No. 1 Union Omaha 1, No. 8 Richmond Kickers 0
| No. 1 UNION OMAHA | 1 | 51’ Kunga (Lewis) |
| No. 8 RICHMOND KICKERS | 0 |
PAPILLION, Neb. — No. 8 Richmond Kickers fell 1-0 on the road to No. 1 Union Omaha in the 2024 USL League One Playoffs Quarterfinal.
The match marked the Kickers’ third postseason appearance in four seasons under Chief Sporting Officer and Head Coach Darren Sawatzky.
It was a fast and physical match that balanced on a knife’s edge for a majority of the 90 minutes between the league’s highest-scoring team in Omaha and one of the league’s stingiest defenses in the latter months of the season.
The match would ultimately be decided in the 51st minute as Richmond nearly found the opening goal twice in a corner kick sequence before Omaha would find the eventual gamewinner on the subsequent counterattack.
The Kickers aggressively pressed Omaha’s backline throughout the night and they forced a turnover deep in the Omaha half in the 50th minute. Emiliano Terzaghi gathered the loose ball and quickly ripped a shot from outside of the box that was deflected out for a corner.
From the ensuing corner, Maxi Schenfeld sent an inswinging cross toward the near post that found the head of Terzaghi. The forward deftly flicked the ball on frame which forced Omaha goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu to deflect the ball into the crossbar. The deflection found Klaidi Cela who caught the ball on the volley and shot back toward the open net, but the shot hit the front of the crossbar instead of the underside, and the ball deflected out again.
Omaha gathered the ball and turned on the break as Lagos Kunga dribbled the ball up the middle. As the Richmond defense moved to cut off Kunga, he found Zeika Lewis with a pass who opened up space to cut the ball back to Kunga who was one-on-one with Richmond goalkeeper James Sneedon. Kunga placed his shot just past the outstretched arm of Sneddon and the ball found the back of the net.
The scoreline would hold despite the Kickers continuing to dominate the second-half possession as they attempted to break down an Omaha team that conceded the second-fewest goals in the regular season.
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Richmond started on the front foot at Omaha and made the first half uncomfortable for the hosts.
In the second minute, Simon Fitch received a cross-field ball out on the right wing. The defender took the ball up to the endline before crossing to the far post as Ryan Sierakowski closed in on the position, however, at the last second, Omaha cleared it for a corner kick.
Sierakowski would create another dangerous chance on his own in the 14th minute after Omaha turned the ball over because of Richmond’s pressing. The forward carried the ball into the penalty area and got it on his right foot. He ripped a shot that got around Nuhu but drifted just outside of the far post.
In Richmond’s own defensive end, they frustrated the hosts with gutsy defending and Sneddon commanding his penalty area. The 40th minute saw Sneddon make a heroic save to shut down Omaha’s best attempt of the half. Omaha’s Ryen Jiba headed a free kick on frame that Sneddon deflected before throwing his body in front of Max Schneider’s attempt on the deflected ball.
Sneddon, a Richmond native who became the youngest goalkeeper to start a USL League One playoff match at 18 years old, earned a Keiter Player of the Match recognition for his key save and proactive goalkeeping. He finished second on the team with four clearances while winning three duels and one aerial duel.
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