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2025 Richmond Kickers season

Richmond Kickers
2025 season
Chairman22 Holdings, LLC
ManagerDarren Sawatzky
StadiumCity Stadium
USL League One13th
Jägermeister CupGroup stage
U.S. Open CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague: Darwin Espinal (9 goals)
All: Darwin Espinal (9 goals)
Highest home attendance5,542
(v. AV Alta, 22 March 2025)
Lowest home attendance2,827
(v. Union Omaha, 9 April 2025)

The 2025 Richmond Kickers season was the club's 33rd season in existence, their seventh season in USL League One, and their 21st season in the third tier of American soccer. The Kickers were led by sixth-year head coach, Darren Sawatzky. Their USL League One season started on March 7, 2025. This is the first season since 2020 without Zacarías Morán, Nathan Aune, Chris Cole, and Nil Vinyals.

The Kickers worsened in their regular season, finishing 13th in League One, and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2023. They also finished 13th their worst position since 2023, which in that season they finished 11th.

Background

Main article: 2024 Richmond Kickers season

The 2024 season was the club's 32nd season of existence, their fifth season in USL League One, and fourth year under head coach Darren Sawatzky. The Kickers improved from the previous season getting of 6 wins, fifth-teen losses, and eleven draws. With Chandler O'Dwyer leading the club with only eight goals.

Outside of USL League One, the Kickers participated in the U.S. Open Cup, and the league playoffs, which they qualified with an 8th place finish during the regular season. The Kickers reached the third round in the U.S. Open Cup losing to Loudoun United on penalties. The Kickers began the Playoffs on November 3, but would get eliminated in the Quarterfinals.

Transfers

Transfers in

Date Position No. Name From Fee/notes Ref.
December 18, 2024 MF 11 Haiti Rivendi Pierre-Lewis United States FC Motown Free [1]
January 22, 2025 FW 19 Honduras Darwin Espinal United States Maryland Bobcats Free [2]
January 23, 2025 MF 3 United States Hayden Anderson United States Greenville Triumph Free [3]
January 31, 2025 MF 10 Germany Nils Seufert Norway Jerv Free [4]
January 27, 2025 GK 35 United States James Sneddon United States Richmond Strikers Free [5]
January 31, 2025 FW 40 United States Nick Sarrantos United States Richmond Strikers Academy contract [6]
January 31, 2025 MF 42 United States Grafton Kahl United States Richmond Strikers Academy contract [6]
January 31, 2025 DF 39 United States Brendan Dobzyniak United States Richmond Strikers Academy contract [6]
January 31, 2025 DF 41 United States Andrew Richman United States Richmond Strikers Academy contract [6]
February 6, 2025 DF 15 Uganda Jonathan Kanagwa Free Agent Free [7]
February 18, 2025 FW 33 United States Matt Bolduc Free Agent Free [8]
May 6, 2025 MF 43 United States Jonathan Gomez United States Richmond Strikers Academy contract [9]
July 9, 2025 MF 6 United States Ryan Baer United States Tacoma Defiance Loan deal [10]
July 10, 2025 DF 25 United States Marcelo Lage United States Spokane Velocity $170k [11]

Transfers out

Date Position No. Name To Fee/notes Ref.
August 1, 2024 MF 33 United States Gabe Cox United States Furman Paladins Free
August 1, 2024 DF 39 United States Noah Hiort-Wright United States College of William & Mary Free
August 1, 2024 MF 37 Jamaica Nicholas Simmonds Richmond Strikers Academy Contract expired
December 1, 2024 MF 6 Argentina Zacarías Morán Spain CA Pulpileño Free
December 1, 2024 MF 19 United States Justin Sukow Retired
December 1, 2024 FW 9 United States Arthur Bosua Retired
December 1, 2024 DF 24 United States Nathan Aune None Free
December 1, 2024 MF 8 Brazil João Silva None Free
December 1, 2024 DF 3 United States Chris Cole None Free
December 1, 2024 FW 15 United States Tony Pineda United States Carolina Core Free
January 5, 2025 GK 13 United States Ryan Shellow Retired Free
January 6, 2025 FW 11 United States Ryan Sierakowski Retired
February 21, 2025 MF 10 Spain Nil Vinyals United States Spokane Velocity Free [12]

