Kickers vs Louisville City on Saturday

After winning their home opener 1-0 against Harrisburg City Islanders the team traveled this past Saturday to New York where they lost by the same score.

The Kickers are home this weekend against Louisville City.

Summary from Richmond Kickers:

The Richmond Kickers return to City Stadium this Saturday, April 8 to host Louisville City FC at 5:00 p.m.   The second annual I Heart Carytown Craft Beer Festival kicks off at 3:00 p.m. with live music by Stonebrook Moonshine, over 20 craft beers and ciders on tap and the first 200 fans through the gate will receive an exclusive sampling of small plates from Carytown restaurants including East Coast Provisions, Greek on Cary and Pink Belle Cake House.  As part of a landmark TV deal with WTVR CBS 6, the match will be broadcast live on the station’s main 6.3 channel, Comcast 206 and Verizon FiOS 466.  Tickets are on sale now at RichmondKickers.com.

The game will be dedicated to the memory of former pro player and beloved youth soccer coach, Kofi Nti, who passed away suddenly on March 26. Kickers players will wear black arm bands during the game and fans are encouraged to pay tribute with a minute of standing applause at the 20th minute. Nti’s legacy will be celebrated with a special halftime presentation.

Entering Saturday’s match, Louisville holds the all-time series record of the Kickers, 3-0-2, after edging the 2016 series with a draw at City Stadium and a pair of wins at Louisville Slugger Field.

Saturday’s matchup will be a chance for revenge for the Kickers after Louisville knocked them out of the playoffs last year, 2-0 in overtime. Just two minutes into extra time, former Kickers midfielder George Davis IV took Aodham Quin’s pass and buried it into the far corner of the net. Chandler Hoffman followed up with a clinching goal in the 102nd minute, on an assist from Kadeem Dacres.

Louisville also won the September 10 match at Louisville Slugger Field, scoring on an 18th minute penalty kick from Cameron Lancaster and an unassisted 55th minute goal from Magnus Rasmussen. The two teams drew 0-0 at City Stadium on May 21. Louisville goalkeeper Gregory Ranjtsingh kept clean sheets in all three games, saving seven shots.

The Kickers return to City Stadium this week after suffering their first loss of the season with a 1-0 loss to the defending champions New York Red Bulls II on April 1. A 69th minute corner led to a Hassan Ndam bicycle kick that bounced off Kickers defender Chris Durkin’s chest and deflected to the feet of Zeiko Lewis. Lewis slotted it into the corner of the goal for the game winning score.

Meanwhile, Louisville picked up their first win of the season on Friday with a decisive 3-1 victory at Orlando City B. Lancaster opened the scoring with an 11th minute goal. Orlando leveled the scoreline with a 42nd minute own goal, but Louisville recovered in the second half with goals from Davis and substitute Luke Spencer to seal the victory.

Saturday’s match opens a two-game series between the two teams, and they will swap home-field advantage for the regular season finale on October 14 at Louisville Slugger Field. Following this matchup, the Kickers remain at home for consecutive games against Ottawa Fury FC on Saturday, April 15th and Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Saturday, April 22nd.

Players to Watch:
Kickers: Richmond’s newest addition, forward Mikey Minutillo (#20), joined the team on March 31 and made his USL debut 24 hours later in the Kickers 1-0 loss to NYRBII.  The 25-year old began his professional career with 07 Vestur in the Faroe Islands after a redshirt senior season at Penn State in which he scored eight goals and recorded four assists in 20 appearances. After missing the home opener due to a suspension carried over from 2016, midfielder Samuel Asante (#28) returned to the starting lineup against the defending champions Red Bulls II last week.  The Ghanaian attacking midfielder is in his fourth season with Richmond and has scored three goals with one assist in a Kickers uniform.  Left back Alex Lee (#18) was Richmond’s most involved player on April 1, leading the team with 82 touches and 50 passes. Integral on both sides of the ball, the Rockville, Maryland native is in his fifth season with Richmond and anchored the defensive unit that recorded 13 shutouts in 2016.

Louisville City: Former Kickers midfielder George Davis IV (#22) scored the opening goal that led Louisville to a 2-0 overtime win in the USL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals last season.  The Lima, Ohio native spent two seasons in Richmond before contributing five goals and two assists for Louisville in 2016, picking up where he left off with a goal and assist in the club’s 3-1 win in Orlando last week.  Midfielder Brian Ownby (#10) returns to his hometown Saturday, signing with Louisville after making 63 appearances with the Kickers over three seasons.  The Glen Allen, Virginia native and Deep Run High School and University of Virginia graduate made his debut with Louisville in the season opening scoreless draw against Saint Louis FC, signing with the club prior to the 2017 season.  Right back Kyle Smith (#24) contributed to all three clean sheets against Richmond last season and recorded another shutout against Saint Louis FC on March 25. He made 27 appearances for Louisville last season, scoring one goal and contributing to 12 shutouts for a team that allowed just 27 goals, tied for fourth least in the USL Eastern Conference.