Veteran forward moves into a tie for second all-time in goals and goal contributions as Corpus Christi prepares for its season finale.
RICHMOND, Virginia (October 17, 2026) — In the penultimate match of the club’s inaugural USL League One season, Corpus Christi FC suffered a 5-1 defeat to Richmond Kickers at City Stadium on Saturday, surrendering four second-half goals after entering the break level at 1-1.
Jake Keegan opened the scoring in the seventh minute, finishing a pass from Blake Bowen inside the box to give Corpus Christi an early advantage. The goal marked Keegan’s sixth of the season and his 38th career goal in USL League One, tying him with Christian Chaney for second-most in league history. Bowen recorded his eighth assist of the campaign.
“It has been a privilege to play in this league for a long time and watch it grow,” Keegan said. “When you play enough games, you’re bound to score a few.”
Corpus Christi controlled the opening stages before Richmond gradually seized momentum, forcing goalkeeper Mason McCready into multiple saves as the hosts pressed for an equalizer. After sustained pressure and a series of corner kicks, Richmond earned a penalty in stoppage time following a handball on the goal line. Tarik Pannholzer converted from the spot in the 50th minute to level the match at halftime.
Richmond carried that momentum into the second half, with Lucca Dourado putting the hosts ahead in the 51st minute. Pannholzer added his second goal two minutes later before completing his hat trick in the 60th minute to extend the advantage to 4-1. Owen O’Malley capped the scoring in the 74th minute, sealing the 5-1 result.
“Intensity and concentration,” Assistant Coach Manny Iwabuchi said when asked what changed after halftime. “In this league you can’t ever lack in these two traits or you’ll get punished, and that’s what happened in the early parts of the second half. We came out a bit flat from halftime and got punished.”
The Kickers finished with a 24-7 advantage in shots, including a 10-2 edge in attempts on target, while earning 11 corners to Corpus Christi’s one.
“It was a close game in the first half, but it got away from us in the second,” said Kaihim Thomas, who made his first start at right back this season. “But we focus on our next game to finish with a win.”
With one match remaining in the inaugural season, Iwabuchi emphasized the importance of closing the campaign with a performance the club and its supporters can be proud of.
“For us as a group it’s all about making each other and our supporters proud. We need to get back to feeling that fire one last time,” Iwabuchi said. “Finishing the season on a win would be great, but we just want to put on a performance we can be proud of and that represents how hard we fought this season. That’s our motivation going into next week.”
Corpus Christi will close out its inaugural USL League One season next Saturday, October 24, when the club travels to Lancaster, California, to face AV Alta FC.
Notable:
- Jake Keegan’s seventh-minute strike marked his sixth goal of 2026 and 38th career goal in USL League One, tying him for second all-time in league history. The goal also brought Keegan to 52 career goal contributions, tying him for second all-time in that category as well.
- Blake Bowen recorded his eighth assist of the campaign on Keegan’s goal. Bowen leads the club in both goals and assists this season.
| CORPUS CHRISTI FC | RICHMOND KICKERS | |
| 7 | SHOTS | 24 |
| 2 | SHOTS ON TARGET | 10 |
| 1 | SAVES | 4 |
| 15 | FOULS | 11 |
| 1 | CORNERS WON | 11 |
| 1 | YELLOW CARDS | 1 |
Written by Corpus Christi FC Communications Contributor Nate Martinez
About Corpus Christi FC
CCFC was established in 2017 by Dr. Kingsley Okonkwo. The club previously played in USL League Two, the nation’s leading pre-professional league, and won their first Lone Star Division title in 2024. That same year, Corpus Christi was awarded a USL League One franchise and will kick off its first professional season in 2026. CCFC is building a new home at the Corpus Christi Multi-Sport Complex currently being constructed at 5102 Old Brownsville Road. Phase One of the $28.3 million complex was completed in summer 2025 and a 5,000-seat stadium, which will serve as home for all of the Sharks’ USL League One home games, is currently under construction.
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