Richmond Kickers 3-0 Jacksonville Armada: Kickers keep the streak alive

The Richmond Kickers beat the Jacksonville Armada of the NASL 3-0 in the third round of the 2015 US Open Cup, in front of over 1200 fans. The Kickers have not been knocked out of the Open Cup by a non-MLS team since 2009, and they continued that streak tonight.

After a frantic first five minutes, the Kickers settled into the game and controlled the rest of the first half. Brian Ownby opened the scoring off of a corner kick by Fred Owusu; his kick was allowed to bounce in the box, and Ownby was there to scuttle it in. He was the best player of the night for the Kickers, constantly beating Jacksonville players on the dribble with both speed and ability.

The second goal for Richmond came 18 minutes later, with a beautiful piece of individual skill from Jason Yeisley. He collected the ball in his own half, bounced it off of a Jacksonville player at midfield, and then ran in on the keeper alone. He ripped a low shot past Miguel Gallardo to make it 2-0 in the 28th minute.

Early in the second half, Jason Yeisley was backed into by a Jacksonville defender on a corner kick. The call could have gone either way, but the official determined it was a foul in the box and Richmond was awarded a penalty kick. After some consternation by the Armada players, and a yellow for dissent to Gallardo, George Davis IV converted the penalty kick.

After the penalty, Richmond was content to kill off the game, with Ryan Taylor called onto to make two good saves; for one he plucked the ball off of the foot of the Jacksonville attacker. With lightning threatening in the distance, the teams were able to just get the game finished in time.

Richmond will welcome Columbus Crew SC to City Stadium in the next round on June 17.