Ahead of D.C. United’s Tuesday night U.S. Open Cup match against its USL PRO affiliate Richmond Kickers, dcunited.com caught up with Black-and-Red midfielder Conor Shanosky for a insider’s look into the Kickers.
WATCH ONLINE: D.C. United at Richmond Kickers livestream
Shanosky, along with Taylor Kemp and Casey Townsend are on loan with the Kickers, but will be “Cup-tied” with United for the remainder of the tournament, while Andrew Dykstra and Michael Seaton are currently starring for the Kickers.
“They’re a good team, first and foremost,” said Shanosky when asked what United should be looking out for come Tuesday night. “They’ll be organized and wanting to win pretty badly.”
The Kickers haven’t lost a game yet this season, and with the leadership of Dykstra in net, have registered three shutouts in the process (5-0-3).
“I’m sure they’re flying with confidence… That’s going be the big priority – to match their intensity and earn the right to go in there and try to beat them.”
Richmond has tallied 20 goals thus far and has only given up seven. United’s Seaton, Townsend and Shanosky have all contributed to the score sheet, but Shanosky highlighted Joseph Ngwenya - who has six goals - as a player to watch.
“We have to look out for Joe Ngwenya, who has been scoring a lot for them,” said Shanosky. “He played here [at D.C. United] in 2011. We know what he’s about. He is a tricky player; he’s a good player. But, they have a couple guys that can hurt you.”
Both teams are coming off weekend matches, so the quick turnaround won’t put either team at a disadvantage. United battled hard for 90 minutes, but came up short in its match against the Portland Timbers Saturday night, dropping the game 2-0. The Kickers, however, beat the Harrisburg City Islanders 2-0, with the goals coming from Nate Robinson and United’s Seaton.
Although the two teams know each other, have scrimmaged earlier in the year and share some players, Shanosky is “expecting a very intense game.”
“No matter what team you’re playing for, you have to want to win." he said "And we’ll want to beat them just as much as they’ll want to beat us.”
Tuesday night’s Open Cup match will be streamed live, and more information will be available day of game.
D.C. United returns home to RFK to host Toronto FC on June 15—order your tickets now.
