USL League One News
Matt Bolduc Returns For His Sixth Season inRichmond
Reigning Goalkeeper of the Year Akira Fitzgerald Commits to Richmond Through 2023
Emiliano Terzaghi Named Back to Back USL League One Most Valuable Player
Akira Fitzgerald Named USL League One Goalkeeper of the Year
2021 – Akira Fitzgerald, Richmond Kickers
2020 – Dallas Jaye, Greenville Triumph SC
2019 – Dallas Jaye, Greenville Triumph SC
Goalkeeper of the Year: Akira Fitzgerald, Richmond Kickers
Defender of the Year: Announced November 16
Coach of the Year: Announced November 17
Young Player of the Year: Announced November 17
Most Valuable Player: Announced November 18
2021 USL League One Awards Finalists Unveiled; Fitzgerald and Terzaghi Named As Finalists
2021 Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists – Winner announced Tuesday, Nov. 16
Akira Fitzgerald, Richmond Kickers: Fitzgerald produced one of the finest seasons of his career as he led the league with 10 shutouts and 89 saves while recording a save percentage of 72.1 percent to help the Kickers earn their first trip to the League One Playoffs in three seasons.
2021 Defender of the Year Finalists – Winner announced Tuesday, Nov. 16
Jason Ramos, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC: Ramos took a major step forward in his second season with the Red Wolves, finishing second among outfield players with 211 recoveries and third with 1,275 completed passes at an accuracy rate of 83 percent. The 23-year-old ranked third among the league’s defenders with a +5.67 Goals Added mark as he notched 15 key passes and had one goal and one assist when joining the attack.
2021 Coach of the Year Finalists – Winner announced Wednesday, Nov. 17
John Harkes, Greenville Triumph SC: Harkes guided Greenville to another stellar campaign as he managed through absences due to injury to set the team on a strong final drive over the final third of the season. Greenville led the league with 13 shutouts in 28 games, and ended the season on a nine-game undefeated to edge out Chattanooga Red Wolves SC for second place in the regular season standings.
Jay Mims, Union Omaha: Mims built on a strong inaugural season in 2020 and made Omaha the most consistent side in League One this year as the side finished on top of the regular season standings. Los Buhos recorded the most wins of any side with 14 and finished tied for the league-lead with 44 goals to post a +22-goal differential as well as nine shutouts as its returning players and newcomers coalesced into an impressive force.
Jon Pearlman, FC Tucson: One of the club’s co-founders, Pearlman engineered an impressive turnaround as he took the reins midway through the regular season that helped lead Tucson to its first postseason trip in League One. Pearlman’s squad recorded a seven-game undefeated streak to drive toward the postseason and finished tied for the league-lead with 44 goals in the regular season as it recorded 25 goals in its final 12 games.
2021 Young Player of the Year Finalists – Winner announced Wednesday, Nov. 17
2021 Most Valuable Player Finalists – Winner announced Thursday, Nov. 18
USL League One Announces 2021 All-League Teams
F – Emiliano Terzaghi, Richmond Kickers: The Argentine forward took his outstanding campaign in 2020 and built on it for the Kickers this year as he set a new regular season record with 18 goals in 27 appearances. Terzaghi averaged a goal every 128.4 minutes to help drive the Kickers to the postseason and earned a +6.65 Goals Added mark for the campaign, fourth in the league.
Emiliano Terzaghi Named October USL League One Cleer Audio Player of the Month
TAMPA, Fla. — USL League One announced Tuesday that reigning league MVP and newly-minted back-to-back Golden Boot winner Emiliano Terzaghi was named the October Cleer Audio Player of the Month following five goals including a brace that was instrumental in sending the Kickers to the postseason for the first time since 2016.
This marks the second time that Terzaghi is named the Player of the Month during the 2021 season after the Argentine was named Player of the Month in July. This also marks his third overall Player of the Month award from the league after he previously won in September 2020.
“I really appreciate the recognition of being named the player of the month,” Terzaghi said. “We fought as a team and I am happy my performance helped the team make the playoffs.”
Terzaghi began the month by recording four goals in a critical five-match winning streak that put the Kickers in a position to qualify for the playoffs. He capped off his scoring with a goal in the regular-season finale at FC Tucson that saw the forward set the new single-season goal-scoring record at 18 goals.
“Emiliano has been an incredible professional over the past two years,” Chief Sporting Officer and Head Coach Darren Sawatzky said. “To win the Golden Boot once is a great accomplishment. To back it up the following year and to be recognized again as a player of the month in our league is a testament to how hard he works. We are very happy for him”
Player
|
Fan Vote
|
Weight
|
USL Vote
|
Weight
|
Total Weighted Vote
|
Emiliano Terzaghi (RIC)
|
6%
|
4%
|
100%
|
40%
|
44%
|
Devin Boyce (OMA)
|
55%
|
33%
|
0%
|
0%
|
33%
|
Kobe Franklin (TOR)
|
17%
|
10%
|
0%
|
0%
|
10%
|
Evan Conway (OMA)
|
15%
|
9%
|
0%
|
0%
|
9%
|
Azaad Liadi (TRM)
|
7%
|
4%
|
0%
|
0%
|
4%
|
Match Recap: Kickers Postseason Run Ends Late On the Road
TUCSON, Ariz. — The Richmond Kickers’ (11-10-7) first playoff run since the 2016 season ended on the road at FC Tucson (11-10-7) in the quarterfinals of the USL League One playoffs after an 87th-minute goal and only shot on target for the hosts broke the stalemate.
