James Vaughan found a goal late in the first half.
The Richmond Kickers (1-1-0, 3 pts) fell in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play to the Virginia Dream, 1-3, on Wednesday evening. The USL League One side will take the pitch again on Saturday for their home opener against AV Alta FC.
The Kickers saw the first chance on the night. Off a through ball from Darwin Espinal, Nils Seufert sent a gorgeous cross into the six that just missed the feet of captain Dakota Barnathan and the keeper scooped it up.
Virginia Dream would push on the counter in the ninth minute. A stumble from Gui Franca gave the Dream a penalty and Nicolas Likulia was able to find the back of the net.
In the 21st the Kickers found another opportunity when Darwin Espinal sent a gorgeous cross to the head of a diving Franca but the attempt was stopped just shy of the goal line by Dream goalkeeper Joseph Rice.
Former Kicker, Rice, got in front of another strike, this one from Josh Kirkland towards the far post from the top of the box in the 27th.
As the Kickers kept knocking, it would be James Vaughan who answered in the 37th. The veteran midfielder would rocket a shot from just outside the far right corner of the box.
Returning from the half, a yellow card called against Simon Fitch would give the Dream their second true opportunity of the night. A mess in the box from the Dream prevented Pablo Jara from making the save and allowed a ping-ponging ball to fall across the line.
The Dream found another in the 60th, bringing the score to 3-1.
In the 69th minute, the Kickers took a gorgeous corner kick looking to answer but the veteran Rice made the save again at the last second, ripping the ball off the line. The Richmond side would not let up, finding four chances as many minutes but the ball just would not fall and Rice found a way to step in each time.
In the 78th minute, a loose ball saw Virginia Dream winger Elijah Amo-Gottfried take off down the left sideline but Klaidi Cela came streaking down the pitch to stop the attempt and force a corner. The Virginia Dream corner failed and the Kickers defense forced a goal kick for the home side.
Richmond earned another free kick in the 82nd minute. Maxi Schenfeld sent a beautiful in-swinging ball to the head of Garnett but Rice took space and claimed the ball before it could find its target.
The Kickers will return to the pitch this Saturday at City Stadium for their official home opener against AV Alta FC! Don’t miss out on a