Non-competitive

Preseason

Friendlies

July 16 Friendly Richmond Kickers United States 1–1 Spain Leganés Richmond, VA
7:30 PM EDT O'Dwyer 27' García 34' Stadium: City Stadium

Competitions

USL League One

Table

Main article: 2025 USL League One season


Pos Team Pld W L T GF GA GD Pts
10 Forward Madison FC 30 8 11 11 31 43 −12 35
11 Greenville Triumph SC 30 8 14 8 38 43 −5 32
12 Texoma FC 30 7 14 9 35 55 −20 30
13 Richmond Kickers 30 8 17 5 43 53 −10 29
14 Westchester SC 30 5 16 9 43 59 −16 24
Source: USL League One
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) points earned against top four finishers; 6) disciplinary points; 7) drawing of lots.

Matches

March 7 1 South Georgia Tormenta 2–4 Richmond Kickers Statesboro, GA
7:00 p.m. EDT Tunbridge 24, 45+1' Report Anderson 19'
Cela Yellow card 23'
O'Dwyer 34'
Barnathan 41'
Barnathan Yellow card 45+3'
Seufert 74'		 Stadium: Optim Sports Medicine Field
Attendance: 911
Referee: John Motto
Assistant referees: Hillis Waddell
Assistant referees: Patrick Slane
Fourth official: Amin Hadzic
March 15 2 Charlotte Independence 1–0 Richmond Kickers Charlotte, NC
7:00 p.m. EDT Sorenson 50' Report Stadium: American Legion Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 956
Referee: Joe Surgan
Assistant referees: Max Smith
Assistant referees: Audra Fullen
Fourth official: Lauren Aldrich
March 22 3 Richmond Kickers 3–1 AV Alta Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT O'Dwyer 45+1'
Terzaghi 51, 73'		 Report Cerritos 8'
Alassane Red card 74'		 Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 5,542
Referee: Deshun Beard
Assistant referees: Chris Schurfranz
Assistant referees: Adam Cook
Fourth official: Amelia Graytock
March 29 4 Richmond Kickers 1–2 Forward Madison Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT Espinal 50' Report Gebhard 40, 48' Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 4,576
Referee: Deny Kulasinac
Assistant referees: Sarah Gaddes
Fourth official: Nicholas Karnovsky
April 9 5 Richmond Kickers 1–0 Union Omaha Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Espinal 82' Report Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 2,827
Referee: Ryan Homik
Assistant referees: Patrick Slane
Fourth official: Arman Becan
April 12 6 FC Naples 2–1 Richmond Kickers Collier County, FL
7:00 p.m. EDT Ferrín 8'
Henderlong 22'		 Report Espinal 35' Stadium: Paradise Coast Sports Complex
Attendance: 4,005
Referee: Amin Hadzic
Assistant referees: Alexandru Focea
Fourth official: Kyle Cividanes
April 19 7 Richmond Kickers 4–4 Westchester Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT Espinal 2', 32'
Kirkland 63', 90+9'		 Report Powder 8'
Powder 53'
McGlynn 83'
Obregón 90+7' (pen.)		 Stadium: City Stadium
Referee: Marie Durr
Assistant referees: Robert Cordley
Fourth official: Chuck Roberts
May 2 8 Richmond Kickers 3−3 Greenville Triumph Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Kirkland 3', 39'
O'Dwyer 80'		 Report Evans 31'
Zakowski 33'
Agyaakwah 84'		 Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 5,023
Referee: Edson Carvajal
Assistant referees: Andrew Charron
Fourth official: Nickrod Fateh
May 10 9 Chattanooga Red Wolves 0–0 Richmond Kickers East Ridge, TN
7:00 p.m. EDT Report Stadium: CHI Memorial Stadium
Referee: Muhammad Kaleida
Assistant referees: Brian Marshall
Fourth official: Amin Hadzic
May 18 10 Spokane Velocity 1–0 Richmond Kickers Spokane, WA
7:00 p.m. EDT Miller Red card
Peláez 44'		 Report Stadium: One Spokane Stadium
Attendance: 2,644
Referee: Calin Radosav
Assistant referees: Ryan Jung
Fourth official: Serghei Celan
May 25 11 Westchester 2–2 Richmond Kickers Mt Vernon, NY
2:00 p.m. EDT Saydee 9'
Obregón 29'		 Report Espinal 32'
Bolduc 47'		 Stadium: The Stadium at Memorial Field
Referee: Muhammad Hassan
