2021 Richmond Kickers season

Richmond Kickers
2021 season
Owner22 Holdings, LLC
Head coachDarren Sawatzky
StadiumCity Stadium
USL League One5th
USL1 PlayoffsQuarterfinals
U.S. Open CupDid not qualify
Bon Secours CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague: Terzaghi (18)
All: Terzaghi (18)
Highest home attendance3,212 (10/26 v. MAD)
Lowest home attendance1,445 (8/14 v. NE)
Average home league attendance2,051
Biggest winNE 0–3 RIC (4/17)
Biggest defeatNC 4–0 RIC (7/21)

The 2021 Richmond Kickers season was the club's 29th season of existence, their third season in USL League One, and their 17th season in the third tier of American soccer. The Kickers were led by second-year head coach, Darren Sawatzky, and looked to improve on their 4th-place finish in 2020.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated vaccination rollout, the season began on April 17, 2021. The season concluded on October 30, 2021. Due to the pandemic, the U.S. Open Cup was truncated and subsequently canceled due to the pandemic. The Kickers finished the USL League One regular season in 5th place, qualifying them for the USL League One Playoffs, making it their first appearance in the playoffs since 2016. There, the Kickers were eliminated in the first round against FC Tucson.

Background

The 2020 season was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The season, originally slated to begin on March 28, 2020, did not begin until July 25, 2020. The season originally was slated to end on September 30, 2020, but concluded on October 24, 2020. The 28-match season was abbreviated to 16 matches, and the playoffs were reduced from a four-team playoff, to a single game championship. During the truncated season, the Kickers had a good turn of fortune, finishing fourth in the league table, and having a winning a record. It was the Kickers' best regular season performance since 2014. Despite the record, the club on the final day of the season failed to reach the USL Championship Game after losing at home to Chattanooga. Striker, Emiliano Terzaghi, scored 10 goals during the season, which was the best performance by a striker for the Kickers since Yudai Imura in 2016. Terzaghi had a 0.63 goals per game average, which was the best performance by a striker for Richmond since Robert Ssejjemba in 2006.

On October 30, 2020, Matt Spear stepped down as the club's president to focus on family reasons.[1] Spear had been the club's president since 2019.[2][3]

Transfers

Transfers in

Date Position No. Name From Fee/notes Ref.
February 9, 2021 DF 20 Esteban Calvo FC Tucson Free [4]
February 11, 2021 MF 10 Nil Vinyals Tormenta Free [5]
February 15, 2021 GK 44 Austin Aviza Orlando City B Free [6]
February 18, 2021 DF 15 Jalen Crisler Forward Madison Free [7]
February 18, 2021 DF 24 Nathan Aune Union Omaha Free [7]
February 22, 2021 FW 19 Hernán González Juventud Unida Free [8]
February 24, 2021 MF 6 Zacarías Morán River Plate Free [9]
March 4, 2021 DF 2 Juan Pablo Monticelli Orlando City B Free [10]
March 8, 2021 MF 88 Cameron Vickers FC Motown Free [11]
April 6, 2021 GK 13 Austin Causey New England Revolution II Free [12]

Transfers out

Date Position No. Name To Fee/notes Ref.
August 6, 2020 DF 5 Conor Shanosky Retired Retired
December 31, 2020 DF 12 Kyle Venter Retired Retired
December 31, 2020 GK 20 Lee Johnston Released
December 31, 2020 MF 21 Greg Boehme Released
December 31, 2020 DF 22 Hassan Pinto Loudoun United Released
December 31, 2020 MF 80 Mutaya Mwape Released
December 31, 2020 MF 93 Gianluca Cuomo Released
December 31, 2020 GK 94 Matt Broomall Ballymacash Rangers Released
December 31, 2020 MF 98 Ryley Kraft Released
December 31, 2020 MF 77 Charles Boateng WAFA End of loan
February 11, 2021 DF 18 Wahab Ackwei Loudoun United Free
March 27, 2021 MF 8 Amass Amankona South Bend Lions Released
April 6, 2021 MF 11 David Diosa New Amsterdam Free

Competitive

Exhibitions

March 24, 2021 Preseason Richmond Kickers 5–0 Virginia United FC Richmond, Virginia
Magalhães 10' (Morán)
Bolanos 16' (Pavone)
Terzaghi 19' (pen.)
González 26' (Bolanos)
Falck 38'
Report Stadium: City Stadium
March 27, 2021 Preseason Philadelphia Union II 0–4 Richmond Kickers Chester, Pennsylvania
Report Bolanos 10'
Monticelli 44' (Morán)
Terzaghi 45+' (Bolanos),  51'
Alves 74' (Terzaghi)
Stadium: Power Training Complex
April 5, 2021 Preseason Richmond Kickers 4–0 North Carolina FC Richmond, Virginia
González 12', 13' (Bolanos)
Monticelli 24'
Magalhães 62' (Vickers)
Report Stadium: City Stadium
Note: Played in three 30-minute periods.
April 10, 2021 Preseason Richmond Kickers Loudoun United
Report
Note: Cancelled due to positive COVID-19 test within Loudoun United organization.

