RICHMOND, Va. – (Friday, September 13, 2019) – The Richmond Kickers (8-10-4) are back at City Stadium this Saturday night to host Forward Madison FC (9-9-6) and Heritage Night, presented by RVAmigos. The gates open at a special time of 4:30 p.m. with live music from the band Rebolisso and Brazilian dancers. Dank Eats will be on hand with funky fresh pitas and gyros. The players will be wearing limited edition pregame jerseys that will be auctioned off to benefit the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, Conexciones and the Beta Gamma Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Tickets are on sale now at RichmondKickers.com.

 

This match will be the third and final meeting between Richmond and Madison this season, and the first trip to City Stadium for Madison. The Kickers took all three points in the first meeting August 10 at Breese Stevens Field. Daniel Jackson came into the match in the 66th minute, scoring the game winner just three minutes later. Madison returned the favor two weeks later when Christian Diaz scored in the 74th minute. 

 

Richmond will be looking to bounce back Saturday, coming off Tuesday night’s 0-4 road loss at the league leaders, North Texas SC. The home side went up after just seventeen seconds to start an eventual hat trick for Ronaldo Damus. Arturo Rodriguez added a fourth goal for NTSC, ensuring the victory at Toyota Stadium. 

 

Madison battled to a 1-1 draw at Breese Stevens Field against South Georgia Tormenta FC last Saturday night. Paulo Junior put the home side up 1-0 in the 24th minute as Madison looked to improve their playoff positioning. With ten minutes to go, Marco Micaletto leveled the score for Tormenta so both teams would be forced to share a point, a result that fell in favor of the Kickers.
 

The Kickers are back on the road next Saturday night, making the cross country trip out to FC Tucson, September 21 for a 10:30 p.m. ET kickoff. That match will be available live on WTVR CBS 6.3 (Comcast 206, Verizon FiOS 466) and streaming on ESPN+. Stay up to date with the Kickers at RichmondKickers.com.

Richmond: Forward Daniel Jackson (#9) was the one that unlocked the Forward Madison FC defense in the first meeting between the teams. The striker’s unassisted effort in the 69th minute delivered the game-winner as the Kickers left Wisconsin with a 1-0 victory. A nominee for USL League One Player of the Month in August, Jackson will look to replicate this high-flying form against the Mingos at home. Forward Joe Gallardo (#10) rediscovered his early-season form with a multi-goal effort at South Georgia Tormenta FC -- including a goal that required the forward to dribble past multiple defenders, nutmeg the final one, and put the ball in the back of the net. Of course, Gallardo had a similar run in the first match against Forward Madison that was ultimately denied by the crossbar. If given space, expect Gallardo to convert this time around. Midfielder Braeden Troyer (#31) is coming off a performance against Greenville Triumph SC that earned the veteran a spot on the USL League One’s Team of the Week. The linchpin in the Richmond midfield was vital in suffocating Greenville’s build-up play in the center of the park, and, on the other end of the field, he delivered his first league goal in a Kickers uniform which decided the match in favor of the Reds. 

Madison: Midfielder Don Smart (#7) leads Madison in scoring with seven goals in 23 matches this season. He is second in the team in assists with four. Forward Paulo Junior (#11) is second in scoring for Madison with five goals this season. He leads the team in assists with five in 23 appearances and scored the game tying goal in their last match against Tormenta FC. Goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre (#92) has three clean sheets in 13 matches between the pipes this season. The native of Hollywood, Florida needed to make three saves Saturday night to preserve the point at home, bringing his season talley to 31.