Richmond Kickers Host Greenville Triumph
Richmond has not defeated Greenville at home since 2020
The Richmond Kickers and Greenville Triumph will face off for the 18th time on Friday night at City Stadium, with both sides coming off Jägermeister Cup losses, and both sides on three match winless streaks.
Returning to regular season play, Richmond sits at 4th in the table with 10 points, a surprising start for a club entering the season with relatively low expectations. They’ve done it on the strength of new forward Darwin Espinal, who is a league co-leader with five goals scored.
Espinal is well on pace to exceed Richmond’s 2024 goals leader Chandler O’Dwyer, who finished with six. The addition of Espinal has provided a jump-start in goals scoring, and has taken pressure off of striker Emiliano Terzaghi who is still trying to reassert himself after struggling with injuries over the last two seasons. Terzaghi is the all time leading goal scorer in USL League One, having won the Golden Boot in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
The Kickers are getting goal contributions from others as well, with O’Dwyer, Terzaghi and Josh Kirkland all having two each in league play, along with a goal each from Nils Seufert, Dakota Barnathan and Hayden Anderson. The squad leads the league in regular season play with 14 goals and 96 shots.
Meanwhile Greenville has struggled to gain momentum, despite clean sheet wins over league powerhouses Union Omaha and Charlotte Independence. Sitting in 7th place with seven points, Greenville has suffered losses in three straight, including a Jägermeister Cup match against league foe South Georgia Tormenta. Greenville has also struggled to score, with only two goals in its last six matches across all competitions, and just five in league play overall.
Greenville lost 2024 Golden Boot winner Lyam MacKinnon to free agency in the off-season, and still appears to be retooling the offense. The club signed striker Ropapa Mensah, who has yet to score a goal in league play.
Fellow striker Leo Castro leads the team with three goals scored, while right back Connor Evans leads the league with 17 chances created. The squad as a whole is second only to Richmond in total shots, indicating that goals are coming as soon as the new-look offense clicks.
Despite recent struggles, Greenville has tended to play well in City Stadium and has not seen a loss there since August 2020. Richmond is also winless against Greenville since March 2023.
The last meeting between the sides was a 1-1 draw in Greenville on August 16th, 2024, while the last meeting at City Stadium was a 2-0 win by Greenville on July 20th, 2024. Current Richmond midfielder Anderson scored the match winner for Greenville in that one, and then signed with Richmond in the off season.
Leaders
Greenville Goals: Leo Castro (3)
Richmond Goals: Darwin Espinal (5)*
Greenville Assists: Leo Castro, Connor Evans, Rodrigo Robles, Ben Zakowski (1)
Richmond Assists: Maxi Schenfeld (3)*
Greenville Shots: Leo Castro (10)
Richmond Shots: Darwin Espinal (13)
Greenville Chances Created: Connor Evans (17)*
Richmond Chances Created: Maxi Schenfeld (13)
Greenville Clearances: Zane Bubb (39)
Richmodn Clearances: Klaidi Cela (37)
Greenville Saves: Gunther Rankenburg (13)
Richmond Saves: James Sneddon (19)*
Greenville Clean Sheets: Gunther Rankenburg (2)
Richmond Clean Sheets: James Sneddon (1)
* denotes league leader or co-leader
Injuries and Absences
Greenville: Zane Bubb (day to day), Pascal Corvino (four months), Rodrigo Robles (probable), Griffin Tomas (season)
Richmond: none reported