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USL North Carolina FC

North Carolina FC Advance to Fourth Round of U.S. Open Cup with 1-0 Win over Florida Soccer Soldiers

May 29, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
North Carolina FC News Release


CARY, N.C. - North Carolina FC defeated the Florida Soccer Soldiers 1-0 in the first-ever matchup between the two teams during the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night. The only goal in the match came from NCFC Academy product and Raleigh native, DJ Taylor who scored his first ever North Carolina FC goal.

"The Open Cup is all about what you saw tonight," said North Carolina FC Head Coach Dave Sarachan. "The players from Florida did a good job of disrupting us in the first half. Our soccer was much better in the second half. We grinded it out and we are moving on."

The first half of the game was filled with fast-paced, aggressive soccer, yet neither team managed to get the ball into the back of the net. Each team took a handful of shots but were not able to get any points on the board.

In first half added time, Soccer Soldiers' defender, Luis Calderon, received a yellow card that resulted in a free kick for NCFC, giving the team one last attempt to score before halftime. Dre Fortune took the shot, yet the ball curved too far right, leaving both teams scoreless entering the second half.

It didn't take long for NCFC to get to work as Taylor, scored a goal right off the bat in the 47th minute. After a forward pass from Steven Miller, Taylor dribbled up the middle of the field and put the ball in the lower right corner of the net. This gave the defender his first Open Cup goal, and his first ever North Carolina FC goal.

Between the 60th and the 70th minute of the match, NCFC had a few good looks on goal, yet Soccer Soldiers' goalkeeper, Bryant Martin Gammiero, was able to respond to the shots with impressive saves that prevented NCFC from extending their lead.

In the 88th minute, NCFC had one last attempt to solidify their win with a shot on goal from Donovan Ewolo, but Gammiero was able to prevent NCFC from going up 2-0.

The match wrapped up with back-to-back cards, including a send-off for Carlos Freire, for the Soccer Soldiers that prevented them from having any last-minute scoring opportunities.

North Carolina FC will find out their MLS opponent for the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup tomorrow, May 30, at 11 a.m. The location of the match will also be revealed at that time. Follow @opencup on Twitter for live updates.

Up Next:

North Carolina FC will resume its USL Championship campaign on Saturday, June 1 at 7 p.m. against Hartford Athletic at Rentschler Field in Hartford, Connecticut.

Notes:

Taylor recorded his first ever goal in an NCFC uniform. The NCFC Academy product also has two assists under his belt in 2019.

Four NCFC Academy products appeared in the game as Taylor, Manny Perez, Caleb Duvernay and Dre Fortune all started for the home side

Austin da Luz made his first appearance since April 20 after being sidelined with an injury. Da Luz entered the game as a sub in the 77th minute

While the next round has not been announced NCFC will face a Major League Soccer Team in the fourth round of the US Open Cup.

The announcement and hosting scenario will be unveiled via Twitter on May 30 at 11 a.m. ET on @OpenCup

Box Score:

NCFC (4-2-3-1): Darrin MacLeod; Caleb Duvernay, Aaron Guillen ©, Tim Mehl, DJ Taylor; Duval Wapiwo (Austin da Luz,77'), Graham Smith; Yamikani Chester, Dre Fortune, Manny Perez (Steven Miller, 46'); Robert Kristo (Donovan Ewolo, 73')

Subs not used: Alex Tambakis, Ben Speas, Austin Panchot, Victor Igbekoyi

FSS (5-3-2): Bryant Gammiero; Sebastian Aldunate (Manuel Coll, 85'), Luis Calderon ©, Julian Hoyos Cadavid, Josduar Serrano, Adolfo Suazo Williams; Jose Miguel Boggio, Carlos Daniel Meneses Freire, Andres Ruiz de Somocurcio (Mario Ferro, 56'); Jose Alejandro Guanipa Morales (Armando Olivares, 55'), Valentin Sabella

Subs not used: Daniel Espantoso, Juan Carlos Paredes Rios, William Stamatis, Simon Vasquez

Score:

NCFC: 1

FSS: 0

Goals:

NCFC: DJ Taylor (Steven Miller, 47')

FSS:

Cautions:

NCFC: Tim Mehl 21', Duval Wapiwo 71'

FSS: Valentin Sabella 45+4', Armando Olivares 90+2'

Ejections:

NCFC: --

FSS: Carlos Daniel Meneses Freire 90+2'

Attendance: 1,270

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 29, 2019


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.

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