2024 Richmond Kickers season

Richmond Kickers
2024 season
Kickers vs Fuego in April 2024
Owner22 Holdings, LLC
Head coachDarren Sawatzky
StadiumCity Stadium
USL League One8th
USL1 PlayoffsQuarterfinals
U.S. Open CupThird round
Jägermeister CupGroup stage
Top goalscorerLeague: Chandler O'Dwyer (6)
All: Chandler O'Dwyer (8)
← 2023
2025 →

The 2024 Richmond Kickers season is the club's 32nd season in existence, their sixth season in USL League One, and their 20th season in the third tier of American soccer. The Kickers are led by fifth-year head coach, Darren Sawatzky.

The Kickers improved on their regular season fortunes, finishing 8th in League One, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

Transfers

Transfers in

Date Position No. Name From Fee/notes Ref.
December 13, 2023 GK 1 Chile Pablo Jara United States Tormenta Free [1]
January 4, 2024 DF 14 Brazil Guilherme França United States Dalton State Roadrunners Free [2]
January 9, 2024 MF 17 England James Vaughan England Welling United Free [3]
January 16, 2024 FW 9 South Africa Arthur Bosua United States Tormenta Free [4]
January 18, 2024 DF 5 Chile Maxi Schenfeld United States Harrisburg Heat Free [5]
January 23, 2024 DF 15 United States Toni Pineda United States High Point Panthers Free [6]
February 1, 2024 GK 13 United States Ryan Shellow United States Detroit City Free [7]
February 20, 2024 MF 20 Germany Adrian Billhardt United States Detroit City Free [8]
March 13, 2024 MF 38 United States Griffin Garnett United States Richmond Strikers Academy contract [9]
March 13, 2024 DF 39 United States Noah Hiort-Wright United States Richmond Strikers Academy contract [9]

Transfers out

Date Position No. Name To Fee/notes Ref.
December 4, 2023 FW 7 United States Ethan Vanacore-Decker United States Jackson Lions Free [10]
December 4, 2023 FW 9 England Matt Bentley England Maidstone United Free [10]
December 4, 2023 FW 11 United States David Olsen None Free [10]
December 4, 2023 DF 14 United States Luke Pavone Thailand Phuket Andaman Free [10]
December 4, 2023 DF 16 United States Jake Mecham None Free [10]
December 20, 2023 GK 1 Japan Akira Fitzgerald United States North Carolina FC Free [11]
January 16, 2024 FW 91 Jamaica Owayne Gordon Jamaica Montego Bay United Free [10]
March 4, 2024 DF 25 Germany Michael Hornsby New Zealand Christchurch United Free [12]
March 13, 2024 FW 99 Grenada Kharlton Belmar United States Charlotte Independence Free [13]
March 15, 2024 DF 31 Brazil Otavio Zerbini United States Charlotte Independence

Non-competitive

Preseason exhibitions

February 10 Richmond Kickers 1–0 VCU Rams Glen Allen, Virginia
11:00 EST Sierakowski 37' Report Stadium: VACU Field
Attendance: 0
February 14 Richmond Kickers 5–1 Alexandria Reds Bensley, Virginia
20:00 EST Bosua 14'
Billhardt 28', 51'
Vaughan 34'
Sukow 84'		 Report Hayes III 64' Stadium: Ukrop Park
Attendance: 0
February 17 Loudoun United 2–2 Richmond Kickers Leesburg, Virginia
12:00 EST Valot 56'
Erlandson 72'		 Report Gomiero 61'
Cox 68'		 Stadium: Segra Field
Attendance: 100
February 21 Richmond Kickers 4–1 Chowan Hawks Glen Allen, Virginia
19:00 EST Vinyals 23', 64'
Sierakowski 36', 75'		 Report Binns 14' Stadium: VACU Field
Attendance: 140
February 24 Richmond Kickers 1–1 James Madison Dukes Glen Allen, Virginia
14:00 EST O'Dwyer 37' Krakowiak 56' Stadium: VACU Field
Attendance: 0
February 28 Richmond Kickers 2–3 Loudoun United Glen Allen, Virginia
12:00 EST Stadium: VACU Field
Attendance: 200
March 2 Richmond Kickers 2–0 George Mason Patriots Richmond, Virginia
14:00 EST Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 1,133
March 9 Crown Legacy 1–1 Richmond Kickers Matthews, North Carolina
14:00 EST Stadium: Mecklenburg County Sportsplex
Attendance: 452

