The Richmond Kickers have been a staple to advance to the USL Cup Playoffs. They have done so now for six consecutive USL seasons. Richmond’s 2016 campaign has had some swings to it, though. On the positive side, the Kickers made a significant move up the table thanks to a six-game winning streak from July through early August. On the flip side, Richmond has hobbled a tad since clinching a postseason berth and will need to regain the form it demonstrated during the dog days of summer.

2016 USL Playoffs: Quarterfinal matchup:
No. 7 Richmond Kickers at No. 2 Louisville City FC – Sunday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m. ET, Slugger Field

2016 USL regular season:
Records:
Overall: 12-9-9 (45 points) | Home: 8-2-5 (29 points) | Road: 4-7-4 (16 points)

Goals For: 33 | Goals Against: 26

Leaders:
Goals: 1. Yudai Imura 10; 2. Sunny Jane 4; 3. (tie) Anthony Grant, Brian Ownby 3; 5. Michael Callahan 2
Assists: 1. (tie) Yudai Imura, Brian Ownby 3; 2. (tie) Sunny Jane, Alex Lee, Fred Owusu Sekyere 2
Saves: 1. Andrew Dykstra; 2. Matt Turner 21; 3. Charlie Horton 16; 4. Ryan Taylor 10; 5. Travis Worra 4

Clinched its postseason … Aug. 27; clinched with a 1-0 victory against Orlando City B, combined with Bethlehem Steel FC’s 1-0 loss to Louisville City FC and Wilmington Hammerheads FC’s 2-2 draw against the Rochester Rhinos

Defining moment: In the midst of their six-game winning streak, the Kickers’ most dramatic victory during that span was a 2-1 comeback against the New York Red Bulls II on July 30 at City Stadium. NYRBII gained the early lead through Brandon Allen in the 10th minute, but Richmond responded quickly. Just one minute after Allen’s score, Samuel Asante was taken down in the box and Yudai Imura converted the game-tying penalty kick. Both teams had chances to add a winner beyond that point, yet things stayed tied all the way until second-half stoppage time when the Kickers found one final push. Michael Callahan crossed the ball in from the right and when NYRBII couldn’t punch or head the ball out of the box, Kickers second-half sub Jackson Eskay collected and fired a low, left-footed shot just inside the near left post for the winning tally. Richmond earned its fourth straight win at the time and would maintain that momentum with back-to-back road victories the following week.

Three keys to a championship run:
1. Imura’s impact: When Yudai Imura is on, typically his Kickers collectively are as well. During their six-game winning streak, Imura tallied six goals and an assist. During their five-game winless streak (0-2-3) from mid-May to early June, Imura came up completely empty in the scoring column. The Japanese midfielder is one of the club’s most versatile, and while his double-digit goal-scoring stands out, it’s his resourceful play and potential to set up teammates that will be the key to a successful postseason performance as a whole.
2. Run of play: Richmond has suffered a 0-3-2 record to cap off the regular season, tallying only two goals during that stretch. Also during that span, the Kickers have produced very little in the run of play, in fact failing to do so for a span of 401 consecutive minutes heading into the postseason. Certainly some maintenance of health and strategic roster maneuvering had to play a role in the club’s form of late as Richmond already clinched a postseason berth, but nevertheless the Kickers need to quickly turn this trend around if they are to enjoy a playoff run.
3. New horizon for Sunny: Former Wilmington Hammerheads FC striker Sunny Jane was looking to put his stamp on a club that was primed for a postseason, following a disappointing 2015 in which the Hammerheads finished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table. Jane got his wish with a move to Richmond, and now this is his time to prove his worth in the playoffs. Jane has had some good moments for the Kickers this season, tallying four goals (second to Imura) and contributing a pair of assists in 1,192 minutes. He hasn’t quite found the form that he enjoyed in July, when in a three-game stretch he posted two goals and an assist, but Jane has the ability to make turn things around and make an impactful finish in this stage of the campaign.

QUOTABLE:
“We’ve got to get back in the win column. It came from when we had discipline. Everybody was working for each other – not that they aren’t doing it now. It’s just those little lapses. Come playoff time, that will get you.” – Richmond Kickers Defender Scott Thomsen