2019 Richmond Kickers season explained

The 2019 Richmond Kickers season is a soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. It was the club's 27th season of existence, their 15th season in the third tier of American soccer, and their first season in the newly created USL League One. It was the Kickers' first season playing in the third tier of American soccer since 2016, when they were in the United Soccer League. The season covers the period from October 14, 2018 to the beginning of the 2020 USL League One season.

Roster

No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Date of birth (age)	Signed in	Previous club	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1				17 July 1987	2019		15	0
23				6 March 1996	2019		0	0
94				20 April 1994	2019		0	0
Defenders
3				31 December 1993	2018		40	2
4				23 December 1993	2019		9	0
5				13 December 1991	2016		95	5
17				18 December 1995	2019		12	2
18				19 October 1996	2019		13	1
20				29 March 1995	2019		3	0
24				16 March 2001	2019	Richmond United	0	0
31				19 March 1993	2015		124	0
Midfielders
7				3 November 1991	2019		12	1
8				2 August 1995	2019		2	0
11				12 October 1994	2017		39	2
12	Alex Ainscough			12 April 1995	2019		4	0
14				3 September 1996	2019		6	0
16				7 November 1988	2019		2	0
21				9 August 1995	2019		13	1
22				13 December 1995	2019		6	0
28	Greg Boehme			7 July 1995	2018		17	0
77				28 July 1997	2019	WAFA SC (loan)	9	4
80				19 June 1996	2019		12	1
97				29 December 1997	2019		2	0
Forwards
9				10 July 1989	2019		13	2
10				1 January 1998	2019		15	4
15				4 June 1987	2019		11	2

Non-competitive

Preseason

On January 19, 2019, the Kickers revealed their preseason schedule. Richmond played seven matches in the span of just over a month, including five games against collegiate programs and two games against clubs from the USL Championship. All six games took place in the state of Virginia, with the Kickers playing host to five of those games; just one, however, was played at City Stadium.^[1]

Midseason

Competitive

USL League One

See main article: 2019 USL League One season.

Match results

On December 7, 2018, the league announced the home openers for its inaugural season. Richmond's first-ever match in the league will take place on March 30, 2019, with the Kickers playing host to Lansing Ignite. Richmond will also take part in the home-opening match for Lansing, visiting Cooley Law School Stadium on April 13.^[2]

The remainder of the league schedule was released on December 10, 2018. The inaugural USL League One season will consist of 28 matches for the Kickers, with Richmond playing four times against Chattanooga Red Wolves and three times against every other opponent.^[3] Richmond will renew their series with Orlando City B and Toronto FC II, both of whom they previously faced in the United Soccer League; they will face all seven other teams for the first time.

U.S. Open Cup

See main article: 2019 U.S. Open Cup. As a member of USL League One, the Kickers entered the tournament in the First Round, playing on May 7, 2019.^[4]

Statistics

Appearances and goals

|-|colspan=10 align=center|Players who left Richmond during the season:|}

Disciplinary record

No.	Pos.	Name	USL1	U.S. Open Cup	Total
1	GK	Akira Fitzgerald	2	1	0	0	2	1
3	DF	Scott Thomsen	2	0	0	0	2	0
4	DF	Ivan Magalhães	3	0	0	0	3	0
5	DF	Conor Shanosky	3	2	0	0	3	2
7	MF	Josh Hughes	3	0	0	0	3	0
9	FW	Daniel Jackson	0	0	1	0	1	0
10	FW	Joe Gallardo	6	0	0	0	6	0
11	MF	Matt Bolduc	5	0	0	0	5	0
12	MF	Alex Ainscough	1	0	0	0	1	0
16	MF	Justin Grove	0	0	1	0	1	0
17	DF	Eli Lockaby	1	0	0	0	1	0
18	DF	Wahab Ackwei	7	1	1	0	8	1
21	MF	Maxi Rodriguez	4	1	0	0	4	1
22	MF	Jannik Eckenrode	4	1	0	0	4	1
31	DF	Braeden Troyer	6	1	0	0	6	1
77	MF	Charles Boateng	5	0	0	0	5	0
80	MF	Mutaya Mwape	4	0	0	0	4	0
Players who left Richmond during the season:
2	DF	Aboubacar Keita	1	0	0	0	1	0

