The Roos notched their first Open Cup win in their first Open Cup appearance under Head Coach Darren Sawatzky
LEESBURG, Va. — The Richmond Kickers earned a 1-0 win on the road over Northern Virginia FC in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup second round, Wednesday night. Forward David Olsen scored his first goal for the club in his first start.
With it being the second match in a three matches in a seven-day stretch, several players who earned their first appearances on Saturday earned their first starts for the club. A trident of Leonardo Baima, David Olsen and Matthew Bentley started up top while Vincenzo Candela lined up in the midfield. Academy graduate, and Richmond native, Simon Fitch made his first start, and it was also his first appearance for the club since the 2017 season.
The Kickers started on the front foot as the attack looked to feed Olsen at the top while Bentley proved to be a terror for the defense on the right wing, and Baima and Nil Vinyals combined on the left side. In the 34th minute, the connection between Bentley and Olsen would yield the go-ahead goal.
Build-up play began in the Kickers’ half as Zaca Moran progressed the ball forward and picked out Fitch at the midfield line. The rookie quickly turned on the ball and placed a piercing through ball up the right wing as Bentley shook his marker with a well-timed run. As Bentley drew parallel with the 6-yard-box, he crossed a low-driven ball into the danger area where Olsen was splitting the centerbacks with his run and just needed to stick his left foot out to deflect the ball into the back of the net.
The Roos looked to keep guys fresh with the match on Saturday looming, and the second half started with two changes as Dakota Barnathan came on Nathan Aune and Stephen Payne came on for Stuart Ritchie. In the 59th minute, Jonathan Bolanos came on for Nil Vinyals and Matt Bolduc came on for David Olsen.
Fresh legs proved to be a game-changer as Bolanos and Bolduc stretched the game while Barnathan and Payne were comfortable coming on and snuffing out offensive chances for NoVa. Bolanos’ pace nearly created another scoring opportunity, in the 63rd minute, for the visitors as he beat his man up the left wing and was brought down inside of the penalty area, however, the initial contact was ruled to have taken place outside of the box and the Kickers were awarded a free kick.
In the 78th minute, Emiliano Terzaghi came on for Bolanos as a precaution after the winger was brought down by a hard challenge.
The match would end soon after as the Kickers absorbed long-ball attempts and fouls from the hosts who looked to create something late. Despite not having the full volume of the City Stadium support behind them on the road, the Roos finished with 55 percent possession and 11 shots with four on target while holding the hosts to only two shots with zero on target.
Now, the team waits to find out their opponent for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Third Round with the draw taking place on Friday, April 8.
The Kickers return to City Stadium on Saturday, April 9, to host their second match of the USL League One season. This time, they host league newcomers Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC as NoCo prepare to play their first league game in their history. The first 500 fans in the building will receive a 90s throwback tee shirt presented by RVAccess.
City Stadium will also play host to College Night for fans in attendance, and the newly-minted Division III Men’s College Basketball National Champion Randolph Macon Yellow Jackets will be honored on the field prior to kick off. Tickets for the match are available to purchase here.