June 7 12 Richmond Kickers 1–2 Texoma Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Kirkland 7' Baker 19'
Asanté 73'		 Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 3,908
Referee: Servando Berna Rico
June 21 13 Richmond Kickers 0–1 Spokane Velocity Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Report Brett 7' Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 3,879
Referee: Atahan Yaya
June 25 14 Union Omaha 3–4 Richmond Kickers Papillion, NE
8:00 p.m. EDT Faz 21'
Gallardo 58' (pen.)
Bronnik 84'		 Billhardt 12'
Knapp 14' (o.g.)
Kirkland 44', 50'		 Stadium: Werner Park
Attendance: 2,388
July 12 15 Richmond Kickers 0–2 Chattanooga Red Wolves Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Report Bentley 68' (pen.)
Lombardi 73'		 Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 4,661
July 20 16 Greenville Triumph 2–0 Richmond Kickers Greenville, SC
7:00 p.m. EDT Herrera 20' (pen.)
Sims 72'		 Stadium: Paladin Stadium
Attendance: 1,643
August 2 17 Richmond Kickers 1–2 Naples Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Johnson 12' Purpa 59'
Henderlong 63'		 Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 4,393
August 9 18 Hearts of Pine 0–0 Richmond Kickers Portland, MN
5:00 p.m. EDT Stadium: Fitzpatrick Stadium
Attendance: 5,796
Referee: Atayan Yaya
August 16 19 Richmond Kickers 2–3 South Georgia Tormenta Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Cela 40'
Espinal 70'		 Tunbridge 19' (pen.)
Cabral 31'
Reid-Stephen 73'		 Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 4,094
Referee: Atayan Yaya
August 21 20 One Knoxville 2–0
 Richmond Kickers Knoxville, TN
7:00 p.m. EDT Gøling 15'
Diene 53'		 Stadium: Covenant Health Park
Attendance: 4,126
Referee: Trevor Wiseman
Note: The match was suppose to take place on June 13
August 23 21 Richmond Kickers 1–0 One Knoxville Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Lage 33' Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 4,126
Referee: Atayan Yaya
September 3 22 Westchester 0–2 Richmond Kickers Mount Vernon, NY
7:00 p.m. EDT Terzaghi 8'
Johnson 45+1'		 Stadium: The Stadium at Memorial Field
Attendance: 1,209
Referee: Izlen Peksenar
September 13 23 Forward Madison 1–0 Richmond Kickers Madison, WI
7:00 p.m. EDT Sousa 90+3' Stadium: Breese Stevens Field
Attendance: 5,010
Referee: Drew Klemp
September 17 24 Richmond Kickers 2–5 Portland Hearts of Pine Richmond, VA
6:30 p.m. EDT Espinal 21'
Anderson 76'		 Varela 12'
Wright 27' (pen.)
Wada 52', 69', 84'		 Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 3,242
Referee: Katja Koroleva
September 20 25 Richmond Kickers 2–3 Charlotte Independence Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT Espinal 38'
O'Dwyer 90' (pen.)		 Chaney 34', 53'
Ndiaye 45'		 Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 4,285
September 27 26 South Georgia Tormenta 4–2 Richmond Kickers Statesboro, GA
7:00 p.m. EDT Bazini 17'
Reid-Stephen 20', 76'
Gray 69'		 Seufert 53'
Kirkland 72'		 Stadium: Tormenta Stadium
Referee: Drew Klemp
October 4 27 Richmond Kickers 2–1 One Knoxville Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT Billhardt 23'
Schenfeld 40'		 Brown 34' Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 5,509
Referee: Carlos Rodriguez
October 11 28 Texoma 1–0 Richmond Kickers Sherman, TX
8:00 p.m. EDT McManus 59' Stadium: Historic Bearcat Stadium
Attendance: 1,576
Referee: Muhammad Hassan
October 17 29 AV Alta 2–0 Richmond Kickers Lancaster, CA
10:30 p.m. EDT Cerritos 40'
Villalobos 61'		 Stadium: Lancaster Municipal Stadium
Attendance: 5,251
Referee: Matthew Thompson
October 25 30 Richmond Kickers 5–1 One Knoxville Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT Seufert 36', 71'
Terzaghi 38'
Lage 45+3'
Billhardt 63'		 Dourado 23' Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 5,509
Referee: Carlos Rodriguez

