April 18, 2024 – United Soccer League One (USL1)
Richmond Kickers News Release
RICHMOND, Va. – – The Richmond Kickers fell in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup to USL Championship side Loudoun United FC on Wednesday night. After keeping the higher division club scoreless through regulation, the Kickers fell 4-5 on penalty kicks.
The last time the Kickers went to extra time was in 2022 in the third round of the U.S Open Cup when the Kickers beat NC Fusion U-23. It also marked the first penalty shootout at City Stadium since the 2013 Open Cup when DC United snuck out a result.
The third-round matchup featured a first-time start from keeper Ryan Shellow who ended up making four saves and two clearances on the night, ultimately earning Keiter CPA Player of the Match.
In the 19th minute, Nicholas Simmonds found Simon Fitch with a through ball. Fitch forced a corner and the ball from João Gomeiro swung towards the back post before the Loudoun keeper came out to grab it.
Early in the second half, Christiano François broke through in transition but Shellow stood up in goal one-on-one to deny the shot from François and send it wide to be picked up by Dakota Barnathan and sent downfield.
In the 57th minute, Adrian Billhardt crossed to Arthur Bosua whose strike deflected for a corner, the corner led to a bouncing ball that ultimately found Billhardt at the top of the box. His shot slid just wide, seemingly taking a deflection but ruled a goal kick for Loudoun.
Shellow faced François one-on-one again in the 63rd minute and again stifled the forward from finding the back of the net.
In the 83rd, the Kickers built up the right side yet again. Billhardt took a strike that deflected for a corner. Vinyals took a corner that bent right in towards the far corner but Loudoun’s keeper Dane Jacommen got a last-second hand to it.
In the second minute of second-half stoppage time, Billhardt broke through again at full speed and shot from the top left of the six to the bottom right that forced a fingertip save.
In the 98th minute, Abdellatif Aboukoura struck from just outside the 18-yard box but Shellow got right behind it again, making the save easily and falling on it.
After the 30 minutes of extra time, the score remained tied and the teams went to penalty kicks. Loudoun shot first and Zach Ryan snuck it just past Ryan Shellow who guessed right on the shot. Nil Vinyals answered confidently, sending Jacomen jumping the wrong way and burying the ball in the right side.
Shellow…