2022 Richmond Kickers season

Richmond Kickers
2022 season
Owner	22 Holdings, LLC
Head coach	Darren Sawatzky
Stadium	City Stadium
USL League One	1st
USL1 Playoffs	Semifinalist
U.S. Open Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: Terzaghi (18); All: Terzaghi (19)
Highest home attendance	6,000 vs. GVL; (October 15)
Lowest home attendance	2,011 vs. CHA; (April 9)
Average home league attendance	3,173
Biggest win	4–0 vs. TUC; (April 2)
Biggest defeat	1–5 vs. CLT; (May 11, USOC)
	← 2021 2023 →

The 2022 Richmond Kickers season was the club's 30th season of existence, their fourth season in USL League One, and their 18th season in the third tier of American soccer. The Kickers were led by third-year head coach, Darren Sawatzky. The USL League One season started on April 2 and concluded on October 15, 2022.

The Kickers had their strongest regular season showing since 2013, winning the USL League One regular season title. The Kickers finished the season with 51 total points, five clear of second place, with 14 wins, seven losses, and nine draws. Striker, Emiliano Terzaghi, for the third season, led the Kickers and USL League One in goals with 18 goals.

Outside of USL League One, the Kickers participated in the 2022 U.S. Open Cup, and the 2022 USL League One Playoffs, for their first-place finish during the regular season. The Kickers reached the fourth round of the Open Cup, before losing to Major League Soccer expansion side, Charlotte FC. The Kickers will begin the Playoffs in the semifinal round on October 29.

Background

The Kickers began the 2021 season in April due to the ongoing issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the regular season had the Kickers routinely along the playoff line, before a six-match winning streak in September saw the club finish in fifth place, and qualify for the USL Playoffs, marking the first time since 2016 the Kickers qualified for the playoffs. In the playoffs, the Kickers were eliminated by FC Tucson in the opening round.

Striker Emiliano Terzaghi was the league's top scorer, scoring 18 goals.

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Position	No.	Name	From	Fee/notes	Ref.
December 14, 2021	MF	8	Ethan Bryant	San Antonio FC	Loan option exercised	^[1]
December 16, 2021	FW	9	Matt Bentley	Leatherhead	Free	^[2]
January 20, 2022	DF	22	Stephen Payne	Vilaverdense	Free	^[3]
January 25, 2022	DF	5	Stuart Ritchie	Hannover 96	Free	^[4]
February 3, 2022	MF	11	Leonardo Baima	Central Norte	Free	^[5]
February 8, 2022	MF	27	Chandler O'Dwyer	Christian Brothers Buccaneers	Free	^[6]
February 9, 2022	MF	99	Vincenzo Candela	Tormenta	Free	^[7]
February 10, 2022	DF	2	Dakota Barnathan	FC Tucson	Free	^[8]
February 15, 2022	MF	20	Christian Molina	Union Omaha	Free	^[9]
February 17, 2022	GK	29	Eli Mumford	Richmond Kickers Academy	Academy contract	^[10]
February 22, 2022	MF	4	Simon Fitch	VCU Rams	Free	^[11]
March 31, 2022	FW	23	David Olsen	Tacoma Defiance	Free	^[12]

Transfers out

Date	Position	No.	Name	To	Fee/notes	Ref.

Date	Position	No.	Name	Loan to	Until	Ref.
April 1, 2022	GK	31	Eli Mumford	Grove Soccer United	End of season	^[13]

Non-competitive

Preseason exhibitions

February 12	Loudoun United	1–2	Richmond Kickers	Leesburg, VA
14:00 EDT	Liadi 66'	Report	Terzaghi 34' Bentley 61'	Stadium: Segra Field Attendance: 0

February 19	Richmond Kickers	1–1	Chowan Hawks	Wyndham, VA
14:00 EST				Stadium: Striker Soccer Complex

February 24	High Point Panthers	1–1	Richmond Kickers	High Point, NC
12:00 EST				Stadium: Vert Stadium Attendance: 192

February 26	Richmond Kickers	0–0	Loudoun United	Wyndham, VA
14:00 EST				Stadium: Striker Soccer Complex Attendance: 0

March 2	Charleston Battery	1–1	Richmond Kickers	Buies Creek, NC
12:00 EST	Williams 24'	Report	Terzaghi 64'	Stadium: Eakes Athletics Complex Attendance: 135

