With a counter-strike build off a wild ball, the Richmond Kickers fell 0-1 to Charlotte Independence.
The squads went back and forth through the first 15 minutes, exchanging attacks on the counter press. The Kickers saw two attempts fall just wide of the goal before Charlotte came on the counter attack.
The Charlotte attacker charged ahead in the sixth minute to take on 19 year-old goal keeper James Sneddon one-on-one. Sneddon came off his line and took the ball off Charlotte’s feet, killing the attempt.
After the stop from Sneddon, the Kickers earned a goal kick and built from there. In the 11th minute, the Kickers pushed and the ball found the feet of Chandler O’Dwyer who send a curving shot towards the far upper corner. The Charlotte keeper stepped in the path of the ball at the last second.
In the 17th minute, Charlotte earned a free kick just outside the box but Sneddon came off his line again and claimed the in-swinging ball before it became a threat. He made another save in the 20th on a shot from the far left corner of the box, swatting it well away and forcing a corner that was ultimately cleared out of the area. One minute later, he made another save, sending the ball over the cross bar and leading to another cleared corner from the side.
After the half, Chandler O’Dwyer led the Kickers attack again and forced an impossible save from the Charlotte keeper with another curving shot towards the far corner in the 46th.
With a forgiving bounce in a counter strike build, Charlotte would find the back of the net in the 50th.
Richmond earned a penalty kick in the 57th minute but the shot from Emiliano Terzaghi went just over the crossbar.
The Kickers would continue to push through the end of the half, knocking on the door every chance they got but the Charlotte keeper locked down.
The next time the Kickers take the pitch will be Wednesday when they take on the Virginia Dream in the first round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Then, the Kickers will celebrate their Home Opener on Saturday, March 22 against AV Alta FC. Head to richmondkickers.com/tickets to join the club this week as the season opens at City Stadium!
