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USL1 North Carolina FC

North Carolina FC Fall at Home to South Georgia Tormenta FC

September 16, 2023 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
North Carolina FC News Release


CARY, N.C. - North Carolina FC fell 2-3 to South Georgia Tormenta FC at WakeMed Soccer Park. Tormenta took the last game in the season series, making their record against NCFC 2-1. North Carolina moved to second place in the league and clenched their playoff position tonight.

North Carolina FC came out strong in the first ten minutes of the half and kept over 58% of possession in the first half. NCFC had 32 final third entries with only four shots on target. However Tormenta took one of their two big chances to score an early goal, after a cross into the box Pedro Fonseca deflected a ball for Mukwelle Akale to put away for the 0-1 lead at halftime.

North Carolina came back to even up the match only four minutes into the second half when Raheem Somersall hit a top of the box banger into the bottom right corner. Oalex Anderson doubled the lead for North Carolina after taking on two defenders and put it away on a sliding shot. Tormenta made it 2-2 in the 82nd minute after some NCFC defensive misplays, Jackson Khoury took his opportunity to even up the score. South Georgia put on the pressure in extra time, when Kingsford Adjei got a chest pass from Kazaiah Sterling, to secure the 2-3 win against North Carolina.

Quoting North Carolina FC

Head Coach John Bradford on the match:

"We did not clear the ball on two different occasions and then got punished for it both times, giving them an opportunity to get back in the game. There wasn't enough mature quality and character for us to see the game out collectively. It's disappointing to drop this, especially after having gone back early in the second half and to show character at that moment, but it wasn't a complete game for us tonight."

Head Coach John Bradford on Raheem Somersall's contribution:

"At halftime Raheem was loud and had energy and wanted the group to be able to respond. He is a competitor and a warrior type player. He gave everything he had this evening, which he always does."

Midfielder Raheem Somersall on the match and the coming week:

"It was good to get on the score sheet. I felt like they had a little bit of momentum later in the game and some mistakes by us that cost us the game in the end. I think we're still in a good spot, we let it slip away tonight, but the good thing is we have two games coming up this week. One of our team values is not to lose two in a row, so we refocus, come back on Monday and try to get the points."

Forward Nathan Ntalu on his first professional start and the looking ahead:

"It's a good feeling to start, and to be able to contribute to the team. Unfortunately, we lost the match. I think we had a couple of mistakes that we must fix quickly. We have a big week that's coming, so we just have to go again and keep on working."

Match Notes:

North Carolina have scored in each of their last 15 games in the USL League One, scoring 32 goals in that run.

O. Anderson has scored 14 goals this season (1 in this game), more than any other North Carolina player in the USL League One.

R. Somersall has assisted and scored his second goal in the USL League One this season.

Next Up:

North Carolina FC travels west to face Central Valley Fuego FC on Wednesday, September 20, for a 10:00 p.m. ET (7 PT) kickoff at Fresno State Soccer Stadium. The match will stream live on ESPN+.

Box Score:

NCFC (4-3-1-2): Brooks Thompson, Nelson Blanco, Gustavo Fernandes, David Garcia, Christian Lue Young, Rafael Mentzingen (Max Flick - 75'), Michael Maldonado, Raheem Somersall, Louis Perez (Luis Arriaga - 76'), Nathan Ntalu (Jaden Servania - 64'), Garrett McLaughlin (Oalex Anderson - 45')

Subs Not Used: Tor Saunders, Dj Benton, Preston Popp

TRM(4-4-2): Pablo Jara, Davey Mason (Kingsford Adjei - 76'), Preston Kilwien, Daltyn Knutson, Nick Akoto, Pedro Fonseca, Chris Heckenberg, Tobias Otieno (John Murphy Jr - 76'), Mukwelle Akale (Jackson Khoury - 64'), Arthur Bosua (Elijah Amo - 76'), Kazaiah Sterling

Subs Not Used: Tj Bush, Deshawon Nembhard, Collin Mocyunas

Score:

NCFC: 2

TRM: 3

Goals:

NCFC: R. Sommersall -- 49', O. Anderson 60' -- ( R. Sommersall)

TRM: M. Akale -- 21' (P. Fonseca), J. Khoury -- 82', K. Adjei -- 90+4' ( K. Sterling)

Cautions:

NCFC: G. Fernandes-- 32', M. Maldonado -- 47', R. Sommersall -- 62'

TRM: P. Kilwien -- 16', N. Akoto -- 90+2

Ejections:

NCFC: -

TRM:

Check out the North Carolina FC Statistics



United Soccer League One Stories from September 16, 2023


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