Richmond’s first playoff match since 2016 was underway with the Reds making one change from the last several weeks with Nathan Aune starting in the match. The Kickers were solid in the back as they absorbed pressure from the hosts while flashing danger on the wings on the counter.
Both sides were unable to exploit each other’s defenses as the match went into the half in a stalemate just one week after the same match between the two sides saw three combined goals in the first 45.
When the two sides emerged for the second half, Richmond pressed for a go-ahead. Jonathan Bolanos was running through the middle of the FC Tucson defense after beating his marker but was brought down shortly after earning a free kick in a decent spot for Richmond.
Nil Vinyals sent a cross into the far end of the Tucson box to Aune who squared it back across the face of the goal for Jalen Crisler who tried side-footing the ball but the Tucson defense and Wallis Lapsley were able to get pressure on the attempt and quell the attack.
In the 75th minute, Bolanos was surging up the left wing, beating his marker turning him inside, then cutting into the box he let a low-driven shot into the near post which Lapsley was able to get behind, and collect.
With the clock winding down, in the final 10 minutes of regular time, FC Tucson was able to find a go-ahead goal off of a Derri Corfe shot into the far post, bringing Tucson to 1-0 in the 87th minute. Despite having three additional minutes of stoppage time, the Kickers were unable to find an equalizer.
The Kickers were unlucky not to earn a result in the desert as the attack produced twice as many shots as the hosts including five shots on target while holding Tucson to only one shot on target. Ultimately, the Kickers were built to withstand a siege and were dangerous off the ball.
While Richmond’s season ends in Tucson, the Reds under Darren Sawatzky have their first playoff appearance under their belt exactly two years to the day that Sawatzky was named the man to rebuild the club and after a truncated 2020 season that saw the Reds 90 minutes away from making the 2020 USL League One Final.
The Roos will look to continue building on the progress made over the last two years as they head into the 2022 USL League One Season.
BOX SCORE
First Half |
Second Half |
Final |
|
Richmond |
0 |
0 |
0 |
FC Tucson |
0 |
1 |
1 |
LINEUPS
Richmond: Akira Fitzgerald, Chris Cole, Ivan Magalhães, Nathan Aune (59’ – Victor Falck), Jalen Crisler, Esteban Calvo, Zaca Moran, Ethan Bryant (89’ – Oalex Anderson), Nil Vinyals (88’ – Luke Pavone ), Emiliano Terzaghi, Jonathan Bolanos (80’ – Matt Bolduc)
Unused Substitutes: Austin Causey, Juan Pablo Monticelli, Hernan Gonzalez
FC Tucson: Wallis Lapsley, Maximiliano Schenfeld, Noah Franke, Luca Mastrantonio, Kaelon Fox, Charlie Dennis, Mohamed Kone, Joao Delgado (23’ – Daniel Bedoya)(89’ – Dakota Barnathan), Shak Adams (89’ – Alex Knox)ââ, Deri Corfe, Kevin Rodríguez (82’ – Giovanni Calixtro)
STATISTICS
Shots |
Saves |
Fouls |
Corners |
|
Richmond |
12 |
0 |
13 |
4 |
FC Tucson |
6 |
5 |
11 |
5 |
SCORING SUMMARY
87’ |
TUC |
Corfe |
CAUTIONS SUMMARY
45’+1 51’ 55’ |
RIC TUC TUC |
Bolanos Kone Corfe |
EJECTIONS SUMMARY
None.
Match Preview: Kickers Make First Playoff Appearance Since 2016, Rematch At FC Tucson in USL League One Quarterfinals
Match Information:
Broadcast Information:
TUCSON, Ariz. – The fifth-seeded Richmond Kickers (11-10-7) return to the postseason for the first time since 2016 with a rematch of the regular-season finale at fourth-seeded FC Tucson (11-10-7) for the quarterfinals of the USL League One 2021 Playoffs. Kickoff for the match is set for 10:00 p.m. EST.
Richmond Kickers
Jonathan Bolanos (#17) is a pacey winger who’s scored five goals and notched an assist this season. Bolanos enjoys making deep, diagonal runs into the opposition’s territory. Bolanos scored against FC Tucson last time out and if the Reds can spread the defense out across the box it will give Bolanos the space to go at defenders and use his pace to get the most out of his chances.
Emiliano Terzaghi (#32) was awarded the Golden Boot for the 2021 season, for the second consecutive year. This time around Terzaghi notched 18 goals, breaking Ronaldo Damus’ single-season USL League One goals-coring record. Terzaghi averages a goal every 128.4 minutes and was inches away from scoring two goals against FC Tucson last time out.
Nil Vinyals (#10) is a creative playmaker in the midfielder. Playing alongside Zaca Moran, Vinyals has the ability to create numerous chances and recycle the ball in possession creatively. Vinyals has a passing accuracy of 74.7% and four assists to his name.
FC Tucson
Charlie Dennis (#10) is FC Tucson’s leading goalscorer with nine goals, he also leads the squad in assists with eight. Dennis is a dangerous playmaker and goalscorer in the final third as well as a dead-ball specialist.
Shak Adams (#17) is the next leading goalscorer in the squad, only one behind Charlie Dennis with eight goals and a pair of assists himself. Adams is lightning fast and dangerous in wide areas of the pitch where he can make space and take on defenders. Adams’ 81.9% passing accuracy makes him a valuable asset for Tucson’s attack and for connecting with the rest of the forward line.
Derri Corfe (#9) is an efficient goal scorer who is willing to take the shots that others may shy away from. Corfe has an 84% passing accuracy, seven goals, and two assists. Corfe leads the squad in shots (52) and shots on target (31).