Richmond (10-5-7, 2nd Place) vs Union Omaha (8-10-2, 3rd Place)
All competitions: RIC (12-5-8) vs OMA (12-10-3)
City Stadium – Richmond, Virginia
5:30 PM (CST) ESPN+
Union Omaha returns to City Stadium to battle 2nd – placed Richmond in a crucial battle for prominence in USL League One. The biggest match of the week kicks off at 5:30 and this is one you won’t want to miss!
The Richmond Kickers are returning home after a pair of lackluster road results. The first road match was a 0-1 loss to the top-seeded Greenville Triumph, which came down to a 90th-minute goal from Greenville’s Nico Brown. The Kickers then had to quickly regroup while heading to the opposite coast to face off against the unpredictable Central Valley Fuego FC. Down 2-0 with barely more than 20 minutes remaining, the Kickers dug deep and found a way to earn a draw, thanks to goals from Emiliano Terzaghi and Matthew Bentley. Having gained a mere point from the pair of games, the Kickers saw themselves go from one point behind the number-1 seed to three points. It’s undeniable that the Kickers are looking to reverse their recent debits and regain the seat at the head of the table, where they’ve spent a third of the season.
It’s difficult to describe Richmond without mentioning their star forward, Emiliano Terzaghi. The two are virtually synonymous now, especially after the forward has amassed two-straight USL League One MVP awards in each of his seasons with the club, as well as a pair of Golden Boot awards and a slew of other USL League One individual awards. The forward currently finds himself in a familiar vantage point – at the front of the pack in the race for the 2022 USL League One Golden Boot. Union Omaha will have their hands full with Terzaghi, but he isn’t the only threat on the roster for the Kickers.
The Richmond Kickers have scored the most goals in USL League One: 39. The closest club to that mark is six goals behind them. Believe it or not, Terzaghi didn’t score those goals all by himself. The hungry top line of the Richmond Kickers consists of a rotating cast of mercenaries, including the likes of Matthew Bentley, Jonathon Bolanos, and Owayne Omar Gordon. Feeding that pack is a supporting list of midfielders and defenders with familiar names: Nil Vinyals, Stephen Payne, Stuart Richie, and Ethan Bryant. This is a club with well-established chemistry and a proven formula for success.
There’s a chink in their armor and Union Omaha is going to find it. With a season filled with doubts and frustrations, the Owls stayed the course and believed in themselves every step of the way. They went toe-to-toe with MLS clubs on three separate occasions and only lost once. And since that loss, Union Omaha regrouped and refocused their efforts on the remaining league campaign for one sole reason: winning. The Owls accepted the loss to Sporting Kansas City and returned to USL League One action with fire in their belly and a full belief that they are capable of something greater than anyone knew was possible. The club is now undefeated in their last 11 games. Yes, you read that correctly. In those 11 games, Union Omaha has almost doubled their opponents, outscoring them 15-8. In that same stretch of games, only one club was able to score more than one goal on the Owls. Before this win streak started, Union Omaha was in 9th place and 5 points behind the league leader, who else but the Richmond Kickers. Now, ten weeks later, the Owls find themselves in third place, four points behind the league leader, and still have two games in hand. If this isn’t a reason to believe in the Owls, I don’t know what else you need to have faith in this club.
In the first, and only, matchup between these two sides, Union Omaha put the Kickers on notice early with a 26th minute goal from Noe Meza. The Kickers returned the favor before halftime, with Owayne Omar Gordon scoring in the 41st minute. The match ended in an even 1-1 scoreline, much like many of the other stats from that day. Even looking at the all-time record between these two clubs, each has a win, two draws, and a loss. This is about as even as it gets, so tonight’s game will certainly be an intense battle to watch.
A win tonight would prove incredibly valuable for either side, so let’s examine that angle, as well. Three points for Richmond means keeping pace with Greenville, padding their goal differential, and distancing themselves from any potential third-place club looking to earn a first-round bye in the playoffs. With a Richmond win tonight and a Greenville loss to Northern Colorado, the Kickers would find themselves at the top of the standings, by virtue of the second tiebreaker – goal differential. On the flip side, a win for Union Omaha means overtaking Richmond in the standings, creeping closer to Greenville in the standings, extending their current win streak to 12 games, and continuing to set themselves up to take advantage of those two games in hand for a potential run at the top of the standings.
With each passing week, results become more meaningful and so does your support for the Owls. There’s a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks, so keep checking back with Who Gives A Hoot for more content about your favorite club. Wear the colors, show your support, and as always…¡Viva Búhos!
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