Sports stats



USL Charlotte Independence

Charlotte Independence v Miami FC: Match Preview

September 22, 2020 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charlotte Independence News Release


CHARLOTTE - The Charlotte Independence will return to the Sportsplex at Matthews on Wednesday, Sept. 23 when it takes on Miami FC at 7 p.m. and broadcast live on ESPN+. The matchup will play host to the Independence's Military Appreciation Night, presented by Famous Toastery.

In appreciation of current and former Military members and in an effort to honor all who serve, every player on the Independence roster will wear special Military Appreciation jerseys. Fans can now bid on Independence players' game-worn, autographed jerseys with proceeds going to both American Legion and Operation Wake Surf. The auction will run through Saturday, Sept. 26 until 1:30 p.m. ET.

LIVE NOW: MILITARY APPRECIATION NIGHT JERSEY

The matchup will be the Jacks' fourth game this season against an opponent outside of Group G. The Independence have posted a 7-3-3 record so far in 2020 with all but three of those games coming against Group G opponents.

"Miami is an extremely talented team," said Independence head coach Mike Jeffries. "The quality that they have in terms of attacking players is really quite high for our league. They are very dangerous going forward and really good in possession."

Last Saturday, the Independence won its seventh game and fourth in a row by defeating North Carolina FC, 1-0, at Sahlen's Stadium, WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The win marked the first time in franchise history that the Jacks claimed all three points on the road against North Carolina FC.

Aaron Maund tallied his first goal of the season for the Jacks and Jake Areman recorded an assist for the second straight game. Goalkeeper Brandon Miller and the Independence backline earned their third shutout of the 2020 USL Championship season.

In their last match, Miami FC lost on Sunday evening 2-0 against Charleston Battery, as the Battery clinched a playoff spot, leaving Miami FC officially out of playoff contention.

"Our mentality has to be sharp coming back from a game where we got a huge result on the road," added Jeffries. "Wednesday is a very important game for us as we need to continue pushing forward as much as possible."

PLACE YOUR BID NOW / / AUCTION ENDS 9/26/20 AT 1:30 PM ET

LAST TIME OUT: The Independence won its seventh game and fourth in a row by defeating North Carolina FC, 1-0, at Sahlen's Stadium, WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The win marked the first time in franchise history that the Jacks claimed all three points on the road against North Carolina FC.

Aaron Maund tallied his first goal of the season for the Jacks and Jake Areman recorded an assist for the second straight game. Goalkeeper Brandon Miller and the Independence backline earned their third shutout of the 2020 USL Championship season.

With the win, the Independence (7-3-3; 24 points), remain in second place in the Group G standings but move within one point of Legion FC with a game in hand (7-3-4; 25 points), followed by North Carolina FC (4-7-1; 13 points) and Memphis 901 FC (2-7-4; 10 points).

LAST TIME THEY MET: Charlotte and North Carolina FC most recently met last month on Saturday, August 5 at the Sportsplex at Matthews in Matthews, N.C.

The Independence were beaten for only the second time in the USL Championship this season as Miami FC defeated the Jacks 2-1 at Riccardo Silva Stadium on Sunday evening, in what was the first match between the two sides in USL Championship play.

Jake Areman tucked home moments into the match, but that advantage would be neutralized before the interval. Romario Williams converted a penalty to level the score before the break and then a late second-half free-kick by Tomas Granitto put Miami FC ahead and the scoreline was unchanged despite the visitors' exertions.

SERIES HISTORY (W-L-D)

Independence Record vs. Miami FC: (0-1-0)

Independence Home Record vs. Miami FC: (0-0-0)

Independence Away Record vs. Miami FC: (0-1-0)

STATISTICAL SNAPSHOT

CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE

Leading Scorer(s): Dane Kelly (10)

Assist Leader(s): Jake Areman, Joel Johnson (3)

Goals Per Game: 1.69

Saves Per Game: 4.15

Goals Against Average: 1.5

Shots on Target Per Game: 4.6

MIAMI FC

Leading Scorer(s): Romario Williams (6)

Assist Leader(s): Heath, Saydee (2)

Goals Per Game: 1.08

Saves Per Game: 2.90

Goals Against Average: 3.25

Shots on Target Per Game: 3.91

2020 CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE USL CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS: Lucas Hatsios, Brandon Miller, Austin Pack

DEFENDERS: Owen Barber, Clay Dimick, Shalom Dutey, Duke Lacroix, Aaron Maund, Dylan Mitchiner, Joel Johnson, Hugh Roberts, Joey Skinner

MIDFIELDERS: Jake Areman, Junior Etou, Derek Gebhard, Kevan George, Luke Haakenson, Rey Ortiz, Valentin Sabella, Oscar Ramsay

FORWARDS: Christian Chaney, Enzo Martinez, Tresor Mbuyu, Dane Kelly, Guido Valada

2020 NORTH CAROLINA FC USL CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER BY POSITION

2020 MIAMI FC USL CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS: Mark Pais, Bryant Gammiero, Brian Sylvestre

DEFENDERS: Marco Franco, Hassan Ndam, Lawrence Olum, Janos Lobe, Brenton Griffiths, Jalen Markey

MIDFIELDERS: Harrison Heath, Vincent Bezecourt, Tomas Granitto, Sebastián Velásquez, Prince Saydee, Brian James, Hector Morales, Lance Rozeboom

FORWARDS: Othello Bah, Romario Williams, Miguel González, Lloyd Sam, Mohamed Thiaw

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

- Eight players have scored for the Independence in the 2020 USL Championship: Dane Kelly (10), Luke Haakenson (3), Derek Gebhard, Enzo Martinez (2), Jake Areman, Aaron Maund, Rey Ortiz, Valentin Sabella (1)

- After reaching double-digit goals this season (10), Kelly has reached double-digit goals in a season for the sixth time in his career, the most of any player in the Championship's history.

- With his hat trick against North Carolina FC, Kelly now holds the record with the most hat tricks in league history (4).

- Nine players have recorded at least one assist for the Independence this year: Joel Johnson, Areman (3), Aaron Maund, Haakenson, (2), Guido Vadala, Gebhard, Kelly, Martinez, Sabella (1)

- Seven players have recorded a goal and an assist for the Jacks this season: Areman, Gebhard, Haakenson, Kelly, Martinez, Maund, Sabella

- Independence goalkeeper Brandon Miller's 54 saves is ranked first in the Championship this season.

- Against The Miami FC, Miller became only the second goalkeeper to post two outings this season with 8+ saves. Miller recorded eight saves against Miami having previously recorded nine saves against Sporting Kansas City II on March 8 to start the season.

- Miller also became the fifth player in the Championship's history to record 35 regular season shutouts. He has three total this season and 36 in his career.

- Martinez, Miller, Roberts, and Duke Lacroix are the only players to play all 1,170 minutes for the Jacks this season thus far.

Check out the Charlotte Independence Statistics

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...

United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 22, 2020


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central