2025 Richmond Kickers season

Richmond Kickers

2025 season
Chairman	22 Holdings, LLC
Manager	Darren Sawatzky
Stadium	City Stadium
USL League One	13th
Jägermeister Cup	Group stage
U.S. Open Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Darwin Espinal (9 goals) All: Darwin Espinal (9 goals)
Highest home attendance	5,542 (v. AV Alta, 22 March 2025)
Lowest home attendance	2,827 (v. Union Omaha, 9 April 2025)
←  2024 2026  →

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.

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Position	No.	Name	From	Fee/notes	Ref.
August 13, 2024	DF	16	Klaidi Cela	Liria Prizren	Free	[1]
September 12, 2024	FW	9	Josh Kirkland	Free Agent	Free	[2]
December 18, 2024	MF	11	Rivendi Pierre-Lewis	FC Motown	Free	[3]
January 22, 2025	FW	19	Darwin Espinal	Maryland Bobcats	Free	[4]
January 23, 2025	MF	3	Hayden Anderson	Greenville Triumph	Free	[5]
January 31, 2025	MF	10	Nils Seufert	Jerv	Free	[6]
January 27, 2025	GK	35	James Sneddon	Richmond Strikers	Free	[7]
January 31, 2025	FW	40	Nick Sarrantos	Richmond Strikers	Academy contract	[8]
January 31, 2025	MF	42	Grafton Kahl	Richmond Strikers	Academy contract	[8]
January 31, 2025	DF	39	Brendan Dobzyniak	Richmond Strikers	Academy contract	[8]
January 31, 2025	DF	41	Andrew Richman	Richmond Strikers	Academy contract	[8]
February 6, 2025	DF	15	Jonathan Kanagwa	Free Agent	Free	[9]
February 18, 2025	FW	33	Matt Bolduc	Free Agent	Free	[10]
May 6, 2025	MF	43	Jonathan Gomez	Richmond Strikers	Academy contract	[11]
July 9, 2025	MF	6	Ryan Baer	Tacoma Defiance	Loan deal	[12]
July 10, 2025	DF	25	Marcelo Lage	Spokane Velocity	$170k	[13]

Transfers out

Date	Position	No.	Name	To	Fee/notes	Ref.
December 1, 2024	MF	6	Zacarías Morán	CA Pulpileño	Free
December 1, 2024	MF	19	Justin Sukow	Retired	Free
December 1, 2024	FW	9	Arthur Bosua	Retired	Free
December 1, 2024	DF	24	Nathan Aune	None	Free
December 1, 2024	MF	8	João Silva	None	Free
December 1, 2024	DF	3	Chris Cole	None	Free
December 1, 2024	FW	15	Tony Pineda	Carolina Core	Free
January 5, 2025	GK	13	Ryan Shellow	Retired	Free
February 21, 2025	MF	10	Nil Vinyals	Spokane Velocity	Free	[14]

Non-competitive

Friendlies

Richmond Kickers v Leganés

July 16Friendly	Richmond Kickers	1–1	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 v t e	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

South Georgia Tormenta v Richmond Kickers

March 71	South Georgia Tormenta	2–4	Richmond Kickers	Statesboro, GA
7:00 p.m. EDT	Tunbridge 24, 45+1'	Report	Anderson 19' O'Dwyer 34' Barnathan 41' Seufert 74'	Stadium: Optim Sports Medicine Field Attendance: 911 Referee: John Motto Assistant referees: Hillis Waddell Assistant referees: Patrick Slane Fourth official: Amin Hadzic

Charlotte Independence v Richmond Kickers

March 152	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

Richmond Kickers v AV Alta

March 223	Richmond Kickers	3–1	AV Alta	Richmond, VA
6:00 p.m. EDT	O'Dwyer 45+1' Terzaghi 51, 73'	Report	Cerritos 8' Alassane  74'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 5,542 Referee: Deshun Beard Assistant referees: Chris Schurfranz Assistant referees: Adam Cook Fourth official: Amelia Graytock