USL League One

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
3 Chattanooga Red Wolves SC 28 11 11 6 37 29 +8 44 Qualification for the play-offs
4 FC Tucson 28 11 7 10 44 42 +2 40
5 Richmond Kickers 28 11 7 10 35 36 −1 40
6 North Texas SC 28 10 10 8 40 32 +8 40
7 Toronto FC II 28 10 8 10 34 32 +2 38
Source: USL League One
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 6) disciplinary points; 7) drawing of lots.

Results by matchday

Matchday12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728
StadiumAHAHHAH
ResultWLLWDLWDDLWDLDWLDWDLLWWWWWLL
Position
Updated to match(es) played on October 25, 2020. Source: USL League One
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed

Match results

April 17, 2021 1 New England Revolution II 0–3 Richmond Kickers Foxborough, MA
19:00 EDT
Report
Stadium: Gillette Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Thomas Snyder
April 24, 2021 2 Richmond Kickers 0–1 Greenville Triumph Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT Monticelli  28'
González  35'
Morán  44'
Terzaghi  67'
Report Murillo  33'  40'
Mohamed  61'
Pavone 74' (o.g.)
Ibarra  88'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 1,606
Referee: John Griggs
May 2, 2021 3 Fort Lauderdale CF 2–1 Richmond Kickers Fort Lauderdale, FL
19:30 EDT Hundal 20', 83'
Acosta  90+2'
Rosales  90+7'
Report Pavone  70'
Vinyals 75'
Stadium: Inter Miami CF Stadium
Referee: Adam Brzozowiec
May 8, 2021 4 Richmond Kickers 2–0 Tormenta Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT Crisler  33'
Morán  78'
Terzaghi 80', 89' (pen.)
Vickers  90+8'
Vinyals  90+8'
Report Phelps  18'
Eckenrode  89'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 1,789
Referee: Matthew Franz
May 22, 2021 5 Richmond Kickers 0–0 North Carolina FC Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT Calvo  80' Report Simpson  44'
Blanco Flores  65'
Kamara  90+3'
Coan  90+3'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 2,377
Referee: John Matto
May 29, 2021 6 Chattanooga Red Wolves 2–1 Richmond Kickers Chattanooga, TN
18:30 EST Navarro  30'
Capozucchi  45'
Ruiz 53',  74'
Galindrez 84'
Report Terzaghi  21'
Anderson  45+3', 47'
Vinyals  59'
Bolduc  89'
Stadium: CHI Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 1,752
Referee: Ben Meyer
June 5, 2021 7 Richmond Kickers 3–2 New England Revolution II Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT Bolduc 1'
Crisler  36'
Monticelli 40'
Terzaghi 51'
Vinyals  83'
Report N. Buck 30'
Cayet 76'
Michel  90+1'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 2,360
Referee: JC Griggs
June 12, 2021 8 Forward Madison 0–0 Richmond Kickers Madison, WI
20:00 EDT Barriga Toyama  53'
Tobin  55'
Díaz  59'
Gebhard  71'
Report Morán  16'
Terzaghi  32'
Crisler  55'
Stadium: Breese Stevens Field
Attendance: 2,929
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
June 19, 2021 9 Richmond Kickers 1–1 Union Omaha Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT Terzaghi  57'
Otieno 76' (o.g.)
Anderson  80'
Report Sousa 31'  75'
Vanacore-Decker  64'
Otieno  73'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 2,009
Referee: John Matto
June 25, 2021 10 North Carolina FC 2–1 Richmond Kickers Cary, NC
19:00 EDT Flick  33' 47'
Kamara 56'
Coan  90+3'
Report Terzaghi 6'
Calvo  11'  59'
Malgahes  46'
Crisler  65'
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 2,367
Referee: Luis Arroyo
July 3, 2021 11 Richmond Kickers 3–2 North Texas SC Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT
Report
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 1,858
Referee: Nickrod Fateh
July 17, 2021 12 Richmond Kickers 1–1 Fort Lauderdale CF Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT Falck  86'
Terzaghi 86'
Report Curry 6'
Taghvai-Najib  37'
Penn  53'
Poplawski  82'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 1,723
Referee: William Steffen
July 21, 2021 13 North Carolina FC 4–0 Richmond Kickers Cary, NC
19:00 EDT Kristo 19', 41'
Coan 48', 90+2'
Report Morán  70'
Magalhães  85'
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 2,118
