United States Youth National Teams, Gallardo last played with Orlando City B in the USL Championship. Defender Jannik Eckenrode (#22) will be going against his brother, Lars Eckenrode this Saturday night against Tormenta FC. The George Mason University product will face his brother for the first time as professionals.
Tormenta: Forward Alex Morrell (#14) leads the team in scoring with two goals in two matches this season. Morrell is coming off two season with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, scoring two goals in 33 appearances for the USL Championship side. Wearing the captain’s armband, defender Lars Eckenrode (#4) will be matched up against his brother Jannik Eckenrode Saturday night. Drafted by Toronto FC in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, Eckenrode made 18 appearances for Toronto FC II in the USL Championship. Defender Conner Antley (#3) picked up a trio of assists in Tormenta’s 3-1 against FC Tucson Wednesday night. A product of Mercer University, Antley helped Tormenta clinch the USL League Two division title in 2018.
