With midweek US Open Cup action, it was a busy week in USL League One. By last night, multiple teams were playing their third match in eight or nine days. But ask almost any of the coaches and players, and they will reiterate that it is a privilege to play, and managing these schedules is all part of the game.
Here’s a rundown of the regular season action we saw this weekend.
Richmond 1-3 South Georgia | Knoxville 2-0 Lexington | Greenville 0-0 Madison | Spokane 1-0 Northern Colorado
Richmond 1-3 South Georgia
City Stadium, Richmond
Attendance: 4,523
Both sides were seeking their first regular season win at City Stadium on Saturday. The injury-depleted Kickers were coming off a US Open Cup win, but a loss to Spokane last weekend. The new-look Tormenta side was also victorious in US Open Cup action, but had yet to win in two regular season matches.
For Richmond, 17-year-old academy star Nick Simmonds got the start at striker over veteran Arthur Bosua, with Emiliano Terzaghi injured. Flanked by Ryan Sierakowski and Adrian Billhard, it was Sierakowski with the best chance in the first half, a header saved by Tormenta keeper Ford Parker.
With few opportunities for Simmonds in the first half, coach Darren Sawatzky quickly subbed in Bosua in the 56th minute of the second half. Bosua injected life into the offense, with four quality shots on target, all of which ran into Parker’s brick wall in net.
Richmond dominated on possession, but had multiple chances shut down by Tormenta’s defense. A healthy Tormenta back line that includes Jake Dengler, Preston Kilwien, Nick Akoto and Aaron Lombardi, backed by Parker, may end up ranking among the best in the league this season.
It was long time veteran Conor Doyle who got the first of Tormenta’s three goals, nailing a deflection from an initial Sierakowski block of an Akoto shot. The second half saw Ajmeer Spengler strip a ball from Richmond defender Simon Fitch, and after dribbling through several Richmond players, sent a long pass to Niall Watson who scored on a one on one encounter with Richmond keeper Pablo Jara.
Richmond got on the board late in the match when a James Vaughan cross took a bad deflection off Tormenta defender Kilwien for an own goal. However, late in stoppage time, Tormenta put it away after Richmond defender Dakota Barnathan fell on a clearance attempt, sending the ball to Gabriel Rodriguez who passed to Mason Tunbridge for an easy goal.
Richmond will have next weekend off, and will host Maryland Bobcats in US Open Cup action on April 3, followed by a visit from Central Valley Fuego on April 6. Tormenta will travel to Knoxville on March 30.
Knoxville 2-0 Lexington
Regal Soccer Stadium, Knoxville
Attendance: 1,975
It was a rough week for Lexington, after being the only league side to lose in the opening round of the US Open Cup this week. But the side will have to wait another week to bounce back, after falling to a red-hot Knoxville squad.
One Knox dominated possession and shots for most of the match, and broke through a scoreless draw in the 70th minute. Angelo Kelly-Rosales passed to Kempes Tekiela who bounced it right back to Kelly-Rosales’ head, finding Rodolfo Castro who lobbed the ball over the head of Lexington goalkeeper Amal Knight.
Stuart Ritchie would put it away in the 88th minute with a left-footed shot on a breakaway fed by Rich Ballard. Knoxville now has two wins in two regular season matches, almost making it look easy at times against a highly touted Lexington squad.
There’s still plenty of season for the tide to turn on either team, but for now, Knoxville holds on to the barrel, and is looking like the most dangerous team in the league. Meanwhile Lexington, despite having the pieces, appears lost.
Lexington will host Greenville on Friday, while Knoxville will host Tormenta on Saturday.
Greenville 0-0 Madison
Paladin Stadium, Greenville
Attendance: 1,683
Greenville’s defense largely neutralized what should have been a goal-scoring tandem of Christian Chaney and Juan Galindrez, both of whom got the start at the top of a 4-4-2 formation for the first time this season. The Mingos were limited to just one shot on target, an 18th minute set piece attempt from defender Timmy Mehl.
But it was Bernd Schipmann who kept Madison in the match, saving four, including a Leo Castro penalty kick. Madison once again departs with a point, but remains in search of its first regular season win of the season.
Greenville will travel to Lexington, while Madison will travel to Fresno to face Fuego FC, both on Friday.
Spokane 1-0 Northern Colorado
ONE Spokane Stadium, Spokane
Attendance: 3,376
In another defensive battle, Spokane edged Northern Colorado on a Luis Gil penalty conversion. Northern Colorado defender Johnny Fenwick had a bad tackle on Gil in the box, which Gil converted just to the right of keeper Lalo Delgado.
Hailstorm saw the season debut of Billy King, easing him in the match in the 73rd minute. This brings Northern Colorado close to full strength with next weekend off to regroup. They’ll see action again on April 3rd, at Colorado Rapids 2 in US Open Cup action, followed by a visit to Greenville on April 6th.
Spokane will have another quick turnaround this week, traveling to Charlotte on Thursday.