Clean sheets

No.	Name	USL1	U.S. Open Cup	Total	Games Played
		1	Akira Fitzgerald	9	0	9	26
23	Joe Rice	0	0	0	3
94	Matt Broomall	0	0	0	0

Transfers

In

Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee/notes	Date	Source
MF	Josh Hughes	Nashville SC	Signed to a one-year contract.	Jan 2, 2019	[5]
MF	Amass Amankona	Indy Eleven	Signed to a one-year contract.	Jan 4, 2019	[6]
FW	Dennis Chin	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	Signed to a one-year contract.	Jan 7, 2019	[7]
DF	Eli Lockaby	VCU Rams	Signed to a one-year contract.	Jan 18, 2019	[8]
MF	Mutaya Mwape	Charlotte Independence	Signed to a one-year contract.	Jan 21, 2019	[9]
GK	Akira Fitzgerald	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Signed to a one-year contract.	Feb 6, 2019	[10]
FW	Daniel Jackson	Bollklubben-46	Signed to a one-year contract.	Feb 11, 2019	[11]
MF	Maxi Rodriguez	San Antonio FC	Signed to a one-year contract.	Feb 22, 2019	[12]
MF	Jannik Eckenrode	Jammerbugt	Signed to a one-year contract.	Feb 27, 2019	[13]
DF	Ivan Magalhães	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Signed to a one-year contract.	Mar 19, 2019	[14]
GK	Matt Broomall	Atlantic City FC	Signed to a one-year contract.	Mar 20, 2019	[15]
DF	Sam Moore	Richmond United	Signed to a USL Academy contract.	Mar 20, 2019	[16]
GK	Joe Rice	VCU Rams	Signed to a one-year contract.	Mar 20, 2019
DF	Wahab Ackwei	New York Red Bulls II	Signed to a one-year contract.	Mar 21, 2019	[17]
MF	Alex Ainscough	SpVgg Bayreuth	Signed to a one-year contract.	Mar 21, 2019
FW	Joe Gallardo	SIMA Águilas	Signed to a one-year contract.	Mar 21, 2019	[18]
MF	Nick Retzlaff	NC State Wolfpack	Signed to a one-year contract.	Mar 21, 2019
MF	Justin Grove	Charlottesville Alliance	Signed to a one-year contract.	Mar 22, 2019	[19]
MF	Lucas Mendes	FC Baltimore	Signed to a one-year contract.	Mar 22, 2019
DF	Luke Pavone	Hapoel Petah Tikva	Signed to a one-year contract.	Mar 22, 2019
FW	Key White	Richmond United	Signed to a USL Academy contract.	Jul 12, 2019	[20]
MF	Ryley Kraft	OKC Energy FC	Signed to a contract until the end of the season.	Aug 23, 2019	[21]
DF	Zach Perez	William Paterson University	Signed to a contract until the end of the season.	Sep 5, 2019	[22]

Loan in

Pos.	Player	Parent club	Length/Notes	Beginning	End	Source
DF	Aboubacar Keita	Columbus Crew SC	Duration of the 2019 USL League One season.	Mar 6, 2019	Jun 23, 2019	[23] [24]
MF	Charles Boateng	WAFA SC	Duration of the 2019 USL League One season.	Mar 18, 2019		[25]

