Photos and Game Summary: Spiders Overcome Slow Start to Defeat Charleston

Spider nabbed their seventh straight victory at home on Saturday night.

Published

3 years ago

December 15, 2019

Richard Hayes

College of Charleston (5-5,0-0 CAA): 71
University of Richmond (9-1,0-0 Atlantic 10): 78

Official UR Game Summary

The University of Richmond men’s basketball team held the lead for the final 27 minutes of the game and withstood a late push from the College of Charleston Saturday afternoon as the Spiders posted a 78-71 non-conference victory at the Robins Center on national television.
The win improves the Spiders to 9-1 on the season, marking their best record through 10 games of a season since the 1985-86 team that also started 9-1. This also marks the first time the Spiders have had nine wins prior to conference play beginning since 2013-14. Richmond improves to 7-0 at the Robins Center this season, closing out the non-conference portion of the home schedule without a blemish.
Junior guard Blake Francis (Herndon, Va.) led four Spiders in double figures with 20 points, connecting on 4-of-9 from deep. Junior forward Grant Golden (Winchester, Va.) added 17 points and seven rebounds as he was 8-of-11 from the field. Sophomore guard Andre Gustavson (Helsinki, Finland) recorded his second-straight double-figure scoring game adding 10 points in the victory.
Junior guard Jacob Gilyard (Kansas City, Mo.) finished with eight assists in the win to go along with seven points, five rebounds and three steals.
The College of Charleston came out of the gate quickly, opening a 12-4 lead in the early going as Brevin Galloway scored the first 10 points of the game for the Cougars. The Spiders settled in and used their defense to switch the momentum, posting a 13-4 run taking a 17-16 lead. Junior guard Nick Sherod (Richmond, Va.) scored seven points during the run while Golden gave the Spiders their first lead with a basket in the paint.
The teams were tied at 22-22 before the Spiders started to assert their will with a 15-5 run, taking a 37-27 lead. Francis hit three 3-pointers for the Spiders, including back-to-back shots forcing the Cougars into a timeout. The Spiders did most of their damage in close in the first half, scoring 20 points in the paint in the opening 20 minutes with Golden leading the way with 10 points. Francis added 11 points in the first half while Sherod chipped in nine points as the Spiders held a 39-31 lead at the break.
Charleston opened the second half on an 8-2 run, narrowing the Spiders’ lead down to 41-39 in the early going. The Cougars forced the Spiders into some early turnovers and Colonial Athletic Association preseason Player of the Year Grant Riller found his touch after a slow start. Riller, who had only d four points in the first half, had 10 points in the first eight minutes of the second half as the Cougars tried to close the gap.
Gustavson provided the Spiders a boost off the bench, scoring five straight points while a 3-pointer by Francis extended Richmond’s lead to 57-49. Richmond led 71-62 with 4:41 remaining as Golden and junior forward Nathan Cayo (Montreal, Quebec) scored on consecutive possessions in the paint.
The College of Charleston kept battling and pulled within five at 71-66 with 2:40 remaining as Sam Miller scored off a drive. Golden came up with one of the biggest baskets of the night on the ensuing possession, nailing his first three-pointer of the season as the shot clock was winding down to extend the lead back to eight points. The Spiders were able to maintain the lead as they answered each time the Cougars scored down the stretch preserving the victory.
The Spiders begin a stretch of three-straight games away from the Robins Center Wednesday night when they travel down to Norfolk for a game against Old Dominion at 7 p.m.

Richard Hayes

Richard Hayes is the co-founder of RVAHub. When he isn't rounding up neighborhood news, he's likely watching soccer or chasing down the latest and greatest board game.

PREVIEW: Kickers Face Playoff Nemesis Chattanooga

Revenge is a dish best served at City Stadium. Chattanooga knocked the Kickers out of the playoffs last year and the Kickers are looking for payback.

Published

18 hours ago

June 2, 2023

Richard Hayes

Opponent: Chattanooga (2-5-2)
Date/Time: Saturday, June 3rd, 7:00 PM
Last Result: Kickers 1 – Tormenta 1

Weather Forecast From WeatherBug.com

Three Things to Kick About

Vinyals Returns – Nil Vinyals came off the bench last Saturday so barring a training setback he should be in the starting lineup. With the midfielder back in action expect the midfield to look better and hopefully more in control of the ball. In theory that control should lead to more transition into attack and more goals.
Everyone Scores – So far this year seven different Kickers have scored, with midfielder João Silva leading the pack with 3. The latest goal was a beautiful Olympico but Sukow that must be seen to be believed. Don’t whine at me that it was a cross. It goes into the books as a goal and will be celebrated as such. So far 8 goals have been produced by the midfielders and defenders. Meanwhile our forwards, you know the guys paid to put the ball in the net have racked up 4 goals.
Hot Ticket – It does my jaded heart good to see the amount of support in the stands the team is getting this year. Every game so far has had over 5,000 in attendance. This is well over the 3,500 or so we averaged last year. I’m not sure what switch flipped in the community but I’m glad to see it happen. The drawback is longer lines for food and drink but the Kickers are addressing that with more trucks. If you’re looking for a drink don’t forget there are multiple beer stations you don’t have to go straight for the building in the center of the concourse.

