Preview: Kickers Home Opener is Against Reigning Champs Greenville

Opponent: Greenville Triumph (0-0-0)
Date/Time: Saturday, April 24th, 6:30 PM
Last Result: Kickers 3 – New England II 0

Weather Forecast from WeatherBug.com

Three Things to Kick About

1. Possession – It’s not how long you have the ball it’s what you do with it when you have it. Last game the Kickers only had around 30% possession but scored 3 goals on 9 shots. Efficient is the word that comes to mind. Expect more of the same.
2. Argentina Connection – In addition to Golden Boot and MVP winner Emiliano Terzaghi the Kickers added two new Argentinians. Hernan Gonzalez (forward) and Zaca Morán (midfielder) will help take the pressure of Emiliano and I would expect scoring from a much larger variety of players this year.
3. New Look – The Kickers released their best kit in many, many, many, years. You can see the away jersey above with the Ukrop’s rainbow cookies. They’ll be wearing the home red on Saturday. Both are available for purchase although the away one is still preorder right now.

Prediction

The Kickers have already started their season. The Triumph have to travel for their first game of the season. The Triumph hasn’t had much success in Richmond and this new Kickers team will over a much different look than previous meetings. The weather could be a factor and make for a sloppy game but the Kickers will be the victor.

Kickers 2  – Greenville 0

Official Kickers Preview

The Richmond Kickers (1-0-0) welcome Greenville Triumph (0-0-0) to the home opener for the 2021 season, this Saturday night, April 24 at City Stadium, presented by Bon Secours. Kickoff for this match is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. A competition between the two clubs, this match marks the start of the third season of the Bon Secours Cup.

This match will be the third meeting between the two clubs since August 2020. Greenville pulled away from the first matchup with a 3-2 win, then later Richmond returned the favor with a 2-1 win from home at City Stadium. In the several years since Greenville Triumph was formed the two clubs have matched up on three separate occasions apart from the shortened 2020 season. The first tie between the clubs resulted in a Kickers 1-0 win with Joe Gallardo knocking in the only goal of the match. About a month later, the two would face each other again, only this time Greenville would come out the victors with a 1-0 win from Jake Keegan’s lone goal. The final matchup of 2019 would see the Kickers come out on top for the 2nd time of the season. This time around, Braeden Troyer would knock in the only goal to ensure yet another Richmond win over Greenville.

The first of the pair of fixtures between the two teams saw Greenville edge a slight advantage over Richmond in their first game of the 2020 season. The scoring opened with an own goal by an attempted clearance that was deflected into the goal. At 36 minutes Matt Bolduc opened the scoring account for the Kickers’ 2020 season after an assist from Wahab Ackwei. The start of the second half saw another own goal from Richmond as Greenville took the lead again 2-1. In the 69th minute, Greenville scored following a counter-attack down the wing and a cross centrally placed by Tyler Polak for Jake Keegan to finish. Richmond answered back with a goal in the 74th minute after Jonathan Bolanos made his first professional debut, with a cross aimed right for Emiliano Terzaghi’s head which he flicked back into the goal to open his Kickers scoring account.

The reverse fixture favored the Kickers team at home in City Stadium. Richmond’s 2-1 win saw Matt Bolduc serve up the assist to open up the scoring with Emiliano Terzaghi’s finish for the goal just 14 minutes into the match. Just under 30 minutes into the half Greenville answered back with a goal off of a corner kick that fell into the box and at the feet of Brandon Fricke. Ryley Kraft would go on to cement Richmond’s lead over Greenville with a goal after a goal post deflection dropped the ball right at his feet. With the victory, Richmond hoisted the Bon Secours Cup for a second straight season.

The Kickers will head into this match looking to find their stride after a positive outing at New England last weekend. A couple of key additions to the squad since the 2020 season are forward Hernan Gonzalez and midfielder Zaca Moran, who was presented with the Man of the Match award. An honorable mention to Juan Pablo Monticelli who was named the USL League One Player of the Week after not only scoring a goal but helping Richmond keep a clean sheet for the match.

Greenville has yet to play a regular-season match in the 2021 season and the former USL League One title-winners will be facing a Richmond squad that is riding the wave off a 3-0 clean-sheet win against New England. Richmond did not let a single shot on target against New England, and successfully blocked three shots, and made 28 clearances to keep the clean sheet. Greenville won 8 of their 11 victories by a one-goal margin throughout the 2020 season and did retain their U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame coach John Harkes for the 2021 season and saw the arrival of three new players: Don Smart, Mario Lomis, and Jacob Goodall.

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WTVR CBS 6 Players to Watch

Richmond Kickers

Emiliano Terzaghi (#32) won the USL League One Golden Boot last season scoring 10 goals in the league and playing 1,243 minutes. Coming into the league last season from Argentina, Terzaghi has added much firepower to the Kickers attack. Terzaghi did not manage to score but took three shots on the goal, and had one shot blocked, keeping the New England defense on their heels. Terzaghi had a 60% passing accuracy in the opposition’s half and despite not continuing his scoring form from the previous season he continues to provide a significant attacking output.

Juan Pablo Monticelli (#2) is a new addition to the Kickers, playing as a defensive outside back, Monticelli scored a goal in his debut game with the Kickers and was awarded the USL League One Player of the Week after helping Richmond maintain a clean sheet in their 3-0 win. Monticelli was not only a rock in the defense, but provided an option going forward as well with an 85.7% passing accuracy in the opposition’s half completing 17 of 22 passes. He made five clearances, two tackles, and two interceptions.

Zaca Moran (#6) completes the Argentine trifecta at Richmond. Recording two assists this preseason playing from the midfield, Zaca and his former River Plate experience will help link all phases of play for the Richmond Kickers. Moran was presented with the Man of the Match award for the match at New England after an impressive all-around performance. On the defensive side, he had five tackles and gained possession 10 times, the most of any other player in the squad. Moran also made the most successful passes in the team with 36 and a passing accuracy of 80%.

Greenville Triumph SC

Don Smart (#10) is a new arrival to this Greenville squad. Coming from a notable scoring season at Forward Madison in 2020 with nine goals, Smart is an addition that should help reinforce the scoring margin that kept Greenville on top of the league last season.

Dallas Jaye (#22) won the Golden Glove over the last two seasons with Greenville and led the league last season with nine shutouts and had a 0.69 goals-against average which helped Greenville retain their 11 victories last season.

Alex Morrell (#7) was a key player in Greenville’s attacking output for 2020, his efforts earned him a spot in the All-League First Team of 2020 after he finished the season with five goals and six assists. Morrell is a creative attacking player whose 32 created chances and 27 completed dribbles present a looming danger for opposition.