March 5	UNCG Spartans	2–2	Richmond Kickers	Greensboro, NC
13:00 EST				Stadium: UNCG Soccer Stadium

March 9	Richmond Kickers	2–1	William & Mary Tribe	Richmond, VA
13:00 EST	Bolduc 26', 63'	Report	Nwegbo 8'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 352

March 18	Richmond Kickers	1–1	VCU Rams	Richmond, VA
14:00 EDT	Barnathan 32'	Report	McGann 56'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 492

March 26	Richmond Kickers	3–1	James Madison Dukes	Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT	Crisler 23' Bentley 75' Terzaghi 86'	Report	Erhardt 64'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 0

Competitive

USL League One

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Richmond Kickers (X)	30	14	7	9	54	35	+19	51	Qualification for the semi-finals
2	Greenville Triumph SC	30	12	8	10	40	38	+2	46	Qualification for the semi-finals
3	Tormenta FC (C)	30	12	9	9	42	40	+2	45	Qualification for the play-offs
4	Chattanooga Red Wolves SC	30	12	11	7	52	39	+13	43
5	Union Omaha	30	10	7	13	34	33	+1	43

Source: USL League One
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 6) disciplinary points; 7) drawing of lots.
(C) Champions; (X) Regular Season Champion

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
2	1	1	0	5	1	+4	4	1	1	0	5	1	+4	0	0	0	0	0	0

Last updated: April 10, 2022.
Source: USL League One

Results by matchday

Game Week	1	2	3	4	5
Stadium	H	H	A	A	H
Result	W	D	L	W	L
Position	1	1	3	2	6

Updated to match(es) played on April 2022. Source: USL League One
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed
Notes: Positions show the situation at the end of the corresponding Game Weeks (GW); not the position at the conclusion of matches or game days

Match results

April 2 1	Richmond Kickers	4–0	FC Tucson	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Terzaghi 18' Aune 23' Vinyals 34', 60' 58' Payne 55' Barnathan 68' Bentley 81' Olsen 90+2'	Report	Sunday 21' Allen 66' Moss 85'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 4,054 Referee: Danielle Chesky

April 9 2	Richmond Kickers	1–1	Northern Colorado Hailstorm	Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT	Morán 11' Aune 51' Terzaghi 55' 78' Bolduc 62'	Report	Damm 16' Folla 23' Vanacore-Decker 37' Zayed 45' Ulysse 59' Desdunes 88'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 2,771 Referee: Matt Franz

April 16 3	Chattanooga Red Wolves	1–0	Richmond Kickers	Chattanooga, TN
19:00 EDT	Capozucchi 26' Espinoza 50', 75' Avilez 83' Hernández 90+6'	Report	Morán 84' Aune 90+1' Terzaghi 90+5'	Stadium: CHI Memorial Stadium Attendance: 2,236 Referee: Joshua Belk

April 24 4	Charlotte Independence	1–2	Richmond Kickers	Charlotte, NC
16:00 EDT	Dutey 37' Talboys 62' Mbuyu 69'	Report	Terzaghi 6' 52' Baima 23' Bentley 55' Cole 71'	Stadium: American Legion Memorial Stadium Attendance: 2,247 Referee: Alex Billeter

May 7 5	Richmond Kickers	0–1	Forward Madison	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Terzaghi 33' Crisler 36' Vinyals 45+2' Aune 63'	Report	Cassini 9' Jones 14' Murillo 19' Osmond 53' Crisler 67' (o.g.) Breno 90+1'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 2,135 Referee: Nickrod Fateh

May 14 6	Richmond Kickers	1–1	Union Omaha	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Terzaghi 37' Gordon 41' Ritchie 45+6' Barnathan 59' Morán 69' Payne 86'	Report	Meza 26' Touche 62' Bawa 75'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 2,579 Referee: Ben Meyer

May 28 8	North Carolina FC	2–1	Richmond Kickers	Cary, NC
19:00 EDT	McLaughlin 36', 42' (pen) Skelton 37' Fernandes 65'	Report	Terzaghi 13' Bentley 28' Aune 35' Ritchie 64'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 1,128 Referee: Katherine McCormick

June 1 9	Richmond Kickers	3–0	Chattanooga Red Wolves	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Candela 17' Aune 35' Crisler 38' Baima 45+2', 80' Morán 58'	Report	Bement 8' Benton 31' Cardona 77'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 2,011 Referee: John Matto

