Match Information:
Broadcast Information:
RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers (6-6-6) will enjoy a return to City Stadium as they face their regional rivals, North Carolina FC (4-10-3), for the fourth time this season. Kickoff for the match is Saturday, August 28th, at 6:30 p.m.
The last matchup between Richmond and North Carolina was in the middle of a three matches in seven days span that resulted in an anomalous 4-0 loss on the road for the Reds. Outside of the most recent match up, the contests between Richmond and NCFC have been close affairs as the pair played to a 0-0 draw at City Stadium in their first outing before NCFC edged out a 2-1 win at home. In that match, the Kickers opened the scoring but a pair of second-half goals from the hosts would earn the win despite the Kickers nearly finding two separate equalizers late in the match while down to 10 men.
The Kickers return to City Stadium fresh off a 2-0 win at reigning USL League One title-holders, Greenville Triumph SC. The match began rather slowly, both teams feeling each other out, trying to exploit spaces for the first half. Then, within a minute of walking out onto the pitch for the second half, Stanley Alves collected a ball deep within his own half, shimmied past the pressure of a Greenville defender and freed up Jonathan Bolanos on the wing with an incisive through-ball pass. Bolanos, with a surge of pace, darted up the left-wing before cutting inside and drilling a low shot into the near post, beating Greenville’s keeper.
With 10 minutes left in the Bon Secours Cup, Chris Cole won an aerial duel near the corner flag and managed to find space to swing a low cross into Emiliano Terzaghi who trapped the ball with a magnificent first touch. With a quick pivot, Terzaghi slotted a shot at the far post at a near-impossible angle which ricocheted across the goal line and hit the other post before crossing the line for the second goal of the evening. Richmond walked off the field with three hard-fought points, the Bon Secours Cup, and level on points (24) with the third place team in USL League One.
North Carolina’s last match was against Forward Madison this past Wednesday in North Carolina, earning three points at home over a team that is jockeying for position with the Kickers. Nelson Martinez scored the game winner for North Carolina early in the eighth minute and the team held a clean sheet for the remainder of the 82 minutes.
Following the match against North Carolina, Richmond will enjoy another match at City Stadium against their rivals from Madison, Wi., Wednesday, September 1. The Kickers faced Forward Madison in Wisconsin earlier in June with the match resulting in a 0-0 draw. Kickoff for the match is set for 6:30 p.m.
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Richmond Kickers
Ethan Bryant (#8) is a new loan signing for Richmond. Despite having only played several minutes in his debut against New England Revolution II, Bryant started the match against Greenville. Bryant had a block and gained possession five times playing in the box-to-box midfielder role.
Ivan Magalhães (#4) was in the Cleer Audio Team of the Week for his heroic defensive efforts against Greenville over the weekend. Magalhães won 88.9% of his duels and a success rate of 85.7% in his aerial duels. Magalhães did not concede a single foul, made four blocks, five clearances, and two interceptions to help guide the Reds to a clean sheet.
Emiliano Terzaghi (#32) is currently tied in the Golden Boot race (12) with Mario Lomis. Terzaghi has scored a goal in the last four matches he’s played in, and just recently surpassed Ronaldo Damus’ all-time goal-scoring record in the league. Terzaghi averages a goal every 118.2 minutes.
North Carolina FC
Robert Kristo (#11) is North Carolina’s leading goal scorer with four goals. Kristo scored two goals against Richmond in their last matchup and averages a goal every 151.5 minutes.
Jay Tee Kamara (#19) has scored three goals this season and made five assists this season, Kamara is an advanced, play-making midfielder who isn’t shy to dribble into space and keep possession to distribute the ball. Kamara has created over double the amount of chances as the next NCFC player with 27 chances created.
Josh Coan (#17) is a pacey winger with a decent shot on him. Coan has also created 10 chances and notched an assist throughout his 2021 season on top of his two goals.
