2021 Richmond Kickers season

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Owner22 Holdings, LLC
Head coachDarren Sawatzky
Richmond Kickers
2021 season
Owner22 Holdings, LLC
Head coachDarren Sawatzky
StadiumCity Stadium
USL League One5th
USL1 PlayoffsQuarterfinals
U.S. Open CupDid not qualify
Bon Secours CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague: Terzaghi (18)
All: Terzaghi (18)
Highest home attendance3,212 (10/26 v. MAD)
Lowest home attendance1,445 (8/14 v. NE)
Average home league attendance2,051
Biggest winNE 0–3 RIC (4/17)
Biggest defeatNC 4–0 RIC (7/21)
 2020
2022 

The 2021 Richmond Kickers season was the club's 29th season of existence, their third season in USL League One, and their 17th season in the third tier of American soccer. The Kickers were led by second-year head coach, Darren Sawatzky, and looked to improve on their 4th-place finish in 2020.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated vaccination rollout, the season began on April 17, 2021. The season concluded on October 30, 2021. Due to the pandemic, the U.S. Open Cup was truncated and subsequently canceled due to the pandemic. The Kickers finished the USL League One regular season in 5th place, qualifying them for the USL League One Playoffs, making it their first appearance in the playoffs since 2016. There, the Kickers were eliminated in the first round against FC Tucson.

The 2020 season was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The season, originally slated to begin on March 28, 2020, did not begin until July 25, 2020. The season originally was slated to end on September 30, 2020, but concluded on October 24, 2020. The 28-match season was abbreviated to 16 matches, and the playoffs were reduced from a four-team playoff, to a single game championship. During the truncated season, the Kickers had a good turn of fortune, finishing fourth in the league table, and having a winning a record. It was the Kickers' best regular season performance since 2014. Despite the record, the club on the final day of the season failed to reach the USL Championship Game after losing at home to Chattanooga. Striker, Emiliano Terzaghi, scored 10 goals during the season, which was the best performance by a striker for the Kickers since Yudai Imura in 2016. Terzaghi had a 0.63 goals per game average, which was the best performance by a striker for Richmond since Robert Ssejjemba in 2006.

On October 30, 2020, Matt Spear stepped down as the club's president to focus on family reasons.[1] Spear had been the club's president since 2019.[2][3]

Transfers

Transfers in

Date Position No. Name From Fee/notes Ref.
February 9, 2021DF20Costa Rica Esteban Calvo United States FC Tucson Free[4]
February 11, 2021MF10Spain Nil VinyalsUnited States TormentaFree[5]
February 15, 2021GK44United States Austin Aviza United States Orlando City BFree[6]
February 18, 2021DF15United States Jalen Crisler United States Forward Madison Free[7]
February 18, 2021DF24United States Nathan Aune United States Union Omaha Free[7]
February 22, 2021FW19Argentina Hernán González Argentina Juventud Unida Free[8]
February 24, 2021MF6Argentina Zacarías Morán Argentina River Plate Free[9]
March 4, 2021DF2United States Juan Pablo Monticelli United States Orlando City BFree[10]
March 8, 2021MF88United States Cameron Vickers United States FC Motown Free[11]
April 6, 2021GK13United States Austin Causey United States New England Revolution IIFree[12]

Transfers out

Date Position No. Name To Fee/notes Ref.
August 6, 2020DF5United States Conor Shanosky RetiredRetired
December 31, 2020DF12United States Kyle VenterRetiredRetired
December 31, 2020GK20United States Lee Johnston Released
December 31, 2020MF21United States Greg Boehme Released
December 31, 2020DF22United States Hassan Pinto United States Loudoun United Released
December 31, 2020MF80Zambia Mutaya Mwape Released
December 31, 2020MF93Italy Gianluca Cuomo Released
December 31, 2020GK94United States Matt Broomall Northern Ireland Ballymacash Rangers Released
December 31, 2020MF98United States Ryley Kraft Released
December 31, 2020MF77Ghana Charles BoatengGhana WAFAEnd of loan
February 11, 2021DF18Ghana Wahab AckweiUnited States Loudoun United Free
March 27, 2021MF8Ghana Amass AmankonaUnited States South Bend LionsReleased
April 6, 2021MF11Colombia David Diosa United States New AmsterdamFree

Competitive

Statistics

References

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