Out

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee/notes	Date	Source
MF	Prince Agyemang	FK Liepāja	Contract expired. Signed for Liepāja on Jan 9, 2019.	Oct 14, 2018	[26]
MF	Sam Bacon	Elon Phoenix	Academy contract expired. Committed to play college soccer at Elon.	Oct 14, 2018	[27] [28]
GK	Brandon Barnes	Forward Madison	Contract expired. Signed for Madison on Apr 2, 2019.	Oct 14, 2018	[29]
FW	Heviel Cordovés	Memphis 901	Contract expired. Signed for Memphis on Nov 12, 2018.	Oct 14, 2018	[30]
GK	Kent Dickey	Villanova Wildcats	Academy contract expired. Committed to play college soccer at Villanova.	Oct 14, 2018	[31]
MF	Brandon Eaton	Forward Madison	Contract expired. Signed for Madison on Jan 30, 2019.	Oct 14, 2018	[32]
FW	Luiz Fernando	Atlanta United 2	Contract expired. Signed for Atlanta on Nov 19, 2018.	Oct 14, 2018	[33]
FW	Giuseppe Gentile	Hartford Athletic	Contract expired. Signed for Hartford on Jan 23, 2019.	Oct 14, 2018	[34]
MF	Raul Gonzalez	Memphis 901	Contract expired. Signed for Memphis on Oct 24, 2018.	Oct 14, 2018	[35]
MF	Neil Hlavaty		Contract expired. Retired.	Oct 14, 2018	[36]
MF	Yudai Imura		Contract expired.	Oct 14, 2018
MF	Evan Lee	Greenville Triumph	Contract expired. Signed for Greenville on Jan 15, 2019.	Oct 14, 2018	[37]
MF	Koby Osei-Wusu	Orlando City B	Contract expired. Signed for Orlando on Feb 20, 2019.	Oct 14, 2018	[38]
GK	Ronnie Pascale		Contract expired. Retired.	Oct 14, 2018
DF	Mallan Roberts	Tulsa Roughnecks	Contract expired. Signed for Tulsa on Jan 4, 2019.	Oct 14, 2018	[39]
DF	Shaun Russell	Forward Madison	Contract expired. Signed for Madison on Mar 25, 2019.	Oct 14, 2018	[40]
MF	Fred Sekyere		Contract expired.	Oct 14, 2018
FW	Brian Shriver		Contract expired. Retired.	Oct 14, 2018	[41]
GK	Trevor Spangenberg	Birmingham Legion	Contract expired. Signed for Birmingham on Feb 21, 2019.	Oct 14, 2018	[42]
GK	Zachery Tashjy		Contract expired. Retired.	Oct 14, 2018	[43]
MF	Oscar Umar	Saint Louis FC	Contract expired. Signed for Saint Louis on Dec 5, 2018.	Oct 14, 2018	[44]
DF	Mekeil Williams	OKC Energy	Contract expired. Signed for OKC on Jan 8, 2019.	Oct 14, 2018	[45]
DF	Austin Yearwood	New Mexico United	Contract expired. Signed for New Mexico on Nov 6, 2018.	Oct 14, 2018	[46]

Awards

USL1 All-League Teams

Player	Team
Joe Gallardo	First Team
Wahab Ackwei	Second Team

^[47]

USL1 Team of the Week

Week	Players	Opponent(s)	Link
2	Wahab Ackwei	South Georgia Tormenta	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1011290
4	Wahab Ackwei Joe Gallardo Josh Hughes	Greenville Triumph	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1015124
5	Wahab Ackwei Mutaya Mwape	Chattanooga Red Wolves	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1017127
6	Dennis Chin Daniel Jackson Conor Shanosky	Lansing Ignite	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1019077
7	Mutaya Mwape Maxi Rodriguez	FC Tucson	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1020949
11	Wahab Ackwei Akira Fitzgerald	FC Tucson	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1027733
13	Eli Lockaby	South Georgia Tormenta	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1031025
17	Dennis Chin	Orlando City B	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1036812
18	Josh Hughes	Toronto FC II	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1038129
20	Josh Hughes Ivan Magalhães	Forward Madison	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1041283
21	Daniel Jackson	Toronto FC II	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1043152
23	Matt Bolduc Dennis Chin Joe Gallardo	South Georgia Tormenta	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1046269
24	Akira Fitzgerald Ivan Magalhães Braeden Troyer	Greenville Triumph	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1048060
25	Wahab Ackwei	North Texas SC Forward Madison	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1049877
26	Akira Fitzgerald	FC Tucson	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1051652
28	Mutaya Mwape Conor Shanosky	Toronto FC II Orlando City B	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1055347

