Kickers Shut out First Place Union Omaha; Earn Critical Point in Playoff Push

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USL1 Richmond Kickers

Kickers Shut out First Place Union Omaha; Earn Critical Point in Playoff Push

October 5, 2024 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
Richmond Kickers News Release


Richmond Kickers in action
Richmond Kickers in action
(Richmond Kickers)

RICHMOND, Va. - - The Richmond Kickers (5-9-5, 20 pts) earned a draw against first-place Union Omaha (12-4-3, 39 pts), Saturday night. The Kickers kept Omaha on their heels for most of the night and played lockdown defense that kept the highest-scoring team in the league off of the board through 90.

James Sneddon led the backline to its third straight clean sheet and in doing so, he tied the USL League One record for consecutive clean sheets in his first three starts after making his league-competition debut on September 14.

A well-timed run by Sierakowski on the left wing earned a corner for the Kickers in the 20th minute. João Gomiero's subsequent corner kick was an inswinger that forced a punch out from Omaha goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu as it appeared on target.

The next corner from Maxi Schenfeld on the right side had a similar outcome for a third Kickers' corner. Gomiero then took another corner which was headed out by Omaha's Dion Acoff for a fourth successive corner. Schenfeld's second from the right side was placed in a dangerous area but finally cleared by Omaha.

An enterprising run up the middle of the park in the 32nd minute by Dakota Barnathan saw him lay off a pass in the box to Chandler O'Dwyer who put it on frame, forcing a save from Nuhu.

The Kickers kept on the attack, ultimately finishing with 63 final-third entries -- 22 more than Omaha. In the 74th minute, Nil Vinyals from the top of the box found Fitch in space on the right side of the box who took one touch toward goal before ripping a shot that beat Nuhu but skimmed just over the crossbar.

Meanwhile, the defense aggressively maintained the stalemate on top of two saves from Sneddon.

In the 77th minute, Omaha's Lagos Kunga got the ball in the box, took a touch to his left to open up space, and put a shot on frame but Fitch flew to the goal line to clear the ball just in time.

In the final seconds of stoppage time, the Kickers would knock again. Vinyals served up a corner to the near post that was flicked toward the back post by Josh Kirkland. The ball drifted wide as Klaidi Cela nearly closed it down to poke in the ball. The head official would signal the end of the match moments later.

With the draw, the Kickers improved their unbeaten streak to four matches including three wins, marking their longest streak since a three-match stretch in the spring. They continue to hold serve in the eighth and final playoff position with three matches remaining - including matches against ninth and tenth place in successive weeks - in the 2024 USL League One regular season.

The Roos hit the road to face ninth-place South Georgia Tormenta FC on Friday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m. for their last road match of the 2024 regular season. The club will host an official watch party at Triple Crossing Downtown.

The Kickers then return home to host tenth-place Chattanooga Red Wolves SC on Saturday, October 19 during Breast Cancer Awareness Night presented by Bon Secours. Kickoff for that match is set for 6 p.m.

Stay up to date with all of the Kickers news at RichmondKickers.com and on social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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Richmond Kickers in action
Richmond Kickers in action
   

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