Prediction

The Kickers had a tremendous season last year until their first playoff game. In that game, despite being a man up for the majority of the game they ended up losing to Chattanooga by a goal. The fans, coaches and certainly the players remember the night a little too well. A win would have meant hosting the Championship Game in City Stadium, instead, it ended with a crushing defeat. Revenge will be on everyone’s mind and Chattanooga is not having a great season. The Red Wolves sit in second to last place and have a -8 goal differential. If ever there was a time for the Kickers to rack up some goals and get their scoring mojo flowing this is it. I predict it will happen.

Kickers 3 – Chattanooga 0

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PHOTOS & GAME SUMMARY: Kickers Back On Track With Win Over Lexington

An action filled second half made for a tense final minutes but Kickers held on for the win and three needed points.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 22, 2023

Richard Hayes

Official Kickers Game Summary

RICHMOND KICKERS: 2 60′ Belmar (Gordon), 76′ Gomiero (Mecham)
LEXINGTON SC: 1 90+3′ Smart (penalty)

The Richmond Kickers’ (3-2-4, 13 pts) earned a 2-1 win in front of 5,252 fans in their first-ever matchup with league debutants, Lexington SC (2-5-1, 7 pts), Saturday night as the Roos tentatively vaulted into third place in USL League One.

Kharlton Belmar and João Gomiero each scored their first goals at home to reward RVA for their continued support in making City Stadium the most-attended venue in the league.

Richmond and Lexington locked horns in a competitive first half as both keepers put together strong performances between the pipes, stifling dangerous chances and keeping the score locked at zeroes at the break.

The Kickers powered forward on the momentum of their first-half performance and found their first goal in the 60th minute.

Richmond progressed the ball into Lexington’s penalty area, but the visitors forced a turnover. However, they failed to clear the ball out as Justin Sukow raced to keep the ball alive with a slide and pass out wide to Owayne Gordon.

The winger took on his defender, bouncing outside before cutting the ball back across the six-yard box. Belmar pounced on the opportunity and powered a low-driven shot into the net as the keeper was left ball-watching.

Richmond struck for the eventual game-winner 16 minutes later.

Sukow was the catalyst again as he lofted a ball from midfield up the right wing for Jake Mecham who was timing a forward run perfectly, shedding his defender. With acres of space, Mecham ran onto the ball near the backline and cut the ball back toward the penalty spot as Gomiero perfectly timed his run into the box and one-timed a curling ball away from the keeper and right inside of the far post.

The goal marked Gomiero’s third of the week after he scored his first goals as a member of the Kickers on the road at North Carolina FC on Wednesday night. Mecham’s assist was his first as a professional.

Lexington had the opportunity to cut Richmond’s lead late after drawing a penalty in the third minute of eight allotted minutes for stoppage.

After Akira Fitzgerald deflected a Lexington attempt on the goal with a kick save, Lexington’s Nico Brown was running toward the ball with his back toward goal. Gomiero appeared to get to the ball first as his leg collided with Brown’s, but it was determined as Brown went to ground that the contact was enough for a penalty kick.

Veteran attacker Don Smart stepped up and hit a low shot to the left. Fitzgerald dove in the correct direction, but the shot had just enough pace on it to beat his reaching hand and end up in the back of the net.

The win at City Stadium proved cathartic as the Kickers celebrated their first league victory at home. Richmond dominated the stats outshooting Lexington 17-13, making six more final third entries, and earning four more corners. And the night ended with hundreds of fans crowding the front of the seating bowl as the Kickers signed autographs a long while after the final whistle rang out in the stadium.

The Kickers are back on the road next week to face reigning USL League One Champs, South Georgia Tormenta FC on Saturday, May 27th. Kickoff for the match is set for 7:30 p.m. The Kickers will host an official watch party at the Ardent Barrel Room.

The Kickers then return home on Saturday, June 3rd to host Chattanooga Red Wolves SC during Military Appreciation Night presented by Tech For Troops. The doors at City Stadium are set to open at 5:45 p.m. ahead of the 7 p.m. kickoff. Tickets are available at richmondkickers.com/tickets.

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