Cary, NC – North Carolina FC defeated the Richmond Kickers in a thrilling come-from-behind victory on Wednesday night.
Richmond struck twice in the first half on a pair of goals from João Gomiero that came within four minutes of each other. The first was a shot from well outside the left side of the box that caught goalkeeper Nick Holliday off guard. It was the second match in a row in which the NCFC goalkeeper let one in from nearly the same spot.
The goal was Gomiero’s first as a Kicker and would go on to be featured as the number three play of the day on ESPN’s Sports Center top ten last night.
Minutes later, Gomiero scored his second on a perfect cross from Simon Fitch, who beat NCFC star Rafa Mentzingen near the end line to send the ball to the center of the box.
Richmond and its top-ranked defense could not have asked for anything better than taking a 2-0 lead into halftime against the top team in the league. This was especially important with striker Emiliano Terzaghi out as a surprise scratch, and the squad already without regulars Nil Vinyals and Dakota Barnathan.
NCFC made two key changes to start the half, sending on Oalex Anderson and Jaden Servania in place of Shak Adams and Raheem Somersall. This tactical move showed that coach John Bradford was not going down without a fight.
The gamble paid off in the 62nd minute, as Anderson braced a bad clearance attempt by Richmond into the net to bring the hosts within one. The goal was Anderson’s third of the year.
Louis Pérez provided the equalizer in the 73rd minute on the rebound of an Akira Fitzgerald save of a Mentzingen shot. Pérez was able to kick the ball over a sprawled Fitzgerald from an angle that would be difficult for most to net his fourth of the year.
North Carolina FC Match Notes
We mentioned in our match preview that NCFC could win this if they either got production from their secondary players, or if the trio of Anderson, Mentzingen, and Pérez could figure out how to break through Richmond’s tough defenses. It ended up being mostly the latter, with secondary forward McLaughlin’s assistance.
One of NCFC’s secondary strengths this season is a bench that runs deep with league experience. Many of the bench players previously had starting roles, and while the seasons in which they were starting were not good, the experience they bring in backing up the influx of talent signed in the offseason is invaluable. Bradford went with two holding midfielders in Adams and Somersall in the first half, only to have fresh starting-quality attackers in Anderson and Servania come in for the second half.
Pérez is now tied for second in the league in goals at four, and tied for first in non-penalty kick goals.
Moving forward: NCFC now has a two-win lead in the table with 19 points. Second-place Charlotte Independence (13 points) hosts NCFC on Sunday. The clubs previously played to a 1-1 draw back in April. It’s the start of a difficult three-match road swing where they’ll also travel to Knoxville and Madison before returning home on June 18th to face Lexington.
Richmond Kickers Match Notes
Coach Darren Sawatzky was forced to make adjustments as star striker and captain Emiliano Terzaghi was a late scratch for unannounced reasons. In addition, normal center-back Dakota Barnathan and midfielder Nil Vinyals were out with injuries. Luke Pavone got the start up front, flanked by Kharlton Belmar and Matt Bentley, while João Gomiero continued his role in Vinyals’ spot.
We mentioned in the match preview that Richmond’s best bet was to score early and hold on, and they took care of the first part with Gomiero’s two goals. However, the defense could not withstand an NCFC star-studded offense that came alive after the 60th minute with the addition of Anderson and Servania to start the second half.
One of Richmond’s weaknesses is the opposite of NCFC, in that the Kickers do not have a very deep bench when more than two regulars are out of the roster, especially when two of those regulars are defensive contributors. This made it difficult to boost the defense in the second half in the face of an already potent NCFC offense becoming stronger with the entrance of Anderson and Servania.
On the bench, Richmond had two academy defenders (Otavio Zerbini and Beckett Howell), a first-year pro defender (Jake Mecham), a utility midfielder who only has regular backup minutes and one questionable start at forward this season (Chandler O’Dwyer), and forwards Owayne Gordon and David Olsen. Sawatzky had to go with O’Dwyer, Gordon, Olsen, and Mecham as second-half subs, choosing experience over position specialty, with Howell not appearing until the 90th minute. His counterpart had the option of both on his bench, with a roster full of regulars.
Moving forward: Richmond goes into the weekend stuck in 7th place with ten points. They’ll host 10th-place Lexington on Saturday before traveling to South Georgia on the 27th.
While this is no time to let up, Lexington will be Richmond’s lowest-ranked opponent all season based on the current overall performance of previous opponents. Richmond’s running strength of schedule is top of the league, but Lexington is no slouch, having faced the fourth most difficult schedule so far this season.