Kickers vs. Independence and Round Three of the Kickers Prediction Game of Awesome

Prior to every home game a panel of so-called experts will predict the outcome of the Richmond Kickers game. Each expert receives one point for each correct prediction. At the end of the season the winner gets a trophy and pack of gum.

April 17, 2015; 12:00 PM • by Richard Hayes

Richmond Kickers (1-2-0) play this Saturday, April 18th, 7:00 PM at City Stadium against the Charlotte Independence (0-1-1). Technically the Independence are a new team despite the fact last year there was a Charlotte Eagles team. The Eagles flew the coop to USL Premier Development League and the Queen City Soccer Club LLC, produced the Independence. Which is slightly amusing since the Independence name celebrates Charlotte producing the first document in United States history to call for complete independence from the Crown of England who, at the time, was a King not a Queen. So I guess it’s all good. Thus concludes your Soccer and History 101 Class.

I’m not going to bore you with who to watch for the Kickers instead, just go to YouTube and check out the highlights of last week’s game. It tells you all you need to know. On the Charlotte side, there is this little tidbit from the Kickers preview:

Independence also added international star Draman Haminu (#99) last week, who is best known for scoring the second goal in Ghana’s 2-1 FIFA World Cup victory over the United States in 2006.

A goal that is still an emotional scar for most USMNT supporters. Charlotte also recently added Polish national Zahorski–he appeared in 95 games for Polish club Górnik Zabrze, scoring 23 goals and a member of the 2007 Polish National Team. Most recently he was plying his trade with NASL’s San Antonio Scorpions.

Official game preview here, what the opponent has to say here, and get your tickets here. This week you can get: Four tickets, four slices of pizza, and four sodas for $42 that’s a lot of fours and a pretty good deal. The Red Army Tailgate might be worth checking out, because I hear they have something on order that could be uplifting.

	Reasoning	Score
RVANews Soccer Guru	I fell off the bandwagon last week, but I’m back on, and I’m totally with the band Kickers Mega-Awesome Sauce 4000. The band of destruction and chaos that is Jason “I Score When I Want Often While 7 Feet In The Air” Yeisley, Brian “Take Thy Balls And Go Forth To Scoring Land” Ownby, Eli “Finish Him But Only After 223 Passes” Garner, and Travis “Excitable Running Around Screaming Wall” Worra. I also predict all these nicknames will stick.	0
Red Army	You know the best part about the Charlotte team technically being new? No need to worry about feeling conflicted on wanting to taunt them about religious affiliations. Expect tons of jokes about Richmond owning the Independence from the Red Army section this weekend. Also, another three points for the good guys, but maybe not with as spectacular of goals.	1
Richmond Kickers	Independence Day was one of my favorite movies (by the way, if Will Smith is reading this…big fan here…you are more than welcome to a Kickers game any time!). Since Will Smith has nothing to do with this Independence from Charlotte, that will mean the Kickers will take victory. I think this logic makes sense…	1
Total Soccer Show	I smell a fresh rivalry in the air, and I expect the Kickers to begin it with a win. Long-haired magician Jason Yiesley conjured an optical-illusion-looking volley out of nowhere last week, but this time out I’m predicting a back-to-basics header from the powerful, reliable Matthew Delicate.	1

Last week’s predictions (only one person was foolishly wrong).

RVANews Soccer Guru (Richard Hayes): All of Richard’s soccer knowledge comes from playing FIFA on the original Playstation and standing in bars, drinking, and yelling at the television. He also helps run RVA DCU and is a member of American Outlaws Richmond Chapter, which mainly involves drinking and yelling at televisions.

Red Army (Matt Myers) — Reigning Champion: Matt was sent off by Leigh Cowlishaw in a summer camp scrimmage as a pre-teen but has not held that against the team. He’s coming to grips with being a relatively old man now after seeing the youngsters in the Red Army and on the Kickers roster. He’s also attended way more matches than he should admit to, especially for having lived in Richmond a total of one out of the last 13 years.

Richmond Kickers (Kickeroo): The Kicker from down under. He doesn’t really like anyone who isn’t a fan of the Kickers. A daredevil who will pretty much try anything and everything but would rather not talk (on the advice from lawyers) about the incident with the scooter and the Flaming Hoop of Death. He’s also a sensitive marsupial who enjoys long walks on a dew-covered soccer field and watching the sun set behind the goal post. He also shares something with the new Kickers beer, Kick It Hunny: hops.

Total Soccer Show (Daryl Grove): Daryl is English so every thing he says about footsoccerball naturally carries more weight because he says it a British accent. He is also part of the excellent local radio show and podcast Total Soccer Show that keeps track of all soccer related things in an intelligent and fun way. If you’re not listening to the Total Soccer Show you need to change that post haste.