Darwin Espinal has scored a lot of goals over the last three seasons: 34 in 60 league matches while playing with NISA powerhouse club Maryland Bobcats.
There had been some offers to make the jump to the USL, but after each of the first two seasons, he returned to Maryland. He had a commitment and devotion to winning a championship there. And in 2024, the squad put on a dominating performance: a 16-2-1 record, 50 goals scored with a plus 32 goal differential. Along with LA Force in the west, they were by far one of the best teams in the league.
After spending time with other NISA, USL and NASL sides, at Maryland, Espinal found a place where he felt comfortable.
"My teammates were supportive and got the best out of me," he told us, "the club gave me everything I needed to perform at the level that I did."
He scored 13 goals in 2024 regular season play, a career high. He won the league’s Golden Boot, and the Bobcats expected to host the playoffs. Then NISA dropped a bombshell and announced the team was not eligible, alleging they were “not in compliance with the league nor the U.S. Soccer Federation.”
Needless to say, despite the season's on-field success, it was a bitter disappointment for the team and its fans. And while Espinal says he is grateful for his time with the Bobcats, he's ready to look towards the future. Just in time, his newest opportunity in USL League One arrived, as the Richmond Kickers announced his signing.
According to Richmond Chief Sporting Officer and Head Coach Darren Sawatzky, the team has had an eye on Espinal for a while.
"He has delivered some memorable plays and some memorable goals during his time in the USL Championship and the last couple years with the Maryland Bobcats,” said Sawatzky, "we are excited to add him to the attacking core here in Richmond and his veteran presence will pay dividends with the young players as well as the seasoned veterans looking to win games and chase trophies.”
The 30 year old forward played mainly as a striker in 2024, but over the two prior seasons, showed a great deal of flexibility, also playing on the wings and in the midfield. With Richmond, it's expected he'll act as a second striker alongside Emiliano Terzaghi, and fill in an experience gap on the left wing/midfield. With Adrian Billhardt returning on the right, it's that left side that could use the veteran experience.
Richmond also needs a jolt of offense in 2025, having finished the 2024 regular season with just 25 goals, second-worst in the league. Terzaghi, the league's all-time leading goal-scorer and three-time MVP and Golden Boot winner spent a good portion of the season injured. While secondary scoring pieces Chandler O'Dwyer and Billhardt did their parts, the lack of a dependable primary striker for much of the season hurt Richmond's chances.
The Richmond faithful have seen Espinal before. On April 2nd, 2024, the Maryland Bobcats visited City Stadium to face the Kickers in the second round of the US Open Cup. While the Kickers would end up with a dominating 5-2 win, it was Espinal who scored the highlight reel goal that night. It was a long range shot, well outside the top of the box, sailing over an outstretched Pablo Jara, hitting the crossbar and bouncing into the net.
As Espinal headed to the locker room after the loss, an impromptu chant broke out among the Red Army, Richmond’s supporter group: “sign him up, sign him up, sign him up.”
Espinal looked back with a grin, and gave a slight wave. Looking back at the moment, he said "losing at the time felt bad, but it was a nice moment I shared with the fans."
He continued that he is "honored" to join the Kickers, and said "hopefully I can repay the trust they gave me that night."
