BEAVERCREEK, OH – The Richmond Kickers snapped the Dayton Dutch Lions’ 10-game unbeaten streak with a hard-fought 3-2 win at
Beavercreek
High School Saturday night. The end-to-end action saw Brandon Swartzendruber give the Dutch Lions a 4th minute lead, which they carried through the first 45 minutes until a pair of Luke Vercollone tallies, followed by
a Michael Seaton goal put the Kickers on top in the second half.
Dayton defender Greg Preciado pulled a goal back with three
minutes remaining in regulation but the Kickers defense shut down the
home side’s late-game attack to extend their undefeated streak to 15
games and put them within a point of league-leading
Orlando
City at the top of the USL PRO table.
With
their unbeaten stretch on the line, the Dutch Lions jumped out to an
early lead when midfielder Gibson Bardsley swept through the
midfield, stole the ball and darted towards the box. He laid off a
square ball to Swartzendruber who was making a parallel run down the
right flank, playing him in 1v1 with Kickers goalkeeper, Ryan Jones. As
Jones came off his line to challenge, the swift
Dutch Lions forward buried a low ball into the far left corner.
The home side continued their offensive pressure until the 17th
minute when the Kickers saw their first opportunity to level
the score. Midfielder Nate Robinson sent an inswinging corner into the
box, connecting with Jason Yeisley at the penalty spot but his
marksman’s lunging header soared just wide of the target.
Later,
the Dutch Lions saw two dangerous chances thwarted within a 60-second
span when Eli Garner and Bardsley teamed up in the 33rd
minute. Heavily marked on the left wing, Garner controlled the ball
and slotted it through traffic but came up a foot short of his target as
Bardsley could not reach in time as the cross skimmed past the
upright. Seconds later, Garner intercepted the ball
on the right wing and fed it through to Bardsley but this time, Jones
was not to be deceived, as the Kickers 6’6” keeper smothered the ball at
his feet.
The
Kickers retaliated four minutes later when a long ball down the right
flank was deflected out to Michael Callahan who played a through
ball to Yeisley at the top of the box but the midfielder’s gritty
strike was read by Dayton goalkeeper Matt Williams who parried it over
the endline.
Looking
to level the score before the halftime break, the Kickers attempted to
capitalize on a free kick 30 yards out. Defender Sascha
Görres served the ball to the far post, but Yeisley’s header was
directed astray, sending the visitors into the locker room trailing 1-0.
Ten
minutes into the second half, the Kickers took the wind out of the
Dutch Lions’ sails when Robinson took control of the ball at
the top of the box and drew defenders wide before centering the ball
for an unmarked Seaton just inside the 18. As the 17-year old forward
lined up his point blank shot, he was taken down by Preciado and
Vercollone made no mistake on the resulting spot kick.
The tides turned with the decisive penalty and the Kickers gained the lead in the 59th
minute when Yeisley delivered a powerful
throw in from the left wing into a teeming box. Williams flew off his
line to punch the ball from harm’s way but his poor clearance fell
directly to Vercollone who volleyed home his second goal of the night.
The Kickers broadened their lead in the 71st
minute when Görres delivered a long ball down the left channel, finding
Seaton
deep in Dutch Lions territory. Taking a touch around his defender, he
cut inside but his shot from 16 yards out took a wicked deflection that
left Williams off balance as the ball met the far right corner.
The
Dutch Lions regrouped and pulled a goal back just before the end of
regulation when the ball pinged around in a flurry of activity
in the Kickers box before eventually falling to a well-placed Garner on
the right edge. With time to spare, he settled the ball and lofted it
into the swarming box before Preciado, stationed at the six yard box,
nodded the rebound into the back of the net.
With
six minutes of stoppage time on their side, the Dutch Lions nearly
leveled the score when a long throw in from the right side met
all 11 Dayton players in the box but their last-gasp effort skimmed just over the bar to send the Kickers home with three points.
The
Kickers continue their month-long road swing with a back-to-back trip
next week when they travel to the Rochester Rhinos on Friday,
July 12 and the Harrisburg City Islanders on Saturday, July 13. Both matches will be available live from Sahlen’s Stadium and Skyline Sports Complex at 7:35 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively on USLnation.com.
Box Score First Half Second Half Final
Dayton
1 1 2
Richmond
0 3 3
Scoring Summary
4th minute:
Dayton - Brandon Swartzendruber (Gibson Bardsley)
56th minute:
Richmond - Luke Vercollone (Penalty)
59th minute:
Richmond - Luke Vercollone (Jason Yeisley)
71st minute:
Richmond - Michael Seaton (Sascha Görres)
87th minute:
Dayton – Greg Preciado (Joe Madigan)
Lineups
Dutch Lions:
GK Matt Williams, Brock Granger, Gregory Preciado, Matt Wyatt, Shane
Smith (Joe Broekhuizen – 82’), Joel DeLass, Shintaro Harada, Irakli
Khutsidze (Joey Madigan – 74’), Gibson Bardsley, Eli Garner, Brandon
Swartzendruber (Tjeerd Westdijk – 67’)
Kickers:
GK Ryan Jones, Luke Vercollone, William Yomby, Henry
Kalungi, Alex Lee, Sascha Görres, Joseph Ngwenya (Matthew Delicate –
84’), Nate Robinson (Juan Arbelaez – 84’), Mike Callahan, Jason Yeisley,
Michael Seaton
Shots
Kickers: 12 Kickers: 3 Kickers: 8 Kickers: 2
Dutch Lions: 10 Dutch Lions: 5 Dutch Lions: 10 Dutch Lions: 3
Cautions:
40th minute: Eli Garner (Dayton)
47th minute: Alex Lee (Richmond)
80th minute: Tjeerd Westdijk (Dayton)
Ejections:
None.
Referee:
Assistant Referees:
Justin Grider, Kyle Maust
Fourth Official:
Attendance:
Weather:
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