Midseason exhibitions

June 26 Richmond Kickers v Lionsbridge Richmond, Virginia
14:00 EST Stadium: City Stadium

Competitions

USL League One

Main article: 2024 USL League One season

Table

Pos Team
 Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts Qualification
6 Charlotte Independence 22 9 6 7 37 31 +6 34 Playoffs
7 Spokane Velocity FC 22 7 9 6 26 35 −9 27
8 Richmond Kickers 22 6 10 6 25 34 −9 24
9 Lexington SC 22 5 11 6 33 42 −9 21
10 South Georgia Tormenta FC 22 4 10 8 33 42 −9 20
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.

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
5 1 1 3 7 11  −4 4 1 0 2 4 7  −3 0 1 1 3 4  −1

Last updated: April 28, 2024.
Source: USL League One

Match results

March 16 1 Spokane Velocity 2–1 Richmond Kickers Spokane, WA
5:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: One Spokane Stadium
March 23 2 Richmond Kickers 1–3 Tormenta Richmond, VA
5:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
April 6 3 Richmond Kickers 3–2 Central Valley Fuego Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
April 13 4 Forward Madison 2–2 Richmond Kickers Madison, WI
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: Breese Stevens Field
April 20 5 Richmond Kickers 0–2 Spokane Velocity Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
May 3 6 Richmond Kickers v One Knoxville Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
May 18 7 Richmond Kickers v Greenville Triumph Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
June 1 8 One Knoxville v Richmond Kickers Knoxville, TN
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: Regal Stadium
June 15 9 Central Valley Fuego v Richmond Kickers Fresno, CA
10:30 p.m. EDT Stadium: Fresno State Soccer Stadium
June 22 10 Richmond Kickers v Northern Colorado Hailstorm Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
June 22 11 Richmond Kickers v Forward Madison Richmond, VA
8:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
July 13 12 Chattanooga Red Wolves v Richmond Kickers Chattanooga, TN
7:30 p.m. EDT Stadium: CHI Memorial Stadium
July 27 13 Lexington SC v Richmond Kickers Lexington, KY
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: Lexington SC Stadium
August 3 14 Northern Colorado Hailstorm v Richmond Kickers Windsor, CO
9:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: 4Rivers Equipment Stadium
August 16 15 Greenville Triumph v Richmond Kickers Greenville, SC
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: Paladin Stadium
August 24 16 Union Omaha v Richmond Kickers Papillion, NE
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: Werner Park
September 14 17 Charlotte Independence v Richmond Kickers Charlotte, NC
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: American Legion Memorial Stadium
September 21 18 Richmond Kickers v Lexington SC Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
October 5 19 Richmond Kickers v Union Omaha Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
October 11 20 Tormenta v Richmond Kickers Statesboro, GA
7:30 p.m. EDT Stadium: Tormenta Stadium
October 19 21 Richmond Kickers v Chattanooga Red Wolves Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
October 26 22 Richmond Kickers v Charlotte Independence Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium

USL-1 Playoffs

Main article: 2024 USL League One season § Playoffs
November 3, 2024 (2024-11-03) Quarterfinals Union Omaha v Richmond Kickers Papillion, NE
15:30 EST Stadium: Werner Park
Referee: Jeremy Scheer