Referee: Emma Richards
July 24, 2021 14 Tormenta 2–2 Richmond Kickers Statesboro, GA
20:00 EDT Micaletto 2' (pen.)
Perez 62'
Liadi  75'
Report Crisler  2'
Terzaghi 63'
Calvo  66'
Cole  79'
Anderson 88'
Morán  90+1'
Stadium: Eagle Field
Attendance: 1,237
Referee: DeShun Beard
July 31, 2021 15 Richmond Kickers 1–0 FC Tucson Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT Terzaghi 19' (pen.)
Alves  52'
Magalhães  53'
Fitzgerald  86'
Pavone  90+5'
Report Bedoya  32'
Schenfeld  44'
Uzo  57'
Ferriol  77'
Dennis  84'
Corfe  90+1'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 2,691
Referee: Sara Griggs
August 6, 2021 16 Toronto FC II 2–1 Richmond Kickers Toronto, ON
4:00 PM EDT Monticelli 16' (o.g.)
Carlini  18', 69'
Campbell  53'
Goulbourne  88'
Report Vinyals 25' (pen.)
Falck  52'
Aune  59'
Monticelli  90'
Stadium: BMO Training Ground
Referee: Scott Bowman
August 14, 2021 17 Richmond Kickers 2–2 New England Revolution II Richmond, VA
6:30 PM EDT Terzaghi 26',  35', 53'
Morán  38'
Fitzgerald  79'
González  84'
Report Presley  42'
Michel  55'
Verfurth  59'
N. Buck 86'
Kizza 87'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 1,445
Referee: John Matto
August 22, 2021 18 Greenville Triumph 0–2 Richmond Kickers Greenville, SC
7:00 PM EDT Lee  68'
Mejia  90+1'
Report Bolanos 46'
Terzaghi  55', 81'
Monticelli  71'
Stadium: Legacy Early College Field
Attendance: 2,061
Referee: Izlen Peksenar
August 28, 2021 19 Richmond Kickers 0–0 North Carolina FC Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT Calvo  43'
Crisler  90+3'
Report Flick  27'
Kamara  76'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 1,807
Referee: Austin Saini
September 11, 2021 20 Forward Madison 1–0 Richmond Kickers Madison, WI
8:00 PM EDT Sierakowski 50'
Leonard  66'
Gebhard  72'
Report Calvo  26'
Vinyals  57'
Bolanos  80'
Stadium: Breese Stevens Field
Attendance: 2,744
Referee: Samantha Martinez
September 17, 2021 21 New England Revolution II 3–1 Richmond Kickers Foxborough, MA
7:00 PM EDT Rennicks 33'
Rivera 47'
Rozhansky  70'
Rice  74'
Bajraktarevic  75'
N. Buck 90+2'
Report Bolanos 3'
Terzaghi  36'
Anderson  76'
González  90'
Stadium: Gillette Stadium
Attendance: 125
Referee: Kenneth Rojas
September 25, 2021 22 Richmond Kickers 1–0 Toronto FC II Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT Vinyals  28'
Morán  35'
Crisler  79'
Terzaghi 90+3'
Anderson  90+5'
Report Antonoglou  30'
Petrasso  73'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 2,223
Referee: Danielle Chesky
October 2, 2021 23 Richmond Kickers 1–0 Chattanooga Red Wolves Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT Bolanos  33'
Magalhães  38'
Terzaghi 52'
Vinyals  82'
Dubose  84'
Pavone  90'
Bolduc  90+8'
Report Ramos  29'  85'
Ortiz  43'
Pineda  45+1'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 2,868
Referee: Matt Franz
October 6, 2021 24 Richmond Kickers 1–0 Forward Madison Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT Terzaghi 8'  84'
Bolanos  74'
Report Rad  80'
Craig  90'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 1,126
Referee: William Steffen
October 10, 2021 25 North Texas SC 1–2 Richmond Kickers Arlington, TX
19:30 EDT Rayo 33'
Lucão  64'
Munjoma  80'
Report Calvo  47'
Magalhães  47', 90+5'
Morán 81'
Stadium: Choctaw Stadium
Attendance: 622
Referee: Esad Omanovic
October 16, 2021 26 Richmond Kickers 3–2 Forward Madison Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT Cole  5', 32'
Terzaghi 45', 88'
Morán  45+4'
Monticelli  74'
Report Trimmingham 8'
Sukow  14'
Leonard  25'
Rad  42'
Tobin  44'
Calvo 47' (o.g.)
Jepson  80'
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 3,212
Referee: John Matto
October 23, 2021 27 Union Omaha 2–0 Richmond Kickers Papillion, NE
19:00 EDT Hurst  34' 88'
Otieno 85'  90+4'
Sousa  90'
Report Bolduc  30'
Bolanos  77'
Morán  84'
Stadium: Werner Park
Attendance: 2,943
Referee: Luis Arroyo
October 30, 2021 28 FC Tucson 4–2 Richmond Kickers Tucson, AZ
22:00 EDT
Report
Stadium: Kino North Stadium
Attendance: 1,566
Referee: Joseph Salinas

