Phots & Game Summary: Kicker Snatch a Draw from the Jaws of Defeat

Official Richmond Kickers Summary

The Richmond Kickers (6-7-9, 27 pts) drew first-place North Carolina FC (11-4-5, 38 pts), Wednesday night after Michael Hornsby scored his first-ever Kickers’ goal in the final seconds of stoppage time to complete the comeback.

Down 2-1, in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage, the Kickers were pressing for their equalizer.

Nathan Aune reset play with a long throw-in that lofted into NCFC’s penalty area. The ball took a deflection off of Chandler O’Dwyer’s marker as the pair went up for a header, and it bounced further into the danger area. Hornsby quickly ran onto the ball and hit a one-time volley with his left foot that curled away from the goalkeeper and into the top corner of the net.

Hornsby then raced to Section O where he was lifted into the stands to celebrate the late equalizer with the Red Army.

The Kickers opened the scoring in the 33rd minute following an even opening to the match as the Kickers looked to build through the visitors as NCFC pressed without the ball.

After earning a corner kick, Nil Vinyals delivered a perfect inswinging ball to the near post as Emiliano Terzaghi rose up to beat his marker. The forward deftly flicked the ball past the keeper to draw first blood and register his 10th goal of the season — marking his fourth straight season with double-digit goals scored.

The visitors evened the scoreline three minutes later.

Nelson Blanco crossed the ball into the Kickers’ penalty area which found the head of Garrett McLaughlin. The forward headed the ball to the far post and found the back of the net.

NCFC took the lead from a set-piece of their own in the 60th minute. Following a corner kick attempt that was deflected out, Rafa Mentzingen played the deflection back into the penalty area. It appeared as though Gustavo Fernandes was the one to get his head on the ball and head it into the goal, however, it was later ruled that the ball took a deflection off of Hornsby for the own goal.

The Kickers nearly found their equalizer prior to second-half stoppage time as Terzaghi and Ryan Sierakowski brought pressure on NCFC’s defense in transition.

In the 62nd minute, Justin Sukow found Terzaghi who carried the ball into the box before ripping a shot that appeared to take a deflection before going wide.

Eight minutes later, the Kickers would get the ball from their own penalty area to NCFC’s with three passes as Dakota Barnathan picked out Matthew Bentley at midfield who laid the ball off to João Gomiero. The midfielder then found Sierakowski on the left wing who carried the ball into the box and ripped a bouncing shot through traffic that forced the NCFC keeper to go to ground to make the save.

The point earned from the draw marked the seventh point of the season earned from a losing position for the Kickers which ranks third in the league.

Richmond is on the road this weekend to face Chattanooga Red Wolves SC this Saturday, August 12th. The Kickers will host the official watch party at Home Team Grill. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

They then return home the next Saturday, August 19th to again host first-place North Carolina FC on Youth Soccer and RVAccess Night presented by The Richmond Times-Dispatch. 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.

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