March 25, 2023 – United Soccer League One (USL1) – Greenville Triumph SC News Release
Greenville, SC – The Greenville Triumph Soccer Club’s new-look attack couldn’t match the energy of the club’s new home stadium on the campus of Furman University, as they fell to the Richmond Kickers 0-1 in the season-opening match. Saturday night marked the first home match for the Triumph at Paladin Stadium as the club began its fifth season of play.
A bright spring day welcomed the Triumph to its new home in Paladin Stadium. A herd of fans donned in green and blue eagerly packed the concourses ahead of the evening kickoff against a Richmond side that already had a match under their belt. Greenville and Richmond both started the match strong, sharing possession until the 12th minute, when the Kickers capitalized off a corner kick for the opening goal. Moving ahead 1-0, Richmond took command of the match. Triumph newcomers Leo Castro and Lyam MacKinnon each took advantage of the ball at their feet but struggled to combine their play and find chemistry with the rest of the Greenville squad. Greenville was held scoreless in the opening frame as they looked to jump-start their attack.
Greenville sought to address the offensive drought in the second half by adding Jacob Labovitz into the mix as play was restarted. Greenville’s best chance of the night came in the 51st minute, when Labovitz knocked the crossbar with a rocket that deflected back to Richmond and away from danger. The match pulsed back and forth, thriving from the momentum of the crowd but failing to find any favor for the home side. Shots from Venton Evans, Labovitz and Castro all fell short of a goal but edged Greenville closer to an equalizer. Short on time and attacks as the match wore on, Greenville unsuccessfully scrambled to find an equalizer as the final minutes ticked away to hand Greenville a 1-0 defeat.
“I have a lot of faith- I’m an optimistic coach,” said Head Coach John Harkes. “I have a lot of faith in this group, I really do, and this could be the hiccup that kind of makes us a little bit angrier to kind of fight a little bit more and not concede earlier like that.”
The Greenville Triumph heads into a bye week before starting the 2023 U.S. Open Cup campaign at Phoenix Rising on Wednesday, April 5th. Triumph SC returns to Paladin Stadium on April 19th at 7:30 PM against Fuego FC. Tickets are on sale now.
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