U.S. Open Cup

Main article: 2024 U.S. Open Cup
March 20 First round Richmond Kickers (USL1) Virginia 1–0 Maryland Christos (MSSL) Richmond, VA
6:30 p.m. EDT Billhardt 45+1' Report St. Martin Red card 90' Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 1,876
Referee: Brendan O'Neill
April 2 Second round Richmond Kickers (USL1) Virginia 5–2 Maryland Maryland Bobcats (NISA) Richmond, VA
6:30 p.m. EDT
Report
Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 2,219
Referee: David Elliott
April 17 Third round Richmond Kickers (USL1) Virginia 0–0
(4–5 p)		 Virginia Loudoun United (USLC) Richmond, VA
EDT Stadium: City Stadium
Penalties

Jägermeister Cup

Main article: 2024 USL Cup

Group stage

Table
Pos Team
 Pld W PKW PKL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Charlotte Independence 8 3 1 3 1 11 9 +2 14 Advanced to knockout stage
2 Greenville Triumph SC 8 3 1 1 3 10 8 +2 12
3 Richmond Kickers 8 2 3 0 3 9 11 −2 12
4 South Georgia Tormenta FC 8 0 2 2 4 8 13 −5 6
Source: USL League One
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goals for in cup match play (only for determining wild card); 3) head-to-head points earned in small group play; 4) total wins in small group play; 5) total wins in all cup matches; 6) goals for in small group play; 7) goals for in cup match play; 8) goals assisted in cup match play; 9) goal differential in cup match play; 10) disciplinary points; 11) coin toss.
Results
April 27 1 Greenville Triumph 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(3–5 p)		 Richmond Kickers Greenville, SC
7:00 p.m. EDT Polak Yellow card 24'
Herrera Yellow card 32'
Lee 89'		 Report Vinyals soccer ball with red X 20', Yellow card 55'
Schenfeld Yellow card 32'
Sierakowski 70'
França Yellow card 77'
Vaughan Yellow card 78'
O'Dwyer Yellow card 90+3'		 Stadium: Paladin Stadium
Attendance: 4,041
Referee: Jonathan Bilinski
Penalties
Smith soccer ball with check mark
MacKinnon soccer ball with check mark
Zakowski soccer ball with red X
Polak soccer ball with check mark		 soccer ball with check mark Vinyals
soccer ball with check mark Fitch
soccer ball with check mark Gomiero
soccer ball with check mark Morán
soccer ball with check mark O'Dwyer
May 11 2 Chattanooga Red Wolves v Richmond Kickers East Ridge, TN
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: CHI Memorial Stadium
May 25 3 Tormenta v Richmond Kickers Statesboro, GA
7:30 p.m. EDT Stadium: Tormenta Stadium
June 8 4 Richmond Kickers v Charlotte Independence Richmond, VA
4:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
June 29 5 Charlotte Independence v Richmond Kickers Charlotte, NC
7:30 p.m. EDT Stadium: American Legion Memorial Stadium
July 20 6 Richmond Kickers v Greenville Triumph Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
August 10 7 Richmond Kickers v Greenville Triumph Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium
August 29 8 Richmond Kickers v Spokane Velocity Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: City Stadium

Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of October 20, 2024. Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute.[14]
No. Pos Nat Player Total USL1 USL1 Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Jägermeister Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Chile CHI Pablo Jara 16 0 11+0 0 0+0 0 2+0 0 3+0 0
2 DF United States USA Dakota Barnathan 29 2 18+2 0 0+0 0 3+0 2 6+0 0
3 DF United States USA Chris Cole 11 0 1+3 0 0+0 0 2+1 0 3+1 0
4 DF United States USA Simon Fitch 31 1 21+0 1 0+0 0 3+0 0 7+0 0
5 MF Chile CHI Maxi Schenfeld 30 1 18+2 1 0+0 0 2+0 0 6+2 0
6 MF Argentina ARG Zacarías Morán 28 0 16+4 0 0+0 0 1+1 0 6+0 0
7 FW United States USA Landon Johnson 2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+2 0
8 FW Brazil BRA João Gomiero 19 2 4+10 2 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+5 0
9 FW South Africa RSA Arthur Bosua 18 0 5+7 0 0+0 0 2+1 0 1+2 0
10 MF Spain ESP Nil Vinyals 30 5 16+5 2 0+0 0 2+1 1 6+0 2
11 FW United States USA Ryan Sierakowski 28 4 13+5 1 0+0 1 1+2 1 4+3 1
13 GK United States USA Ryan Shellow 9 0 5+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 3+0 0
14 DF Brazil BRA Guilherme França 18 1 7+4 1 0+0 0 0+0 0 4+3 0
15 DF United States USA Toni Pineda 17 0 3+8 0 0+0 0 0+1 0 1+4 0
16 DF Canada CAN Klaidi Cela 5 1 4+1 1 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
17 MF England ENG James Vaughan 28 0 13+5 0 0+0 0 0+3 0 7+0 0
19 FW United States USA Justin Sukow 17 1 6+3 0 0+0 0 3+0 0 3+2 1
20 MF Germany GER Adrian Billhardt 27 8 15+2 5 0+0 0 2+1 1 6+1 2
24 DF United States USA Nathan Aune 14 0 5+4 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+4 0
27 MF England ENG Chandler O'Dwyer 31 9 16+5 6 0+0 0 3+0 1 6+1 2
29 GK United States USA Will Palmquist 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
30 GK United States USA Eli Mumford 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
32 FW Argentina ARG Emiliano Terzaghi 16 3 7+5 3 0+0 0 0+0 0 2+2 0
33 MF United States USA Gabe Cox 4 0 0+2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+2 0
34 DF United States USA Beckett Howell 3 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 0+2 0 0+0 0
35 GK United States USA James Sneddon 6 0 5+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
36 MF United States USA Landon Johnson 2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+2 0 0+0 0
37 MF Jamaica JAM Nicholas Simmonds 8 0 3+2 0 0+0 0 1+1 0 0+1 0
38 MF United States USA Griffin Garnett 30 0 18+1 0 0+0 0 3+0 0 7+1 0
39 DF United States USA Noah Hiort-Wright 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
45 FW United States USA Joshua Kirkland 4 0 1+3 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0

References

  1. ^ Heintschel, Nathan (December 13, 2023). "Veteran Goalkeeper and 2022 USL League One Champion Pablo Jara Joins the Kickers". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  2. ^ Heintschel, Nathan (January 4, 2024). "Defender Guilherme Franca Signs First Pro Contract With The Kickers". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  3. ^ "English Midfielder James Vaughan Signs With The Kickers". Richmond Kickers. January 9, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  4. ^ Heintschel, Nathan. "USL Veteran Striker Arthur Bosua Signs With The Kickers". RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  5. ^ Heintschel, Nathan. "USL Veteran Maxi Schenfeld Signs With The Kickers". RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  6. ^ Heintschel, Nathan (January 23, 2024). "High Point Standout Forward Toni Pineda Signs First Professional Contract With The Kickers". Richmond Kickers. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  7. ^ "Former Detroit City FC Goalkeeper Ryan Shellow Signs With The Kickers".
  8. ^ "2022 USL League One Champion and Comeback Player of the Year Adrian Billhardt Joins the Kickers". Richmond Kickers. February 20, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Richmond Kickers Announce 2024 Academy Class". Richmond Kickers. March 13, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Heintschel, Nathan (December 4, 2023). "Kickers Announce Initial Outfield Roster Decisions for 2024". richmondkickers.com. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  11. ^ "Akira Fitzgerald Makes the Move Up to USL Championship Club North Carolina FC". Richmond Kickers. December 20, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  12. ^ "2024 First Team Squad Announced". cufc.co.nz. March 4, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  13. ^ Cover, Amanda (March 13, 2024). "Veteran Forward Kharlton Belmar Signs with Independence". charlotteindependence.com. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  14. ^ "Richmond Kickers Player Stats". USL League One. December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.