Greenville, SC – A night that initially showed slump-busting promise faded into a third consecutive loss, as they fell 2-0 to the Richmond Kickers Sunday night at Legacy Early College. The loss was the Third in the row for the Triumph, who fell below the playoff line to eighth following the weekend’s action.
Greenville came out of the gate hot, controlling possession and dictating pace with a unified front. The Triumph defense, which saw Jacob Goodall and Paul Christensen in for regulars Tyler Polak and Dallas Jaye, limited Richmond’s opportunities to two shots in the first half, while a dangerous Greenville attack saw a resurgent JJ Donnelly lead the home team to ten shots on goal.
Unfortunately for the Triumph, the tide immediately turned after halftime, as a Richmond strike from the top of the box in the 46th minute gave the visitors a 1-0 lead a minute in to the second period. As the half progressed, the Greenville attack began to fatigue as it had in previous losses. Tired legs were unable to sequence enough passes together to open up a shooting lane, as the Triumph were only able to record five shots in the second half. The match was decided in the 81st minute, as Richmond’s Emilio Terzaghi pinged a shot off both side posts to put Richmond up by a final score of 2-0. Terzaghi’s goal ties him with Greenville’s Marios in the Golden Boot race with 12 each.
Greenville will look to rebound on Saturday night, as they’ll make their longest road trip of the season to face Tucson at 10:00p EST. The club returns home Friday, September 3 to face Toronto FC II at 7:00p.
