Richmond Kickers vs. Union Omaha
Friday, May 5, 7:00 pm EST
City Stadium
Richmond Kickers host Union Omaha on a Friday night match at City Stadium. Both clubs finished up the month of April with wins; Richmond downed defending champs Tormenta FC and Omaha handed Hailstorm FC its first defeat.
Richmond struggled to score goals until the Tormenta match. The Kickers had two goals in four matches entering that one, and broke out for three. Reigning Golden Boot winner Emilano Terzaghi finally landed his first in the Tormenta match.
Richmond continues to be without the services of early season league player of the month Nil Vinyals. The midfielder exited the match against Hailstorm FC on April 15th and has not appeared since. No word on his availability this weekend, but Justin Sukow stepped up against Tormenta to fill in the loss. Sukow scored his first goal as a Kicker in the 41st minute.
Richmond leads the league in shot conversion rate at 18%. At the same time, they are last in the league in shots. When they do shoot, they make it count. However, the club has struggled to open shooting lanes for Emiliano Terzaghi, and his only goal comes from a free kick.
Richmond’s defense and goalkeeping has been able to keep the club afloat while it figured out its offensive struggles. The club is tied for second in clean sheets and is 10th in goals conceded at 3. Goalkeeping had been led by Will Palmquist, replacing veteran starter Akira Fitzgerald while the latter was out on paternity leave, but Fitzgerald returned for the Tormenta match.
Union Omaha struggled to score in 2022, but so far hasn’t had many issues this season. The Owls have a modest seven goals in five matches, including three from its 2022 leader Noe Meza.
A big part of Omaha’s rejuvination is the addition of Steevan dos Santos, who provides a scoring threat as well as sizable cover for Meza. The forward has one goal on seven shots and four chances created.
Luis Gil and Meza lead the team with seven chances created apiece. Gil also has assisted on two goals this season.
Omaha is backed by reigning goalkeeper of the year Rashid Nuhu, who has two clean sheets in five matches.
Richmond Kickers Absent / Questionable: Ethan Vanacore-Decker (long-term injured), Nil Vinyals
Union Omaha Absent / Questionable: Eddie Gordon, Stefan Mueller (injury)
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC vs. Tormenta FC
Friday, May 5, 7:30 pm EST
CHI Memorial Stadium, Chattanooga, TN
The first rematch of the 2022 championship game takes place in East Ridge as Red Wolves SC hosts Tormenta FC.
The Red Wolves are coming off of an exciting come from behind win over Lexington SC in which they erased a 1-0 deficit late in the second half and walked away with a 3-1 win. Nico Cardona headed in a Riley Kraft corner kick to get things started, and then newcomers Ropapa Mensah and Mayele Malango finished the job.
Chattanooga struggled to score goals, having just two in four matches prior to last week, with three of those matches having no goals. Of their five goals, all have come from different players and different lines, showing the potential of a strong attack from across the roster.
Carlos Avilez has started three of the five matches in goal, with one clean sheet. Long-time professional and Guatemalan national goalkeeper Ricardo Jérez has the other two starts, including the last match in the win over Lexington.
The club’s two wins come at the expense of Lexington SC and One Knox SC, both expansion clubs. A win or a draw against fourth place Tormenta would certainly boost confidence.
Tormenta continues to miss the services of 2022’s Golden Boot runner up and playoff hero Kazaiah Sterling, who has only appeared in one match this season. The star striker suffered a head injury in pre-season, but the club states he is expected back sometime in the next few matches. Arthur Bosua is also slated to return in the next few matches, but neither is expected in the roster tonight. Midfielder Matheus Cassini is also expected out tonight due to an injury suffered in practice this week.
Even without Sterling, Tormenta is tied for third in the league with 8 goals scored, with Jackson Khoury leading the pack with three. Khoury also leads the team with 13 chances created.
Tormenta FC is backstopped by Pablo Jara and TJ Bush, who have four appearances (Bush replaced Jara in one match due to injury), five saves, and one clean sheet apiece. Jara has conceded 6 goals, while Bush has conceded 5. With almost identical stats and solid histories from both, coach Ian Cameron has his pick of two starter-quality keepers, rather than a starter and a backup.
Red Wolves SC Absent / Questionable: Jackson Brady, Christian Enriquez (injury), Yahir Paez (injury), Richard Rentería (visa)
Tormenta FC Absent / Questionable: Arthur Bosua (injury), Matheus Cassini (injury), Kazaiah Sterling (injury)
Central Valley Fuego FC vs. North Carolina FC
Friday, May 5, 2023, 10:00 pm EST / 7:00 pm PST
Fresno State Soccer Stadium, Fresno, CA
To say that Fuego FC has been struggling since its lone win over Chattanooga FC is an understatement. The squad looked lost at most times during the last five matches, a period which has seen them with no wins, one draw, and four losses. Worse, all four losses were shutouts, and the lone draw only saw one goal.
Fuego FC is last in goals, near the bottom in shots, and last in shot conversion rate. They’ve also been handed two red cards, the last called against Mohammed Dabo in the 9th minute of the One Knox match last weekend.
Chalk it up to injuries, indiscipline, and perhaps, their marquee off-season signing who still has not appeared in the regular season. If the club’s roster was designed around José Carrera-García without a backup plan, it shows. On the bright side, there are indications that Carrera-García may be close to joining the roster after weeks of delay due to visa issues.
EDIT: soon after we published this article, the club indicated that Carrera-García is indeed eligible. So we’re now on JCG watch to see if he’ll debut tonight or wait a match.
Fuego FC signed striker Billy Forbes this week, a 32 year old USL Championship journeyman who last appeared with Detroit City last season. 2021 was his last season with regular minutes, where he scored seven goals and three assists for Miami FC. No word on his fitness level or availability for this week.
The matchup against NCFC could not be more lopsided right now. After six matches apiece, NCFC sits top of the table with ten goals on 24 shots on target; Fuego FC has an anemic two goals with only 11 shots on target.
NCFC finds itself top of the USL League One table for the first time since joining the league. The club is led by winger/midfielder Rafa Mentzingen, who currently leads the league with five goals on 22 shots.
Mentzingen is accompanied by a dangerous combination of Oalex Anderson and Louis Pérez, each of whom has two goals. Anderson has two assists, along with dynamic midfielder Mikey Maldonado, while Pérez has ten chances created.
Maldonado also leads the team in clearances and tackles, showcasing his two-way abilities in the midfield.
Young goalkeeper Nick Holliday has started all six matches, with 13 saves, one clean sheet and five goals conceded. Holliday has one save on a penalty kick as well.
Fuego FC absent / questionable: Ofek Antman (injury), José Carrea-García (visa/fitness), Abdul Cromwell (injury), Mohammed Dabo (red card suspension), Billy Forbes (fitness), Sam Strong (injury)
NCFC absent / questionable: Luke Croll, Daniel Navarro, Pecka, Louis Perez