Greenville Triumph 1 (3), Richmond Kickers 1 (5)
| RICHMOND KICKERS | 1(5) | 70’ Sierakowski (Vaughan) | Vinyals (p), Fitch (p), Gomiero (p), Moran (p), O’Dwyer (p) |
| GREENVILLE TRIUMPH SC | 1(3) | 89’ Lee | Smith (p), MacKinnon (p), Polak (p) |
GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Richmond Kickers (0-0-1, 1-0-0, 2 pts) won their first-ever shootout 5-3 in the USL Jägermeister Cup over regular season league leaders Greenville Triumph SC (0-0-1, 0-1-0, 1 pts) after the two regional rivals battled to a 1-1 result in regulation.
The Kickers went first in the shootout and had a 3-2 advantage as goalkeeper Ryan Shellow stared down Ben Zakowski on his way to take Greenville’s third turn. The forward fired his shot centrally on frame and Shellow made the save to give the Kickers a massive opportunity to win the best of five.
Zaca Moran and Chandler O’Dwyer buried their subsequent attempts to deliver the knockout blow and secure an extra point in USL League One’s newest cup competition.
While both teams in the East Group took a point from the draw at the end of regulation, the Kickers earned an extra point to their overall points tally, and sit tied for first in the group with Charlotte Independence with two points.
The 14th all-time meeting between Richmond and Greenville went as expected as the regional rivals played physical and traded haymakers in front of goal, forcing key saves from both keepers.
In the 11th minute, Greenville’s Leo Castro found enough space in the box to flick on a header from a cross, but Shellow was there to make the reaction save and push the attempt away from goal.
The Kickers appeared to have the breakthrough early in the 19th minute after Greenville keeper Christian Garner took down Ryan Sierakowski in the box and the head official quickly pointed to the spot for a Richmond penalty. Nil Vinyals stepped up to take the penalty but his attempt to the left was saved by Garner.
Five minutes later Chandler O’Dwyer was brought down by a hard tackle from Tyler Polak that earned the defender a yellow card. The ball was spotted just outside of the penalty area, and Maxi Schenfeld hit a left-footed curling strike that had pace but went just over the crossbar.
Greenville’s attempt to play out of the back was thwarted in the 28th minute as Vinyals picked the pocket of his marker and quickly fired off a curling right-footed effort that required a save from Garner.
Richmond did find the net in the 35th minute when Vinyals received a scintillating ball from Moran up the middle. Vinyals turned and ripped a shot that deflected off a defender into the net but was ruled offside by the assistant referee.
The two teams went into the dressing rooms tied at 0-0, and Greenville made a substitution to start the second half. The Kicker weathered a flurry from the Triumph in the early minutes before ratcheting up the pressure themselves.
In the 57th minute, O’Dwyer laid the ball off to James Vaughan at the top of the box who struck the ball to the right and forced the save from Garner.
Two minutes later, with Garner off his line, the ball popped up in the air and fell to O’Dwyer in the box who turned on the ball and shot it on target, forcing a goal line clearance from a Greenville defender.
A floating cross found Castro in the box in the 68th minute and he headed the ball on frame only to be denied again by Shellow with a diving save.
The Kickers found the breakthrough off the head of Sierakowski in the 70th minute. Schenfeld played a perfectly lofted ball to Vaughan who received the ball in the left side of the box and quickly popped a short cross toward the center. The ball reached Sierakowski who guided the ball with his forehead into the back of the net.
In the 88th minute, Greenville’s Lyam MacKinnon had the ball on the left side of the box and cut the ball to his right to shoot as Shellow came off his line. Schenfeld made the clearance near the goalline which deflected out for a corner. However, Greenville’s Evan Lee would sneak the ball into the net from the ensuing corner to equalize.
Richmond nearly won it at the death in the sixth and final minute of second-half stoppage. Justin Sukow ripped a right-footed curling shot to the far side netting that forced a last-second save from Garner to force the match to go to a shootout.
The Kickers return home to host One Knoxville SC in league play on Friday, May 3 during the club’s Cinco de Mayo celebration presented by the YMCA of Greater Richmond. 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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