Regardless of where the standings have these teams, I believe Wednesday night’s USL matchup at Matthews Sportsplex will be an entertaining one. Charlotte just saw their winning streak come to an end at six after drawing against Harrisburg. Even though the team would have loved to have won that game, they still haven’t dropped a point in eight games. Richmond finds themselves with something slightly foreign this season: they have a decent bit of momentum and will look to build upon that tonight.

The New King of Richmond?

The man Richmond has called upon to score goals for them is a king among men. Forward Franck Tayou is known in the twitterverse as @KingTayou. The King has found previous success while playing indoors in the Major Arena Soccer League or MASL for short.

Let me correct myself, to say he’s had success is a vast understatement. During the 2016/17 season he nearly averaged 3 goals per game. His 57 goals were best in the entire league with eight of those being game winners.

Last year, he took his talents outside and joined San Antonio FC. In 17 appearances, six starts, he scored five goals. Franck joined Richmond in mid-June and immediately made an impact. He made his first appearance being subbed in late against the Rowdies: the Kickers were down 1–0 but Franck was up to the task. He scored an equalizer in the waning moments of the game as well as achieving goal of the week.

Tayou has started three games this season and seemingly is becoming acclimated to playing outside of the arena.

On July 19th, the Kickers had a friendly against the EPL’s Swansea City. Swansea City came out on top, but one bright spot in front of 8,000+ fans would be none other than King Tayou himself. The game ended 2–1 and Tayou scored the lone goal for the Kickers.

After starting a few games in a row, Franck Tayou made his first appearance against Bethlehem Steel FC last time out in the 74th minute. I’ll be looking for King Tayou to have a bigger role in this upcoming game.

Lucky #13

One of many returning players from last season was defender Austin Yearwood. Last year, Austin only recorded one start while making three appearances. Considering his limited playing time, I would have labeled him an unknown player going into the season.

But the six foot left back has transitioned into the starting 11 this season. Yearwood has started every game since our last matchup against Richmond in week 14. Given his progression I don’t see him relinquishing this role anytime soon. It’s been beautiful to see him continue to look more and more comfortable on our team. His combination of size and surprising speed is an incredible asset.

The 22 year old has impressed me on the defensive side with quick and concise clearances as well as jabs to stop threatening wingers. Not only is he excelling on the defensive side, he is starting to become an asset on offense as well. The biggest improvement I’ve seen in him over his seven starts has been his ability to cross precisely. While Charlotte’s left back may not be filling the stat sheet, he is progressing excellently. Austin Yearwood is a native of Charlotte that is exciting to watch on both sides off the field.

Trending Upward

Richmond did something Saturday that they’ve only done three times this season… win. I was able to watch a majority of their most recent game against surprising Bethlehem Steel FC. You could tell from the moment the game started that Richmond was eager to set the tone and score first.

I’ll be honest after Bethlehem scored first in the 39th minute, I completely lost interest and figured Richmond was done. That didn’t happen: they quickly came back and scored two goals to take the lead. After I noticed the score change amidst the flurry of soccer that Saturday, I switched back to watching the remainder of their game.

Regardless, if Richmond was going to put up a fight at home Bethlehem wasn’t going to go down easy. In the 69th minute they were able to tie the game at 2–2. Richmond pressed and wanted to give their fans something more to cheer for. In the 87th minute, Richmond’s Samuel Asante put the ball just past the goal keeper for Bethlehem. That 3–2 scoreline would hold up and even the announcers were quick to call this an impressive, possibly even season-saving victory.

After this victory, their first since April, they are finally out of last place in the east. While this may only be a singular spot climb in the standings, the win could make this team dangerous.

Sole Possession of #1 In The East

The Independence have come a long way this season: climbing from the bottom of the table to having the top spot just one win away. In fact, there is a scenario where Charlotte could hold sole possession of first place. The first thing that needs to happen is the Pittsburgh Riverhounds need to beat Charleston. They play tonight as well in Pennsylvania. The second thing that needs to happen is an outcome that Charlotte controls. If Charlotte wins their upcoming game by four or more goals, they will steal Charleston’s hold of first place. This would typically be a tall order for anyone… but Charlotte has done this twice already. This would mean a lot for the team and for the fans after a season that started rather shaky.

Prediction Time

Regardless as to how the season has gone for the Richmond Kickers thus far, one thing is clear about them: they don’t want to stay where they are in the standings. After coming off a somewhat disappointing tie in Harrisburg, Charlotte returns home.

Some might say this could be a trap game for the Independence. I don’t see this year’s Charlotte squad falling into any traps. Considering first place is on the line and Charlotte plays with a lot of pride, I don’t see this game getting away from them. In that same breath, I will say that Richmond won’t go down easy.

I believe this game will be much closer than one might expect. I’m calling for a 1–0 scoreline in favor of the Independence. The lone scorer of the game will be Enzo Martinez.