RICHMOND, Va. – With only 29 minutes of action in his five games entering Saturday night’s contest, you probably couldn’t have found a more unlikely game-winner on the field for the Richmond Kickers than Jackson Eskay.

And yet, deep in stoppage time, it was the former William & Mary standout who was in the right place at the right time to drive home a finish off a broken play in the left side of the penalty area, and extend the Kickers’ winning streak to four games with a 2-1 victory against the New York Red Bulls II.

“What a performance,” said Kickers Coach Leigh Cowlishaw. “What can I say? Red Bulls are an amazing team. They put us under a lot of pressure. We did the same to them, it was quite the game. … But I thought we created the better chances.”

• TRENDING: Cincy, Battery Finish Level in Front of 19,229

With victories against Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Toronto – all of which currently sit outside the USL Eastern Conference playoff positions – having come prior to Saturday’s win, the Kickers knew this was the biggest test the side had faced since a 2-0 defeat to Charleston four weeks ago.

While the Red Bulls II took an early lead through Brandon Allen, whose sharp turn and finish made up for a missed penalty moments before, the Kickers quickly got back on level terms as Yudai Imura’s converted penalty kick gave him his seventh goal of the season, and made it 1-1 less than 15 minutes in.

“We’re a resilient team and you can see things coming together for us,” said Mike Callahan. “I mean, unbelievable performances from a lot of guys on the team. I couldn’t be happier for Jackson [Eskay] getting the game-winning goal, first one for him. He’s been doing really well in training for us.”

While Eskay’s goal was his first as a professional, the Kicker also got to rely on a familiar face at the back as goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra – on loan from D.C. United – made his first start since undergoing back surgery earlier this season. Dykstra was good throughout, and said after the game he was glad to have the chance to return to the Kickers, where he claimed the USL’s 2013 Goalkeeper of the Year honor.

As for the current crop of players, a few of whom he played with previously, Dykstra was impressed.

“This team is great,” he said. “There’s a lot of class and organization. There’s a lot of thinking and a lot of processing within these players. There’s a lot of guys that are very technical, but they’re smart. It’s good. It’s impressive to see.”

The Kickers will try to continue their recent run of form on Wednesday night, when the side visits the Rochester Rhinos after having moved past them and into fifth place with their dramatic win against the Red Bulls II. After Saturday’s heroics, Cowlishaw said there was still more work to be done on the road in the upcoming week.

“We couldn’t be more pleased, but now we have some really tough road games to wake up to in Rochester and Montreal,” Cowlishaw said. “We still need points.”