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#GameDayEve 2016 Richmond Kickers Edition

by Marissa Blackman

It feels so good to say it! Today is #GameDayEve! Usually, I compare both teams and try to find trends with the clubs, but, considering this is only the second game of the season for each club, any trends gathered from only one match would be rather inconsequential. Nevertheless, I have gathered a few details about the two clubs.

Both long time USL clubs kicked off their 2016 season with a win. Wilmington Hammerheads FC beat Orlando City B 2-1, and Richmond Kickers beat Harrisburg City Islanders 3-1. Wilmington's goals were distributed evenly throughout both halves of the match, whereas Richmond scored twice in the first half and once in the later. Richmond goal keeper Ryan Taylor only needed to make one save in his club's home opener, and the rest of his squad forced the Harrisburg goalie to make three. In Wilmington's first away game of the season, goal keeper John Smits made three saves, tallying the same number of saves as Orlando City B.

Wilmington Hammerheads Head Coach Mark Briggs says his club's focus going into Friday's game centers on "continuing where we left off" and "keeping the momentum up." He further comments, "Although it's going to be a difficult game and a different game, I think it's just about building on our first win."

Although numbers aren't significant at the moment, there is one thing that I can say for sure. Richmond vs. Wilmington has been my favorite game to watch for several years. Since the teams are geographically close to each other, they are usually scheduled to compete against each other often throughout the season, giving them adequate opportunity to really feel each other out and make every match tough for each other. Historically, Richmond and Wilmington have always been pretty even competition for each other, so I love watching two evenly equipped squads battling it out. I wonder if that tendency will still hold true this year.

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