Richmond Kickers 0, Spokane Velocity 2
| RICHMOND KICKERS | 0 | |
| SPOKANE VELOCITY FC | 2 | 32’ Metanire (Fernandez), 72’ Lewis (Reedy) |
RICHMOND, Va.— The Richmond Kickers (1-3-1, 4 pts) fell to Spokane Velocity FC (3-2-1, 10 pts) 0-2 on Saturday evening, capping off the Kickers’ third match in seven days that included a midweek Open Cup match that went 120 minutes.
The Kickers welcomed 5,368 fans to City Stadium as they celebrated For The W (League) Night with Richmond Ivy SC – Richmond’s pre-professional women’s soccer team kicking off their inaugural season on Saturday, May 11.
In the eighth minute, Chandler O’Dwyer received a pass on the left wing from Arthur Bosua. The Englishman drove the ball to the top of the box before cutting the ball on his right foot and dragging a shot back toward the left post that went just wide.
Nil Vinyals carried the ball up the middle in the 24th minute. He found O’Dwyer on the left wing who crossed it to the far post to Ryan Sierakowski who headed the ball back to Vinyals. Vinyals took a shot, had it blocked, got the rebound, and fired another with his left that was blocked at the last second and out for a corner. The subsequent corner found O’Dwyer at the near post but his header went wide.
Sierakoski found Vinyals again in the 28th minute, this time up the middle from the right wing. Vinyals primed a shot from outside the box that beat the keeper but went just wide of the right post.
In the 32nd minute, Spokane’s Collin Fernandez sent a long ball in that found the feet of Romain Métanire. The right back struck from out wide and his shot bent just out of Pablo Jara’s reach to bring the score to 0-1.
Playing out of the back shortly after that, Zaca Moran wasted no time and broke through a tackle to find O’Dwyer up the middle in the 34th minute. O’Dwyer found Simon Fitch on the wing who crossed it to the middle and forced a corner. The subsequent corner was well placed but the Spokane defense got under it in time to clear it away.
Vinyals found Fitch who took the ball up the right side in the 42nd minute before playing a cross into the box as Bosua wrestled to shed his marker. The forward flung himself at the ball but was just inches from making contact to redirect the cross past the keeper.
The Kickers shut down the scoring for most of the second half, but as the Kickers chased an equalizer, Velocity found a second in the 72nd minute when Andre Lewis found an opportunity on the counter.
On the attack again three minutes later, Fitch crossed the ball in from the right side towards Sierakowski who deflected it on net but the keeper was ultimately able to get his hands on it.
Fitch again would start the attack in the 77th, dribbling into the middle of the pitch. He found Moran who then switched the field and sent it wide to Beckett Howell up the left side. Howell struck a cross toward the far post that started to drift and nearly found the top corner but went just wide.
Off a loose ball in the 82 minute, Spokane’s Kimarni Smith broke through for Velocity but Pablo Jara came off his line to cut the angle down and made a flawless save.
Richmond continued to chase the match as standout academy players Gabe Cox and Nicholas Simmonds subbed into the match along with 17-year-old pro Landon Johnson. The hometown kids nearly found joy in the final third as they combined to force the Spokane defense into awkward blocks and duels. However, the scoreline would hold until the final whistle following four minutes of stoppage time.
Richmond is on the road next at Greenville Triumph for the first match of the USL League One Jagermeister Cup on Saturday, April 27. The Kickers will then return home to host One Knoxville SC in league play on Friday, May 3. Tickets are available at richmondkickers.com/tickets.
Season Tickets are now available for the 2024 season! Fans can unlock massive savings, access to exclusive events, a complimentary CityStadium+ Membership and so much more. Be a part of every out-of-your-seat experience in 2024 with Season Tickets! Additional information can be found at richmondkickers.com/seasontickets.
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