The Richmond Kickers scored early and hung on to earn a 1-0 victory over the Rochester Rhinos in Friday night's USL PRO soccer match at City Stadium.
Ronnie Pascale, Richmond's veteran goalkeeper, made two splendid saves in the final 10 minutes to preserve the victory for the Kickers (3-0). One required Pascale to hurl himself into horizontal flight to smother a shot by Rochester's Andrew Hoxie, a former William and Mary standout.
Richmond's Matthew Delicate continued his April hot streak with a goal in the 24th minute. The Kickers' big forward, as dangerous with his head as his feet, climbed out of a crowd to the left of Rhinos goalkeeper Neal Kitson and met a crossing pass from midfielder Stanley Nyazamba. Delicate nodded the ball across the Rochester goalmouth and into the left side of the cage. The goal was his third of the season. He has scored in each of the Kickers' matches.
Richmond, which played splendidly on defense for much of the opening half, very nearly surrendered the tying goal in the 26th minute. Rochester's most organized push of the first 45 minutes produced a swirling tangle of arms and legs in front of Pascale. He found the ball amid the chaos and dove to his right to smother a shot at the goal post by Rochester's Tyler Rosenlund.
The Kickers seemed to find their offensive rhythm late in the half. They began to apply consistent pressure. They narrowly missed a second goal when Mike Callahan's 35-yard free kick from directly in front of the goal barely missed William Yomby, who rose high for a try at a header.
Richmond will conclude its four-game, season-opening homestand next Saturday with a 5 p.m. game against the Charleston Battery. Charleston defeated the Kickers 2-1 in last season's USL-2 championship match.
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