USL Game Report

Saturday, April 18, 2015

RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers’ George Davis IV earned his first hat trick and Ryan Taylor made 10 saves for his first clean sheet as they led Richmond to a 3-0 victory against the Charlotte Independence on Saturday night at City Stadium.

Both Taylor and Charlotte goalkeeper John Berner were strong for their respective clubs, making key saves throughout the first half and preventing either side from getting the opening goal of the night.

A foul on Charlotte inside its 18-yard box set up an opportunity for Richmond on the penalty spot in the 43rd minute. Kickers forward Davis IV was called to take the shot, which he fired into the upper right corner of the net, beating Berner to take a 1-0 lead into halftime.

Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Davis scored again, finishing a well-placed pass from Kickers midfielder Brian Ownby to take a 2-0 lead in the 54th minute.

The offensive push continued for Richmond through the second stanza of the match as another foul on the Independence inside their penalty box created another penalty kick opportunity for the Kickers, which was delegated to Davis and converted, pushing Richmond’s lead to three over Charlotte in the 74th minute.

The hat trick was the first for the Kickers since Joseph Ngwenya’s triple on May 11, 2013, against Antigua Barracuda FC.

Over the past two matches at home, Richmond’s forwards have tallied six goals while the goalkeeping of Taylor and D.C. United Loanee Travis Worra have allowed the Kickers to go 180 minutes without an opposing goal against, giving Richmond a record of 2-0-2 and a total of eight points.

The Kickers will begin a two-game road trip, where they will face off against new USL clubs New York Red Bulls II on Wednesday, April 22, and FC Montreal on Saturday, April 25. Richmond returns to City Stadium on Saturday, May 2.

Charlotte returns to action when it hosts the Harrisburg City Islanders on Friday, April 24, at Transamerica Field.