June 4 10	Richmond Kickers	2–2	Tormenta	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Ritchie 27' Crisler 32' Payne 76'	Report	Sharifi 22' Thorn 30' Billhardt 64'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 3,201 Referee: Anya Voigt

June 11 11	Richmond Kickers	4–0	Charlotte Independence	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Bryant 14', 45+4' Bentley 21', 74' Fitch 38'	Report	Vint 44' Dutey 54' Ciss 67' Rocha 68'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 3,041 Referee: Nicholas Karnovsky

June 18 12	Richmond Kickers	3–2	Northern Colorado Hailstorm	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Vinyals 33', 42' Bentley 43' Terzaghi 45+2' Bolanos 76' Fitzgerald 90+4'	Report	Vanacore-Decker 25' Norman 27' 29' Cornwall 52', 68' Folla 74', 88'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 3,099 Referee: Amiel Aleman

June 23 13	Forward Madison	2–1	Richmond Kickers	Madison, WI
20:00 EDT	Thiam 35' Streng 79' Cassini 82', 83' Dean 89'	Report	Crisler 36' Vinyals 45+3' Gordon 65' Ritchie 76' Bentley 77' Morán 82'	Stadium: Breese Stevens Field Attendance: 4,082 Referee: Brian Wood

June 29 7	FC Tucson	0–1	Richmond Kickers	Tucson, AZ
22:00 EDT	Weir 45+2'	Report	Terzaghi 25' Bolanos 60'	Stadium: Kino North Stadium Attendance: 1,688 Referee: Cristian Campo Hernández
Note: Match rescheduled from May 20 due to multiple COVID positives in the Kickers' organization.^[14]

July 2 14	Richmond Kickers	4–1	North Carolina FC	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Bentley 25' Payne 38' Terzaghi 59', 79' Bolanos 63', 64' Gordon 75'	Report	Young 33' Anderson 41', 42' Sommersall 65'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 4,702 Referee: Thomas Snyder

July 8 15	Charlotte Independence	1–1	Richmond Kickers	Charlotte, NC
19:00 EDT	Mbuyu 18' Amaya 58' Ibarra 65' (pen.) Rocha 88'	Report	Candela 43' Bolanos 56' Gordon 68'	Stadium: American Legion Memorial Stadium Attendance: 1,544 Referee: Kevin Broadley

July 16 16	Richmond Kickers	1–3	Greenville Triumph	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Gordon 42' Bryant 52' Ritchie 61' Bentley 72' Barnathan 87' Pavone 90+4'	Report	Labovitz 23', 36', 89' Smart 69' Gavilanes 75' Pilato 82' Fenton 85'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 4,143 Referee: Nickrod Fateh

July 23 17	Central Valley Fuego	3–1	Richmond Kickers	Fresno, CA
22:00 EDT	Falck 16', 35' Hornsby 45' Partida 53' Cerritos 58' Strong 63'	Report	Payne 15' 19' Barnathan 45', 76' Aune 48' Fitzgerald 56' Candela 90+3'	Stadium: Fresno State Soccer Stadium Attendance: 1,345 Referee: Adrian Gonzalez

July 27 18	North Carolina FC	2–3	Richmond Kickers	Cary, NC
19:00 EDT	Adams 26' Flick 78'	Report	Molina 59' (o.g.) Terzaghi 90+1' Barnathan 90+5'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 1,109 Referee: Josiah Parke

August 2 19	Northern Colorado Hailstorm	0–1	Richmond Kickers	Windsor, CO
21:00 EDT	Damm 28' Rogers 39' Nortey 63'	Report	Terzaghi 32', 47' Vinyals 85' Fitzgerald 90'	Stadium: Future Legends Complex Attendance: 4,759 Referee: Kevin Fikar

August 6 20	Richmond Kickers	3–1	FC Tucson	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Morán 26' Vanacore-Decker 45' Terzaghi 56', 64'	Report	Machell 20' Calixtro 28' Garcia 76'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 3,170 Referee: John Matto

August 13 21	Greenville Triumph	1–0	Richmond Kickers	Greenville, SC
19:00 EDT	Brown 90' Polak 90+6'	Report	Terzaghi 90+3'	Stadium: Legacy Early College Field Attendance: 2,924 Referee: Kyle Johnston

