Preview: Kickers vs Penn FC

MATCH DETAILS

Opponent: Penn FC (6-8-8)
Date/Time: Saturday, Aug. 15th – 7 PM
Weather Forecast from Weather.com:

THREE THINGS TO KICK ABOUT

1. Playing for Pride – The Kickers for the second straight year will watching the USL Playoffs from home. Hopefully, they can salvage a bit of pride in the remaining matches.
2. Roadtrip – The team had four of their last five games on the road. They failed to score a goal in five games and as one would expect lost all five games. The team bus was spotted pulling into city stadium after the latest defeat in Ottawa.
   
3. Defense – As mentioned above the Kickers failed to score any goals in the past five games. At the same time, the defense crumbled and allowed 11 into the net. That means the Kickers goal differential now sits at a staggering -27. There is only one team in the entire league with more awful and that’s Toronto FCII with -28. Richmond lost to Toronto FCII on Sunday by one goal.

PREDICTION

I want the Kickers to win. I know the players, coach, and staff want to win but this season and team are done. Send out players just to get playing time, try new formations. Wins are simply not in cards.

Penn FC 2 – Kickers 1

My Home Games W/L prediction record to date: 50% correct

KICKERS OFFICIAL PREVIEW

The Richmond Kickers (5-14-3) return home to City Stadium this Saturday night to host Penn FC (6-8-8) along with Family Fest, presented by WTVR CBS 6 and Bounce 2 the Moon. The party starts at 5:30 pm with a one-of-a-kind fun zone featuring human foosball, giant soccer darts and a 24-foot double drop slide, live music, RVA food trucks, ice cream, and over a dozen craft beers on tap. Admission is just $25 for the entire family before 6:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at RichmondKickers.com.

Saturday will be the final meeting between the Kickers and Penn FC this season. The first of the three  previous meetings this season came in the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup May 23, which saw the Kickers take the victory behind a Luiz Fernando brace and an insurance goal by Heviel Cordovés. Richmond made the first of two trips up to Penn June 12, where the home side took a 2-1 victory with goals from Isaac Osae and Dan Metzger. A late stoppage time goal from Cordovés pulled one back for the Kickers. A month later the Kickers took the trip back up to Harrisburg, with new head coach David Bulow at the helm for his second match since taking over the role. Scott Thomsen delivered an ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 free kick to put the Kickers in front after 32 minutes. Luiz Fernando netted a second for the Kickers in the 74th minute, putting away a cross from Brian Shriver. Lucky Mkosana converted a penalty kick to get Penn on the board, but it was not enough as the Kickers took their first win on the road along with the first win under Bulow. Richmond still holds a strong advantage in the overall series at 21-7-9, dating back to the 2006 season.

Richmond concluded their Canadian road trip Wednesday night in Ottawa, falling to the Fury 0-2. This match saw the debut of recent signing Prince Agyemang in the midfielder for the Kickers. Ottawa took the lead after eight minutes as Carl Haworth snuck in a free kick into the near post. Tony Taylor make it 2-0 in favor of the hosts with six minutes to go in the second half. The result came as a blow to Richmond, who held a dominating 70-30 possession throughout the match.

Penn FC took a narrow 0-1 defeat on the road to FC Cincinnati Sunday night at Nippert Stadium. Despite outshooting Cincinnati 15-11 on the evening, it was the Eastern Conference leaders that took the advantage with ten minutes to go. Emmanuel Ledesma played in a free kick that took a deflection off Penn forward Lucky Mkosana and away from keeper Romuald Peiser for the game’s only goal.

The Kickers will be back at City Stadium next Saturday night to host Louisville City FC and the Craft Beer Fest, presented by Loveland. The party starts at 5:30pm with live music, RVA food trucks, local breweries and over 30 craft beers on tap. Arrive early for access to the VIP beer garden to meet and mingle with local brewers. Then, the Kickers take the field to battle Louisville at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for that match are on sale at RichmondKickers.com.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Richmond: Midfielder Prince Agyemang (#38) made his Kickers debut Wednesday night in Ottawa, playing the full 90 minutes. The Right to Dream Academy product joins the Kickers following a stint with Ontinyent CF in Spain. Defender Mallan Roberts (#15) made his third straight start Wednesday after missing the majority of the season due to injury. The Canadian International is in his second season in Richmond, scoring one goal and amassing nearly 3,000 minutes over his two seasons. Midfielder Neil Hlavaty (#7) made his return to the Kickers lineup, making his eighth start and ninth appearance this season. Hlavaty came to Richmond after spending the 2017 season with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

Penn: Defender Ken Tribbett (#4) has been a strong on both sides of the ball for Penn this season, netting five goals and contributing towards five clean sheets in 17 games. Tribbett rejoined Penn this season after splitting time between the Philadelphia Union and their USL affiliate Bethlehem Steel FC the last two seasons. Forward Tommy Heineman (#29) made his return to action for Penn FC Sunday night in Cincinnati after dealing with injury issues stemming back to their match against the Kickers on July 9. Heineman has 11 appearances for the Blue and White this season, notching three goals. Midfielder Richard Menjivar (#14)fuels the Penn FC midfield this season, posting a team leading four assists over 19 games this season. The Panorama City, CA native joined Penn this season following six appearances for the New York Cosmos in 2017.

TABLE

There are 16 teams in the Eastern Conference, somehow the Kickers are not sitting at the absolute bottom and have a good chance of not being the absolute worst team in the East.

TICKET DEAL

It’s FAMILY FEST at City Stadium on Saturday, August 18, presented by CBS 6 and Bounce 2 The Moon!

Admission is just $25 for the whole family before 6:30 p.m. That’s right – simply purchase one $25 ticket and gain admission for the entire family!

The party starts at 5:30 pm with a one-of-a-kind fun zone featuring human foosball, giant soccer darts and a 24-foot double drop slide, live music, RVA food trucks, ice cream, and over a dozen craft beers on tap!

Then, get loud when YOUR Richmond Kickers battle Penn FC at 7pm.

GET TICKETS HERE