Richmond Kickers v Forward Madison

March 294	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

Richmond Kickers v Union Omaha

April 95	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

FC Naples v Richmond Kickers

April 126	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 Stadium Attendance: 4,005 Referee: Amin Hadzic Assistant referees: Alexandru Focea Fourth official: Kyle Cividanes

Richmond Kickers v Westchester

April 197	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

Richmond Kickers v Greenville Triumph

May 28	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

Chattanooga Red Wolves v Richmond Kickers

May 109	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

Spokane Velocity v Richmond Kickers

May 1810	Spokane Velocity	1–0	Richmond Kickers	Spokane, WA
7:00 p.m. EDT	Miller Peláez 44'	Report		Stadium: One Spokane Stadium Attendance: 2,644 Referee: Calin Radosav Assistant referees: Ryan Jung Fourth official: Serghei Celan

Westchester v Richmond Kickers

May 2511	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

Richmond Kickers v Texoma

June 712	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

Richmond Kickers v Spokane Velocity

June 2113	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

Union Omaha v Richmond Kickers

June 2514	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

Richmond Kickers v Chattanooga Red Wolves

July 1215	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

Greenville Triumph v Richmond Kickers

July 2016	Greenville Triumph	2–0	Richmond Kickers	Greenville, SC
7:00 p.m. EDT	Herrera 20' (pen.) Sims 72'			Stadium: Paladin Stadium Attendance: 1,643

Richmond Kickers v Naples

August 217	Richmond Kickers	1–2	Naples	Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT	Johnson 12'		Purpa 59' Henderlong 63'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 4,393

Hearts of Pine v Richmond Kickers

August 918	Hearts of Pine	0–0	Richmond Kickers	Portland, MN
5:00 p.m. EDT				Stadium: Fitzpatrick Stadium Attendance: 5,796 Referee: Atayan Yaya

Richmond Kickers v South Georgia Tormenta

August 1619	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

One Knoxville v Richmond Kickers

August 2120	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

Richmond Kickers v One Knoxville

August 2321	Richmond Kickers	1–0	One Knoxville	Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT	Lage 33'			Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 4,126 Referee: Atayan Yaya

Westchester v Richmond Kickers

September 322	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

Forward Madison v Richmond Kickers

September 1323	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

Richmond Kickers v Portland Hearts of Pine

September 1724	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

Richmond Kickers v Charlotte Independence

September 2025	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

South Georgia Tormenta v Richmond Kickers

September 2726	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

Richmond Kickers v One Knoxville

October 427	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

Texoma v Richmond Kickers

October 1128	Texoma	1–0	Richmond Kickers	Sherman, TX
8:00 p.m. EDT	McManus 59'			Stadium: Historic Bearcat Stadium Attendance: 1,576 Referee: Muhammad Hassan

AV Alta v Richmond Kickers

October 1729	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

Richmond Kickers v One Knoxville

October 2530	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

Richmond Kickers (USL1) v Virginia Dream FC (VSSL)

March 19First round	Richmond Kickers (USL1)	1–3	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 v t e	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

Louisville City v Richmond Kickers

April 261	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

Richmond Kickers v North Carolina

May 312	Richmond Kickers	0–1	North Carolina	Richmond, VA
7:00 p.m. EDT			Luckhurst 81'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 4,753 Referee: Alex Beehler

Richmond Kickers v Lexington SC

June 283	Richmond Kickers	0–3	Lexington SC	Richmond, VA
7:00 PM EDT			Ajago 10' Epps 31' Burke 90'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 3,290