August 20 22	Central Valley Fuego	2–2	Richmond Kickers	Fresno, CA
19:00 EDT	Falck 24' 32' Smith 36' Villarreal 57' North 60' Schenfeld 67'	Report	Bolanos 38' Aune 57' Terzaghi 70' (pen.) Bentley 90+3'	Stadium: Fresno State Soccer Stadium Attendance: 1,193 Referee: Robert Vincze

August 27 23	Richmond Kickers	3–0	Union Omaha	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Bolanos 20' Payne 45+12' Vanacore-Decker 66' Terzaghi 70', 76'	Report	Jiba 69' Meza 72' Doyle 72'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 4,886 Referee: Matthew Franz

September 7 24	Richmond Kickers	3–1	Tormenta	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Terzaghi 21', 55' Morán 68' Bolanos 72', 90+4' Aune 78' Candela 90+3'	RIC Report Soccerway Rpt	Billhardt 10' Dengler 23' Nembhard 23' Phelps 34' Adeniyi 82' Bush 90+5'	Stadium: City Stadium Referee: Katherine McCormick

September 14 25	Union Omaha	2–3	Richmond Kickers	Papillion, NE
19:00 EDT	Scearce 49', 81' Gil 77' Touche 90+5' Doyle 90+7'	Report	Vanacore-Decker 78' Gordon 80' Payne 89' Vinyals 90+7'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 2,610 Referee: Gerald Flores

September 17 26	Chattanooga Red Wolves	2–2	Richmond Kickers	Chattanooga, TN
19:00 EDT	Tejera 35' Lombardi 49' 74' Navarro 68' Espinoza 69' Mehl 78', 84' Galindrez 90+3'	Report	Bolanos 31' Ritchie 37' Terzaghi 43' Gordon 51'	Stadium: CHI Memorial Stadium Referee: Alyssa Nichols

September 24 27	Richmond Kickers	1–1	Central Valley Fuego	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Bryant 36' Bolanos 58' Crisler 75'	Report	Ramos 31' Schenfeld 43' Bijev 55' Crisler 69' (o.g.) S. Chavez 74' 80'	Stadium: City Stadium Referee: Joshua Encarnación

October 2 28	Tormenta	1–1	Richmond Kickers	Statesboro, GA
19:00 EDT	Adeniyi 41', 67' Otieno 62'	Report	Terzaghi 45+1' Aune 90+1' Barnathan 90+2'	Stadium: Optim Health System Field Referee: Alefo Calume

October 8 29	Forward Madison	0–1	Richmond Kickers	Madison, WI
19:00 EDT		Report	Gordon 35' Fitch 87'	Stadium: Breese Stevens Field Attendance: 4,492 Referee: Luis Arroyo

October 15 30	Richmond Kickers	1–1	Greenville Triumph	Richmond, VA
19:00 EDT	Terzaghi 21' Pavone 79'	Report	Coutinho 19' Cox-Ashwood 87'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Mathew Corrigan

USL1 Playoffs

October 29 Semi Finals	Richmond Kickers	0–1	Chattanooga Red Wolves	Richmond, VA
18:00 EDT	Fitch 33' Crisler 36' Morán 38'	Report	Villalobos 17' Mehl 22' Texeira 39' Mentzingen 86', 87'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 5,526 Referee: Brad Jensen

U.S. Open Cup

April 6 Second round	Northern Virginia FC (USL2)	0–1	Richmond Kickers (USL1)	Leesburg, VA
20:00 EDT	Laghjibi 40' Campbell 45'	Report	Olsen 34' Terzaghi 80'	Stadium: Virginia Revolution Sportsplex Attendance: 575 Referee: Nicholas Karnovsky

April 20 Third round	Richmond Kickers (USL1)	1–0 (a.e.t.)	North Carolina Fusion U23 (USL2)	Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT	Aune 24' Olsen 37' Candela 44' Morán 48' Bryant 67' Terzaghi 118'	Report	Marriott 5' Almubaslat 58' DiLuzio 116' João Silva 118' Campo 120+1' Tonon 120+3'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 1,219 Referee: Danielle Chesky

May 11 Fourth round	Richmond Kickers (USL1)	1–5	Charlotte FC (MLS)	Richmond, VA
18:30 EDT	Morán 53'	Report	Sobociński 4' Ríos 34' Reyna 54' Gaines 58', 61' Shinyashiki 86'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 4,621 Referee: Luis Arroyo

