In a gritty, tooth-and-nail match, the Richmond Kickers fell to Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, 0-2, at City Stadium on Saturday night.
Nils Seufert played a through ball into the final third and connected with Hayden Anderson in the seventh minute. Anderson dribbled into the box and found Chandler O’Dwyer at the top of the 18. Chandler ripped a shot on goal and beat the keeper, but the ball nicked the right post and bounced away.
Ten minutes later, the Red Wolves built an attack and entered the final third with a through ball. The attempt was shut down by quality defense from Marcelo Lage, playing in his first game with the Richmond side.
Chattanooga created a scoring chance in the 45th minute, attacking down the left wing. A cross was sent across the six but a diving James Sneddon ensured no damage was done before halftime.
Early in the second half, playing from the backline, Richmond made a run as Josh Kirkland and Ryan Baer linked up to find Jonathan Kanagwa streaking down the right sideline. The pressure on Chattanooga’s defense was enough to earn the hometeam an attempt from the corner.
The Red Wolves earned a corner kick in the 53rd and retained possession after the Kickers shut down the set piece. Chattanooga kept the pressure on and fired off a shot on goal that was stone walled by Sneddon and quickly cleared by Gui Franca.
Chattanooga lined up for a free kick and a towering cross was sent into the box. Sneddon fought his way through the crowd and leapt to corral the ball and extinguish the threat.
In the 59th minute, Schenfeld sent a cross field long ball to Kirkland, who found Simon Fitch ready to cross the ball in. Fitch’s cross cleared the six and was returned to Schenfeld, waiting on the left wing. Schenfeld dribbled to the center of the pitch and played the ball back to Kirkland on the right wing. Kirkland struck a shot towards the keeper and almost slotted it between the goalie and post.
Chattanooga was awarded a penalty kick in the 67th minute and used it to take a 1-0 lead.
The Red Wolves tallied a second goal in the 74th.
Josh Kirkland dribbled the ball in the final third, crossed field, and found Matt Bolduc on the left wing in the 78th minute. Bolduc controlled the ball and fired a shot that got past the keeper but ended up just inches right of the goal post.
The Kickers continued to push through stoppage time, bolstering the attack with fresh legs in Landon Johnson and Andrew Richman, but the Red Wolves held onto their lead to win the match, 2-0.
