The Richmond Kickers are excited to announce they will host an international friendly at City Stadium for the first time since 2018 on Tuesday, July 18th when they face off against Guatemalan giants and 31-times national champions, Comunicaciones FC from Guatemala City.

Tickets for the match are on sale now for Kickers+ and Season Ticket members who have first rights to tickets as a benefit of being a member. Fans can head to richmondkickers.com/kickersplus to purchase a membership and unlock early access while saving up to 50% off of their tickets. All ticket sales for the match will be held online and tickets will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, June 8th at noon. Suite, hospitality, and group packages can also be secured by calling (804) 644-5425.

“We’re excited to welcome Comunicaciones FC to our home at City Stadium, and we are especially thrilled to bring back an international soccer friendly to Richmond after a five-year hiatus,” Kickers’ President and Chief Operating Officer Camp Peery said. “Our intention is to make this celebration of the global game a staple event for our fans and our community every year moving forward.”

The arrival of Comunicaciones next month to the River City marks a renewed commitment by the Kickers to host international sides annually after the COVID-19 pandemic complicated the possibility in recent seasons.

Richmond last hosted an international side on July 26, 2018, when RCD Espanyol of Spain’s La Liga came to town. Previously, the club has also hosted Premier League sides like Crystal Palace FC (2014), West Bromwich Albion (2015), and Swansea City AFC (2016 and 2017).

Founded in 1949, Comunicaciones is one of the most successful clubs in Guatemala with a massive following. The club is famous for its cream-colored home kits and is affectionately nicknamed Los Cremas (The Creams). They are also known as El Hexacampeón in honor of winning six-straight championships – the only club in the country to do so.

Fans will be familiar with Comunicaciones after the club’s qualification in the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League. The club defeated Colorado Rapids FC of the MLS 1-1 on aggregate (4-3 penalties) in the round of 16 before facing New York City FC of the MLS in the quarterfinals. The epic two legs that finished 5-5 on aggregate against NYCFC saw the MLS side win 3-1 in Hartford, Conn. before Comunicaciones earned a come-from-behind 4-2 victory in Guatemala City. However, NYCFC would advance on away goals.

Comunicaciones won the 2021 CONCACAF League – a second-tier continental league underneath the CONCACAF Champions League – which earned qualification for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League. During their trophy-winning run in 2021, the club won seven matches while only dropping one during the tournament while finishing with a plus-7 goal differential and six players on the team of the tournament.

Fresh off of a finish at the top of the cumulative table in Liga Nacional de Guatemala, Comunicaciones made it to the semifinals of the Clausura tournament just last month.

For just a yearly subscription of $35, fans unlock up to 50% off their tickets, 15% savings on Kickers’ swag, and more with a Kickers+ Membership! This steal of a deal pays for itself after your first four (4) purchased tickets. Become a member and start saving today! Additional information can be found at richmondkickers.com/kickersplus.

Stay up to date with all of the Kickers news at RichmondKickers.com and on social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Download the Richmond Kickers’ official team app for news, contests, and more!

Official Kickers Game Summary

RICHMOND KICKERS 1 (14′ Terzaghi)
CHATTANOOGA RED WOLVES SC 0

The Richmond Kickers (4-2-5, 17 pts) earned a 1-0 victory in front of another crowd of over 5,200 fans at City Stadium against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (2-6-2, 8 pts), Saturday night.

Emiliano Terzaghi’s first-half strike marked his 50th goal for the club since joining ahead of the 2020 season. He is the third Kickers player to reach the half-century mark and ranks behind only Matthew Delicâte (94) and Rob Ukrop Jr. (64).

The first half was all Kickers as the hosts owned nearly 60 percent of the possession as the Roos pinned the Red Wolves in their own half. Richmond earned six shots with two on target to Chattanooga’s one total shot with zero on target.

Terzaghi delivered the most important shot on target of the first half when his 14th-minute attempt in the six-yard box found the back of the net.

João Gomiero received the ball on the right wing and dribbled to the edge of the box before ripping a shot that skipped across the ground. The keeper made a deflecting save, but the ball stayed in the six-yard box. Terzaghi boxed out his marker, turned on the ball, and blasted a shot into the top netting.

The Kickers would walk into the dressing room with a 1-0 lead and come out for the second half looking for an insurance goal.

They nearly found it in the 74th minute after Nil Vinyals sent the ball down the wing to Owayne Gordon who brought it to the line and crossed it to Kharlton Belmar on the right side.

The winger shook his defender as he carried the ball into the box and sent a cross to the center spot where Vinyals was headed. The midfielder laid the ball off to Terzaghi who forced a shot as the keeper closed him down and deflected it.

Defensively, the Kickers smothered Chattanooga’s defense as the visitors attempted to find an equalizer.

Red Wolves finally earned their first shot on target in the third minute of second-half stoppage.

A long ball was sent into Richmond’s penalty area by Chattanooga’s Chevone Marsh that dropped directly onto Ropapa Mensah’s head. The forward flicked the ball on target which required a quick reaction from Akira Fitzgerald who quickly smothered the attempt.

The Kickers finished the second half winning 60 percent of their tackles, 52.3 percent of their total duels, and 50 percent of their aerial duels on their way to their fifth clean sheet of the season.

Richmond currently ranks second in USL League One in clean sheets – one behind league leaders Charlotte Independence.

Richmond embarks on a two-match road trip next week as they face Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC on Wednesday, June 7 for a 9 p.m. ET kickoff. The Roos then head to Fresno, Calif. To face Central Valley Fuego FC on Saturday, June 9th for a 10:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

The Kickers return home on Saturday, June 17th to host Forward Madison FC during Pride Night presented by Black Pride RVA and VA Pride. 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.

For just a yearly subscription of $35, fans unlock up to 50% off their tickets, 15% savings on Kickers’ swag and more with a Kickers+ Membership! This steal of a deal pays for itself after your first four (4) purchased tickets. Become a member and start saving today! Additional information can be found at richmondkickers.com/kickersplus.

Stay up to date with all of the Kickers news at RichmondKickers.com and on social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Download the Richmond Kickers mobile app for news, contests, and more!

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

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Three Things to Kick About

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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