Richmond Kickers 2, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC 0
| RICHMOND KICKERS | 2 | 49′ Terzaghi (penalty), 69′ Vinyals (penalty) |
| CHATTANOOGA RED WOLVES SC | 0 |
RICHMOND, Va. — The Richmond Kickers (6-4-6, 24 pts) vaulted back into third place in USL League One with a 2-0 win over Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (3-9-3, 12 pts), Saturday night. Emiliano Terzaghi and Nil Vinyals each converted penalty kicks to secure the Kickers’ win in front of 5,858 fans.
After a lengthy rain delay, the Kickers were able to start the first half quickly with a chance starting from Nil Vinyals who controlled a pass and chipped it over a defender back to Ryan Sierakowski.
Sierakowski dribbled back, holding off three defenders, and played it back up to Vinyals who cut inside and laid it off to Justin Sukow. After receiving the pass, Sukow controlled the pass on the top of the box and fed it to Simon Fitch who hit it first time into the middle of the box creating a very close chance for Terzaghi.
In the 21st minute, Chattanooga moved the ball up the field on a counterattack. Jake Mecham rapidly chased down Pedro Hernandez in a full-field sprint to get in between Hernandez and the ball and force it out for a Kickers’ throw-in before facing the Red Army and pumping up the crowd.
Just two minutes later, Pedro Hernandez had another opportunity when he recovered the ball just outside of the Kickers’ box. Hernandez curled a long-range shot toward the bottom corner of the goal requiring a quick save from Will Palmquist.
The Kickers pushed forward using the momentum built up during the first half to push for their first goal early in the second half.
In the 47th minute, Nathan Aune launched the ball into the box from a throw-in towards Dakota Barnathan who was brought down by Ropapa Mensah for a Richmond penalty.
Emiliano Terzaghi stepped up and confidently smashed the shot into the top left for his seventh goal of the season and his fifth in as many matches; bringing him within one goal of the golden boot leader Trevor Amann.
Palmquist would be required again in the 66th minute when Chattanooga’s Ernesto Espinoza found space in the middle of the field, just outside the Kickers’ box, and curled a shot top corner forcing a brilliant reaction save from Palmquist that sent him flying into the near post.
In the 68th minute, Richmond was on the counterattack and Chattanooga’s Felipe Liborio Jr. came flying in with a slide tackle to bring Sierakowski down in the box for Richmond’s second penalty of the night. Nil Vinyals stepped up and slotted it perfectly into the bottom right, beating the keeper who for his first goal of the season.
Late in stoppage time, Chattanooga had their last opportunity to score from Chevone Marsh who took the ball to the Kickers’ corner, cut in, and blasted a shot towards the top left of the goal. Palmquist dove quickly and got his hands behind it to force it out for a corner securing the Richmond clean sheet.
The Kickers are on the road next Saturday at Union Omaha, Saturday, July 8. Kickoff for the match is slated for 8 p.m. ET. The Kickers will hold an official watch party at Home Team Grill in The Fan.
Richmond returns home on Saturday, July 15 to host Charlotte Independence on Women In Sports Night presented by the YMCA of Greater Richmond. 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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