Sports stats

USL Richmond Kickers

Kickers Edge New York Red Bulls II 1-0

April 22, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Richmond Kickers News Release


HARRISON, NJ - The Richmond Kickers edged the New York Red Bulls II 1-0 during a mid-week clash at Red Bull Arena. A second half penalty kick by midfielder Brian Ownby and a solid defense was enough to carry the Kickers to their third consecutive shutout. The Kickers close out this week's two-game road stand against FC Montreal on Saturday, April 25 before returning to City Stadium on May 2.

The Kickers tested Red Bulls II goalkeeper Santiago Castano early when defender William Yomby launched a long ball into New York territory inside the first 10 minutes. Ownby seized the ball and sprung Miguel Aguilar free with a give and go into the box. Aguilar burst through a pair of defenders and fired from 12 yards out but was thwarted by a diving Andrew Jean-Baptiste.

Kickers midfielder Fred Owusu Sekyere lined up the resulting corner kick, connecting with Hugh Roberts on the left side who redirected a header back towards the far post. A well-positioned Ownby lurked inches from the goalmouth to bury the rebound but his sweeping left-footed shot was cleared off the line.

Later, the Red Bulls II nearly broke the ice when a poor clearance was intercepted in the midfield and thread through to Derrick Etienne who played Anatole Abang in behind the defense. Approaching the top of the box, Kickers goalkeeper Travis Worra charged out to face the attacker 1v1 but Abang danced around him and headed for the penalty area before Roberts threw himself in the line of fire to send both teams into halftime deadlocked.

The stalemate was snapped five minutes after the break when Kickers defender Braeden Troyer intercepted the ball in the midfield and played it wide to Owusu who one-timed a pass to Aguilar. The midfielder picked out George Davis IV on the left flank who fed a leading ball to an onrushing Ownby before Castano rushed off his line and clipped the Kickers midfielder in the box. Ownby lined up the ensuing penalty kick and calmly tucked a low ball inside the left post to give the Kickers a one goal advantage.

The Kickers nearly doubled their lead in the 60th minute when the ball was played back to Castano but a poor clearance rolled directly to Aguilar 40 yards out. Aguilar carried the ball to the top of the box where he teed up a determined left footed shot that pinged off the right post.

New York responded three minutes later when they played a short corner allowing defender Connor Lade to send a driven ball to the far post. Worra read his shot and cleared the ball out but the rebound found Shawn McLaws who immediately sent it back into the fray. A turnover left Abang unmarked and the forward sped past his mark and sliced a deflected cross through the swarming box. The ball fell to Karl Ouimette 12 yards out who cut back and fired to the left upright only to be denied by Kickers defender Alex Lee.

With two minutes remaining in regulation, an onrushing Davis IV split his defenders and latched onto a loose ball. Racing for the box, he beat the last defender, rounded the diving keeper at the left edge of the six yard box and blasted a shot to the near post but Jean-Baptiste's heroic back heel save prevented the last-gasp effort.

The Kickers take on their second MLS-owned team in as many games when they battle FC Montreal on Saturday, April 25. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. live from Stade Saputo on YouTube.com/RichmondKickers.

Check out the Richmond Kickers Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 22, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Richmond Kickers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central