U.S. Open Cup

Main article: 2025 U.S. Open Cup
March 19 First round Richmond Kickers (USL1) Virginia 1–3 Virginia Virginia Dream FC (VSSL) Richmond, VA
7:30 p.m. EDT Vaughan 45+1'
  • Lukulia 8' (pen.)
  • Suchecki 53'
  • Akinkoye 61'
 Stadium: City Stadium
Referee: John Griggs

Jägermeister Cup

Main article: 2025 USL Cup

Group stage

Pos Lg Team Pld W PKW PKL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 USLC Loudoun United FC 4 2 1 1 0 5 3 +2 9 Advance to knockout stage
2 USL1 Charlotte Independence 4 2 1 1 0 8 4 +4 9
3 USLC Louisville City FC 4 3 0 0 1 8 4 +4 9
4 USLC Lexington SC 4 1 0 1 2 6 5 +1 4
5 USLC North Carolina FC 4 1 1 0 2 3 4 −1 5
6 USL1 Richmond Kickers 4 0 0 0 4 1 11 −10 0
Updated to match(es) played on July 26, 2025 (2025-07-26). Source: USL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points earned in group play; 3) total wins in group play; 4) goals for in group play; 5) goals against in group play; 6) disciplinary points; 7) coin toss.
Matches
April 26 1 Louisville City 4–1 Richmond Kickers Louisville, KY
7:30 p.m. EDT Perez 45+3'
Serrano 55'
Gleadle 62'
Perez 87'		 Report Seufert 58' Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium
Referee: Drew Klempt
Assistant referees: Christian Little
Fourth official: Donald Williams
May 31 2 Richmond Kickers 0–1 North Carolina Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT Luckhurst 81' Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 4,753
Referee: Alex Beehler
June 28 3 Richmond Kickers 0–3 Lexington SC Richmond, VA
7:00 PM EDT Ajago 10'
Epps 31'
Burke 90'		 Stadium: City Stadium
Attendance: 3,290
July 26 4 Charlotte Independence 0–3 Richmond Kickers Charlotte, NC
7:00 PM EDT Jauregui 11'
Moshobane 51'
Ousmanou 90+5'		 Stadium: American Legion Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 628
Referee: Luis Arroyo

Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of November 24, 2025. Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute.
No. Pos Nat Player Total USL1 USL.1 Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Jägermeister Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Chile CHI Pablo Jara 9 0 3+1 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 4+0 0
2 MF United States USA Dakota Barnathan 29 1 25+0 1 0+0 0 1+0 0 3+0 0
3 MF United States USA Hayden Anderson 30 2 7+19 2 0+0 0 0+0 0 3+1 0
4 DF United States USA Simon Fitch 35 0 30+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 4+0 0
5 DF Chile CHI Maxi Schenfeld 27 1 19+5 1 0+0 0 1+0 0 0+2 0
6 MF United States USA Ryan Baer 10 0 4+6 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
7 FW United States USA Landon Johnson 18 2 4+11 2 0+0 0 0+0 0 2+1 0
9 FW United States USA Josh Kirkland 33 8 22+7 8 0+0 0 1+0 0 3+0 0
10 MF Germany GER Nils Seufert 32 5 26+2 4 0+0 0 1+0 0 3+0 1
11 MF Haiti HAI Rivendi Pierre-Lewis 5 0 0+3 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+2 0
14 DF Brazil BRA Guilherme França 21 0 10+6 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 3+1 0
16 DF Canada CAN Klaidi Cela 21 1 16+2 1 0+0 0 0+1 0 1+1 0
17 MF England ENG James Vaughan 20 1 7+10 0 0+0 0 1+0 1 1+1 0
18 MF Uganda UGA Jonathan Kanagwa 11 0 1+8 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+1 0
19 FW Honduras HON Darwin Espinal 29 9 25+1 9 0+0 0 1+0 0 2+0 0
20 MF Germany GER Adrian Billhardt 24 3 7+15 3 0+0 0 0+1 0 0+1 0
25 DF United States USA Marcelo Lage 7 2 6+0 2 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0
27 FW England ENG Chandler O'Dwyer 31 4 23+5 4 0+0 0 0+1 0 1+1 0
32 FW Argentina ARG Emiliano Terzaghi 26 4 19+5 4 0+0 0 0+1 0 0+1 0
33 MF United States USA Matt Bolduc 17 1 7+7 1 0+0 0+0 1+0 0 1+1 0
34 DF United States USA Beckett Howell 25 0 15+6 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 4+0 0
35 GK United States USA James Sneddon 27 0 27+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
38 DF United States USA Griffin Garnett 25 0 17+4 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 3+0 0
39 DF United States USA Brendan Dobzyniak 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
40 FW United States USA Nick Sarantakos 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
41 MF United States USA Andrew Richman 1 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
42 DF United States USA Grafton Kahl 3 0 0+2 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
43 MF United States USA Jonathan Gomez 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0

References

  1. ^ McGinley, Mannion (December 18, 2024). "Richmond Kickers sign Rivendi Melvin Pierre-Louis". Richmond Kickers.
  2. ^ McGinley, Mannion (January 22, 2025). "Golden Ball winner Darwin Espinal signs with the Kickers for 2025". Richmond Kickers.
  3. ^ McGinley, Mannion (January 23, 2025). "Hayden Anderson brings his talent to the Kickers, signs with the club for '25". Richmond Kickers.
  4. ^ McGinley, Mannion (January 24, 2025). "Richmond Kickers add German motor to the midfield". Richmond Kickers.
  5. ^ McGinley, Mannion (January 27, 2025). "James Sneddon Goes Pro". Richmond Kickers.
  6. ^ a b c d McGinley, Mannion (January 31, 2025). "Richmond Kickers sign new Academy class for 2025". Richmond Kickers.
  7. ^ McGinley, Mannion (February 6, 2025). "Kickers sign VCU grad, A10 Champ Jonathan Kanagwa". Richmond Kickers.
  8. ^ "Players' Shield winner Matt Bolduc returns to Richmond". USL League One. February 18, 2025.
  9. ^ McGinley, Mannion (May 6, 2025). "Jonathan Gomez joins Kickers 2025 Academy Class". Richmond Kickers.
  10. ^ Mannion, McGinley (July 9, 2025). "Kickers sign Ryan Baer on loan from Seattle Sounders". Richmond Kickers.
  11. ^ McGinley, Mannion (July 10, 2025). "Marcelo Lage signs with the Kickers, bolsters backline". Richmond Kickers.
  12. ^ "Velocity FC Lands a Vaunted Veteran with Midfielder Nil Vinyals". USL Spokane. February 21, 2025.
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