References

^ "Kickers Bring Aboard Ethan Bryant After Successful Loan Stint". USL League One. December 14, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ "Matt Bentley Joins the Richmond Forward Line". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ USLLeagueOne com Staff (January 20, 2022). "Stephen Payne Brings European Experience to Richmond's Backline". USL League One. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ "Former US Youth National Team Player Stuart Ritchie Joins The Richmond Backline". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ "Argentine Midfielder Leonardo Baima Set To Create For Richmond". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ "Dynamic Midfielder Chandler O'Dwyer Signs First Professional Contract With Richmond". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ "USL Veteran Vincenzo Candela Brings Experience to the Kickers' Engine Room". OurSports Central. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ "Former VCU Standout and USL Veteran Dakota Barnathan Joins the Richmond Defense". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ USLLeagueOne com Staff (February 15, 2022). "Christian Molina Joins the Richmond Kickers". USL League One. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ USLLeagueOne com Staff (February 17, 2022). "Kickers Sign Goalkeeper Eli Mumford to Academy Contract". USL League One. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ "Homegrown Richmond Talent Simon Fitch Returns to the Kickers". OurSports Central. February 22, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ Heintschel, Nathan. "David Olsen Brings More Goal-Scoring Prowess To Richmond's Front Line". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
^ Heintschel, Nathan (February 2, 2023). "Kickers Announce 4 Academy Signings for the 2023 Season". richmondkickers.com. Retrieved February 28, 2023. Mumford joins for a second season with the Kickers after spending the entire 2022 season working with the team and goalkeeping coach Akira Fitzgerald. While not appearing in a USL League One match last season, Mumford played between the pipes on loan at NPSL side Grove Soccer United which also played its home matches at City Stadium.
^ "FC Tucson vs. Richmond Kickers Rescheduled". USL. May 24, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2022.

[1] "Kickers Bring Aboard Ethan Bryant After Successful Loan Stint". USL League One. December 14, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[2] "Matt Bentley Joins the Richmond Forward Line". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[3] USLLeagueOne com Staff (January 20, 2022). "Stephen Payne Brings European Experience to Richmond's Backline". USL League One. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[4] "Former US Youth National Team Player Stuart Ritchie Joins The Richmond Backline". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[5] "Argentine Midfielder Leonardo Baima Set To Create For Richmond". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[6] "Dynamic Midfielder Chandler O'Dwyer Signs First Professional Contract With Richmond". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[7] "USL Veteran Vincenzo Candela Brings Experience to the Kickers' Engine Room". OurSports Central. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[8] "Former VCU Standout and USL Veteran Dakota Barnathan Joins the Richmond Defense". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[9] USLLeagueOne com Staff (February 15, 2022). "Christian Molina Joins the Richmond Kickers". USL League One. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[10] USLLeagueOne com Staff (February 17, 2022). "Kickers Sign Goalkeeper Eli Mumford to Academy Contract". USL League One. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[11] "Homegrown Richmond Talent Simon Fitch Returns to the Kickers". OurSports Central. February 22, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[12] Heintschel, Nathan. "David Olsen Brings More Goal-Scoring Prowess To Richmond's Front Line". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

[13] Heintschel, Nathan (February 2, 2023). "Kickers Announce 4 Academy Signings for the 2023 Season". richmondkickers.com. Retrieved February 28, 2023. Mumford joins for a second season with the Kickers after spending the entire 2022 season working with the team and goalkeeping coach Akira Fitzgerald. While not appearing in a USL League One match last season, Mumford played between the pipes on loan at NPSL side Grove Soccer United which also played its home matches at City Stadium.

[14] "FC Tucson vs. Richmond Kickers Rescheduled". USL. May 24, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2022.

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v t e Richmond Kickers seasons
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s	2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e USL League One
Teams	AV Alta FC Charlotte Independence Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Forward Madison FC Greenville Triumph SC One Knoxville SC FC Naples Union Omaha Portland Hearts of Pine Richmond Kickers Spokane Velocity Texoma FC Tormenta FC Westchester SC
Future teams	Corpus Christi, Texas (2026) USL Eugene (2026) Boise Pro Soccer (TBA)
Former teams	Central Valley Fuego FC Fort Lauderdale CF Lansing Ignite FC Lexington SC New England Revolution II North Carolina FC North Texas SC Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC Orlando City B Toronto FC II FC Tucson
Seasons	2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
USL Cup	2024
Miscellaneous	United Soccer League USL Championship USL League Two