RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers earned a thrilling 1-0 victory over USL League One foe Westchester SC on Friday at City Stadium. Richmond capitalized early and then dug in defensively to secure a hard-fought win over Westchester SC.
Josh Kirkland’s opportunistic goal in the 14th minute proved to be the difference, as the Richmond no. 9 scored off a pair of rebounds to provide the advantage. Goalkeeper Yann Fillion and the Richmond backline delivered a standout performance under pressure, recording their first clean sheet in USL1 play. Key goal-line clearances from Lucca Dourado and multiple Fillion saves preserved the clean sheet and sealed a 1-0 victory at City Stadium.
Westchester SC was led by Dean Guezen who recorded four shots on the evening.
Breaking Down The Action
- A Mujeeb Murana throw-in led to a sequence of chances, with Josh Kirkland ultimately finishing into the top corner after multiple rebound attempts in the 14th minute to put the Kickers in the lead, 1-0.
- Westchester broke through one-on-one, but Yann Fillion came off his line and made a strong stop at the top of the box in the 19th minute.
- Lucca Dourado entered the match for Kirkland in the 30th minute.
- Dourado drove into the box and put a shot on target in the 38th minute, but the Westchester goalkeeper tipped it out.
- Westchester’s corner resulted in a header toward goal in first half stoppage, but Dourado cleared it off the line to preserve the lead going into halftime.
- Richmond led 1-0 at the break.
- Westchester earned a corner, but Fillion rose up to stop the play before a shot could develop in the 53rd minute.
- Nils Seufert took a shot that struck the post in the 56th minute.
- Fillion made a save on a shot from the top of the box and followed it with another diving stop on the rebound in the 67th minute.
- Austin Amer came on for Owen O’Malley in the 72nd minute.
- Westchester threatened off a corner, but Dourado made another goal-line clearance in the 78th minute.
- Fillion made a save off a Westchester corner to keep the clean sheet intact in the 84th minute.
- Richmond secured a 1-0 win over Westchester SC.
Notable Numbers
- 1: Yann Fillion recorded his first clean sheet in USL1 regular season play.
- 5: Yann Fillion totaled five saves on the night.
- 6: Richmond tallied six shots on goal in the match.
- 7: Saturday marked Richmond’s seventh match at City Stadium this season.
- 10: Captain Dakota Barnathan is playing in his 10th professional season and fifth as a Richmond Kicker.
- 34: 2026 marks the Kickers 34th continuously operating season.
- 4609: Richmond played in front of 4,609 fans.
Series History
- With the result, Richmond now holds a 2-0-2 record all-time against Westchester SC.
- The two clubs last faced each other on September 3, 2025, with Richmond claiming a 2-0 at The Stadium at Memorial Field.
- Josh Kirkland has now scored three goals across four matchups with Westchester SC all-time.
- Darwin Espinal scored three goals against Westchester SC across three matchups last season.
Up Next
- The Kickers take a roadtrip to South Carolina challenging Greenville Triumph SC on Saturday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on CBS 6.3 and ESPN+ with live updates and links available at richmondkickers.com or @RichmondKickers on X (Twitter).
