Yogi’s Big 3 Points
Ahead of Saturday's match up with Greenville Triumph, Yogi gives his 3 biggest points for this game:
- Saturday will be a party That is right folks, the Richmond Kickers are the overall #1 seed going into the USL League 1 playoffs. This means that Saturday's game against the Greenville Triumph cannot impact us. The Kickers will be crowned champions before, during, and after the game, which is bound to be a party-like vibe. For the first time since 2014, will the Kickers be hosting a playoff game, so why not make Saturday’s game the pre-game for it? Another thing to keep an eye on is how some of the other games in League 1 play out. Given that a few games can determine the final order of the standings, we will have to wait and see what the playoff matchups will be.
- Only play them IF THEY ARE HEALTHY I am pretty sure that I am writing this in vain, as Darren is probably not going to involve too much rotation. If anything, expect a few guys who are normally on the bench to get starts, starters to come off the bench, and maybe a surprise cameo. With Bolanos and O’wayne seeming to pick up injuries in Richmond’s win in the Henny derby, don't expect many minutes from them on Saturday. Hopefully, we will see the return of Matt Bolduc and Chris Cole to the line-up to get them ready for the playoff run. Another surprise move that Darren could make is to give Will Palmquist his first official start in USL League 1. Whatever decisions Darren makes before kick-off, I am sure the players will be up and ready for the challenge.
- Celebrate the best of the best With Saturday’s game also comes a chance to celebrate players, staff, and even mascots that make the Richmond Kickers the club they are. Of course, we are gonna celebrate the players as Jonathan Bolanos has been arguably the best player in USL League 1 this season with 11 assists and Emiliano Terzaghi leads the league in goals scored with 16. Both of them should be adding a few more awards to their cabinet this postseason. We have to make sure that Coach Darren Sawatzky gets his flowers as well. It’s time the league recognized what this man has done with the talent he has here and turned around a team that was once fallen on hard times in the championship. But, the main spotlight will be on Kickeroo as the man behind the mascot will be performing his duties for the last time at a regular season game. If you know anything about Richmond home games, you have to know that Jacob Maupin has been the man to don the uniform during games. So when you see Kickeroo, give him a thumbs up and hug as he makes his final appearance.
With the season coming to a close on Saturday, make sure that you are in the building rooting and cheering on the Kickers as they get ready for a home playoff game in two weeks.