U.S. Open Cup

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only one team from USL League One (league champions), qualified for the 2021 U.S. Open Cup. However in July 2021, the Open Cup was canceled.

USL-1 Playoffs

November 6, 2021 FC Tucson 1–0 Richmond Kickers Tucson, AZ
7:00 PM MST Corfe 87' Report Stadium: Kino North Stadium
Attendance: 1,793
Referee: Jeremy Scheer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute.

No. Pos Nat Player Total USL-1 USL-1 Playoffs U.S. Open Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK  JPN Akira Fitzgerald 22 0 22+0 0 0 0 0 0
2 DF  USA Ian Antley 1 0 1+0 0 0 0 0 0
3 DF  USA Scott Thomsen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 DF  BRA Ivan Magalhães 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 DF  USA Conor Shanosky 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 MF  USA Matt Bolduc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 MF  GHA Amass Amankona 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 FW  BRA Stanley Alves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 FW  ZAM Mutaya Mwape 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 MF  COL David Diosa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 DF  USA Kyle Venter 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 DF  USA Luke Pavone 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 FW  VIN Oalex Anderson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 MF  USA Zev Taublieb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17 MF  USA Jonathan Bolanos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
18 DF  GHA Wahab Ackwei 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 GK  USA Lee Johnston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 MF  USA Greg Boehme 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
22 DF  USA Hassan Pinto 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 DF  SWE Victor Falck 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32 FW  ARG Emiliano Terzaghi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
67 DF  USA Devante Dubose 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
77 MF  GHA Charles Boateng 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
93 MF  ITA Gianluca Cuomo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
94 GK  USA Matt Broomall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
98 MF  USA Ryley Kraft 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  • Last updated: October 24, 2020
  • Source: Soccerway

Top scorers

Rank Position Number Name USL1 USL1 Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Total
1 FW 15 Oalex Anderson 1 0 0 1
MF 17 Jonathan Bolanos 1 0 0 1
DF 2 Juan Pablo Monticelli 1 0 0 1

Top assists

Rank Position Number Name USL1 USL1 Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Total
1 MF 6 Hernán González 1 0 0 1

Disciplinary record

No. Pos. Player USL1 USL1 Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Total
       
6 MF Zacarías Morán 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
17 MF Jonathan Bolanos 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Total 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0

References

  1. ^ Wood, Patrick (October 30, 2020). "Spear Steps Down as Kickers Pro President". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  2. ^ Hayes, Ricard (October 30, 2020). "Offseason Changes Begin Early for Richmond as President Matt Spears Steps Down". RVAHub.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  3. ^ "Richmond Kickers Pro Soccer President Matt Spear steps down". SoccerWire.com. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  4. ^ Wood, Patrick (February 9, 2021). "Calvo Joins the Kickers for 2021". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  5. ^ Wood, Patrick (February 11, 2021). "Kickers Add Vinyals for 2021". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  6. ^ Wood, Patrick (February 15, 2021). "Richmond Reinforces Goalkeeping with Aviza". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Wood, Patrick (February 18, 2021). "Aune, Crisler Strengthen the Kickers Backline for 2021". Richmond Kickers. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  8. ^ Wood, Patrick (February 22, 2021). "Kickers Add Firepower with Hernan Gonzalez". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  9. ^ "Zaca Morán Bolsters Kickers' Midfield Options". uslleagueone.com. February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  10. ^ "Kickers add bite at the back with Monticelli". Richmond Kickers. March 4, 2021.
  11. ^ Wood, Patrick (March 8, 2021). "Vickers Brings Veteran Leadership to Richmond". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  12. ^ "Richmond Adds Goalkeeper Austin Causey". USL League One. April 6, 2021. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.