USL1 Goal of the Week

Week	Player	Opponent	Link
4	Joe Gallardo	Greenville Triumph	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1015759
21	Daniel Jackson	Toronto FC II	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1042901

USL1 Save of the Week

Week	Player	Opponent	Link
24	Akira Fitzgerald	Greenville Triumph	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1048154
28	Joe Rice	Toronto FC II	https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1055346

Kits

Type	Shirt	Shorts	Socks	First appearance / Record
Home	Red	Red	Red	Match 1 vs. Lansing / 3–2–3
Away	White	White	White	Match 3 vs. Lansing / 1–1–5

See also

• Richmond Kickers
• 2019 in American soccer
• 2019 USL League One season

Notes and References

1. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers announce 2019 preseason schedule. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 12, 2019. January 29, 2019.
2. Web site: USLLeagueOne.com staff. USL League One Unveils 2019 Home Openers. USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One. March 13, 2019. December 7, 2018.
3. Web site: USLLeagueOne.com staff. USL League One Reveals 2019 Regular Season Schedule. USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One. March 13, 2019. December 10, 2018.
4. Web site: 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Format and Schedule Finalized. USSoccer.com. United States Soccer Federation. March 13, 2019. January 31, 2019.
5. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers sign Josh Hughes. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 11, 2019. January 2, 2019.
6. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Amass Amankona lands in Richmond. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 11, 2019. January 4, 2019.
7. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Dennis Chin joins the Kickers for 2019. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 11, 2019. January 7, 2019.
8. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Eli Lockaby joins the Kickers. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 11, 2019. January 18, 2019.
9. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Mutaya Mwape signs with the Kickers. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 11, 2019. January 21, 2019.
10. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers add Akira Fitzgerald for 2019. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 11, 2019. February 6, 2019.
11. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Daniel Jackson signs with the Kickers. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 11, 2019. February 11, 2019.
12. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers sign Maxi Rodriguez. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 11, 2019. February 22, 2019.
13. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers add Jannik Eckenrode for 2019. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 11, 2019. February 27, 2019.
14. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers add Ivan Magalhães for 2019. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 19, 2019. March 19, 2019.
15. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Broomall, Rice signed by Richmond. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 20, 2019. March 20, 2019.
16. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers sign Greg Boehme, Sam Moore. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 20, 2019. March 20, 2019.
17. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Three more players added for 2019. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 23, 2019. March 21, 2019.
18. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers sign Joe Gallardo. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 21, 2019. March 21, 2019.
19. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers sign three more players for 2019. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 23, 2019. March 22, 2019.
20. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers Add Richmond United Academy Player Key White. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. February 4, 2020. July 12, 2019.
21. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers Sign Ryley Kraft. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. February 4, 2020. August 23, 2019.
22. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers Add Zach Perez. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. February 4, 2020. September 5, 2019.
23. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Aboubacar Keita joins Richmond on loan from Columbus Crew SC. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 11, 2019. March 6, 2019.
24. Web site: Columbus Crew SC 0–1 Sporting Kansas City. ColumbusCrewSC.com. Columbus Crew SC. June 23, 2019. June 23, 2019. June 24, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190624020756/https://matchcenter.columbuscrewsc.com/matchcenter/2019-06-23-columbus-crew-sc-vs-sporting-kansas-city/lineup. dead.
25. Web site: US third-tier side Richmond Kickers announce Charles Boateng signing from WAFA. GhanaSoccernet.com. Ghana Soccernet. March 18, 2019. March 18, 2019.
26. Web site: Kintoh. Aaron. Ghana’s Prince Agyemang signs for Liepaja FC. SportsNewsGH.com. Sports News – GH. March 14, 2019. January 9, 2019.
27. Web site: Wood. Patrick. Kickers announce tryout dates. RichmondKickers.com. Richmond Kickers. March 11, 2019. October 18, 2018.
28. Web site: National Signing Day - 6 Richmond United DA Players Commit to Division 1 Colleges. RichmondStrikers.com. Richmond Strikers. March 11, 2019. February 7, 2018.
29. Web site: Forward Madison signs young goalkeeper Brandon Barnes. ForwardMadisonFC.com. Forward Madison FC. April 8, 2019. April 2, 2019.
30. Web site: Munz. Jason. Memphis 901 FC signs Cuban defector Heviel Cordovés. CommercialAppeal.com. The Commercial Appeal. March 11, 2019. November 12, 2018.
31. Web site: Ralph. Matthew. Villanova announces 2018 recruiting class. BrotherlyGame.com. SB Nation. March 11, 2019. May 9, 2018.
32. Web site: Forward Madison FC signs defensive midfielder Brandon Eaton. ForwardMadisonFC.com. Forward Madison FC. March 11, 2019. January 30, 2019.
33. Web site: Atlanta United Communications. Atlanta United 2 signs Luiz Fernando Nascimento. ATLUTD.com. Atlanta United FC. March 11, 2019. November 19, 2018.
34. Web site: Due, Gentile join Hartford Athletic. HartfordAthletic.com. Hartford Athletic. March 11, 2019. January 23, 2019. December 10, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191210090502/https://www.hartfordathletic.com/news_article/show/987621. dead.
35. Web site: Former Tiger Raul Gonzalez returns to Memphis. GoTigersGo.com. Memphis Athletics. March 11, 2019. October 24, 2018.
36. Web site: Forward Madison FC hire Neil Hlavaty as assistant coach. ForwardMadisonFC.com. Forward Madison FC. March 11, 2019. January 8, 2019. April 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190401030809/https://www.forwardmadisonfc.com/news_article/show/983265. dead.
37. Web site: Greenville Triumph bolsters back line. GreenvilleTriumph.com. Greenville Triumph SC. March 11, 2019. January 15, 2019.
38. Web site: Rollins. Sean. Orlando City B Announces 2019 Roster. TheManeLand.com. SB Nation. March 11, 2019. February 20, 2019.
39. Web site: USLChampionship.com staff. Roughnecks land Uzo, Roberts. USLChampionship.com. USL Championship. March 11, 2019. January 4, 2019.
40. Web site: Forward Madison FC bolsters defense with Shaun Russell signing. ForwardMadisonFC.com. Forward Madison FC. April 8, 2019. March 25, 2019.
41. bshriver21. 1092125739430891520. February 3, 2019. ✌⚽️✌ It’s been real. Thanks for the memories. @UNCmenssoccer @FTLStrikers @NorthCarolinaFC @TampaBayRowdies @JaxArmadaFC @RichmondKickers.
42. Web site: Legion FC Communications Team. Legion FC signs goalkeeper Trevor Spangenberg. BHMLegion.com. Birmingham Legion FC. March 11, 2019. February 21, 2019.
43. Web site: Zachery Tashjy at LinkedIn. LinkedIn.com. LinkedIn. March 11, 2019.
44. Web site: STLFC announces Oscar Umar signing. SaintLouisFC.com. Saint Louis FC. March 11, 2019. December 5, 2018. March 28, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190328142251/https://www.saintlouisfc.com/news_article/show/974393. dead.
45. Web site: Vaughn. Tyler. Energy FC sign Trinidad and Tobago international, MLS veteran Mekeil Williams. EnergyFC.com. OKC Energy FC. March 11, 2019. January 8, 2019.
46. Web site: Davis. Elizabeth. New Mexico United announces first six players for inaugural season. NewMexicoUTD.com. New Mexico United. March 11, 2019. November 6, 2018.
47. Web site: 2019 USL League One All-League Teams Revealed. USLLeagueOne.com Staff. October 16, 2019. October 16, 2019.