USL Birmingham Legion FC

Legion FC Earns Dramatic Draw in Final Minute at Charlotte

Published on August 13, 2020 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Birmingham Legion FC News Release


CHARLOTTE, NC - After playing its fourth match in just 12 days, waiting out three 30+ minute lightning delays, going down to 10 men in the 80th minute, and falling behind in the 82nd, Birmingham Legion FC still fought to the final minute and earned a vital point, thanks to a Mikey Lopez goal at the death.

Both teams found it difficult to get into any sort of rhythm after kickoff was delayed and then play was paused in the 36th and 63rd minute due to weather, but Charlotte's Dane Kelly, the USL Championship's all-time leading goal scorer scored from a tight angle with less than ten minutes to go before stoppage time. The goal may have seemed like the winner, after Birmingham's Anderson Asiedu was sent off just moments before after picking up a second yellow card, but there is no quit in this 2020 Legion FC squad.

Some late hustle into the Independence area earned Birmingham a series of late corner kicks. Even goalkeeper Matt VanOekel got into the action, coming all the way into the opposition box to try and steal a point late, and he got a shot off, a header on a corner in the 92nd minute, that Charlotte 'keeper Brandon Miller had to parry away. Then VanOekel, again left unmarked at the back post, headed the ensuing corner back into the mix, a scramble ensued, and Lopez latched onto the ball at the edge of the six yard box and slammed it into the back of the net.

"I think when you do it once it builds confidence that you can do it again," said Head Coach Tommy Soehn when asked how his team keeps managing to grind out late results. "Over the course of the past couple of games...we haven't been at our best. Their tactics were to sit in and bunker down, and that's hard to break down, you know. It was difficult, so it ended up not being as pretty as you'd like. While you control possession, they're looking to sit in and counter.

"That doesn't often make for a pretty game, but I give our guys credit, they never stopped working. Obviously, when you go down a man, and give up a goal, the first instinct is to quit. Our guys didn't. Matt [VanOekel] pushing up and giving us a chance with such an awesome headed ball was great. We needed to find a way to do it and we did it, congrats to him and Mikey [Lopez] for finishing the goal."

"It's just our togetherness," said Lopez when asked about his team's willingness to play hard until the last minute. "We fight all game long no matter what the score is or what minute it is. We're going to continue fighting until that final whistle, and we showed that tonight."

Box Score:

1st Half 2nd Half

CLT 0 1

BHM 0 1

Goals:

CLT - 82' - #9 Dane Kelly (assisted by #15 Luke Haakenson)

BHM - 90+4' - #5 Mikey Lopez

Lineups:

BHM - #1 Matt VanOekel ©; #24 Jonny Dean, #21 Alex Crognale, #3 Bolu Akinyode, #5 Mikey Lopez; #6 Anderson Asiedu, #10 Prosper Kasim (76' - #2 Marcos Ugarte), #12 Eli Crognale (76' - #13 Jake Rufe), #8 Bruno Lapa (76' - #17 Jaden Servania); #14 Rudolf Mensah, #7 Brian Wright (90+5' - #20 Braxton Najib)

CLT - #33 Brandon Miller; #22 Joel Johnson, #3 Hugh Roberts, #18 Aaron Maund, #14 Duke Lacroix; #21 Junior Etou, #4 Jake Areman (81' - #15 Luke Haakenson), #27 Derek Gebhard (26' - #7 Rey Ortiz), #11 Valentin Sabella (81' - #23 Guido Vadala); #19 Enzo Martinez ©, #9 Dane Kelly (87' - #32 Tresor Mbuyu)

Legion FC wraps up its road trip with a contest at North Carolina FC on Saturday, August 15, at 6:00PM CT. For live match updates, follow @bhmlegion on Twitter, or tune in as the match will air live on My68 and ESPN+.

The next home match back at BBVA Field is Saturday, August 22 at 6:30PM versus Group G rivals Memphis 901 FC. Get tickets at bhmlegion.com/tickets, by emailing tickets@bhmlegion.com, or by calling the Legion FC Ticket Office at 205-791-7145.

Check out the Birmingham Legion FC Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 13, 2020


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