Charlotte Independence v Richmond Kickers

July 264	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	CHI	Pablo Jara	9	0	3+1	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	4+0	0
2	MF	USA	Dakota Barnathan	29	1	25+0	1	0+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
3	MF	USA	Hayden Anderson	30	2	7+19	2	0+0	0	0+0	0	3+1	0
4	DF	USA	Simon Fitch	35	0	30+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	4+0	0
5	DF	CHI	Maxi Schenfeld	27	1	19+5	1	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+2	0
6	MF	USA	Ryan Baer	10	0	4+6	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
7	FW	USA	Landon Johnson	18	2	4+11	2	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+1	0
9	FW	USA	Josh Kirkland	33	8	22+7	8	0+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
10	MF	GER	Nils Seufert	32	5	26+2	4	0+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	1
11	MF	HAI	Rivendi Pierre-Lewis	5	0	0+3	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+2	0
14	DF	BRA	Guilherme França	21	0	10+6	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	3+1	0
16	DF	CAN	Klaidi Cela	21	1	16+2	1	0+0	0	0+1	0	1+1	0
17	MF	ENG	James Vaughan	20	1	7+10	0	0+0	0	1+0	1	1+1	0
18	MF	UGA	Jonathan Kanagwa	11	0	1+8	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	1+1	0
19	FW	HON	Darwin Espinal	29	9	25+1	9	0+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
20	MF	GER	Adrian Billhardt	24	3	7+15	3	0+0	0	0+1	0	0+1	0
25	DF	USA	Marcelo Lage	7	2	6+0	2	0+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
27	FW	ENG	Chandler O'Dwyer	31	4	23+5	4	0+0	0	0+1	0	1+1	0
32	FW	ARG	Emiliano Terzaghi	26	4	19+5	4	0+0	0	0+1	0	0+1	0
33	MF	USA	Matt Bolduc	17	1	7+7	1	0+0	0+0	1+0	0	1+1	0
34	DF	USA	Beckett Howell	25	0	15+6	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	4+0	0
35	GK	USA	James Sneddon	27	0	27+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
38	DF	USA	Griffin Garnett	25	0	17+4	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0
39	DF	USA	Brendan Dobzyniak	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
40	FW	USA	Nick Sarantakos	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
41	MF	USA	Andrew Richman	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
42	DF	USA	Grafton Kahl	3	0	0+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
43	MF	USA	Jonathan Gomez	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0

References

1. Heintschel, Nathan (August 12, 2024). "Gritty Veteran Defender Klaidi Cela Joins Kickers". Richmond Kickers.
2. Heintschel, Nathan (September 12, 2024). "Deep Run High School Standout and Mary Washington All-American Josh Kirkland Signs Pro Contract". Richmond Kickers.
3. McGinley, Mannion (December 18, 2024). "Richmond Kickers sign Rivendi Melvin Pierre-Louis". Richmond Kickers.
4. McGinley, Mannion (January 22, 2025). "Golden Ball winner Darwin Espinal signs with the Kickers for 2025". Richmond Kickers.
5. McGinley, Mannion (January 23, 2025). "Hayden Anderson brings his talent to the Kickers, signs with the club for '25". Richmond Kickers.
6. McGinley, Mannion (January 24, 2025). "Richmond Kickers add German motor to the midfield". Richmond Kickers.
7. McGinley, Mannion (January 27, 2025). "James Sneddon Goes Pro". Richmond Kickers.
8. McGinley, Mannion (January 31, 2025). "Richmond Kickers sign new Academy class for 2025". Richmond Kickers.
9. McGinley, Mannion (February 6, 2025). "Kickers sign VCU grad, A10 Champ Jonathan Kanagwa". Richmond Kickers.
10. "Players' Shield winner Matt Bolduc returns to Richmond". USL League One. February 18, 2025.
11. McGinley, Mannion (May 6, 2025). "Jonathan Gomez joins Kickers 2025 Academy Class". Richmond Kickers.
12. Mannion, McGinley (July 9, 2025). "Kickers sign Ryan Baer on loan from Seattle Sounders". Richmond Kickers.
13. McGinley, Mannion (July 10, 2025). "Marcelo Lage signs with the Kickers, bolsters backline". Richmond Kickers.
14. "Velocity FC Lands a Vaunted Veteran with Midfielder Nil Vinyals". USL Spokane. February 21, 2025.