Another exciting week where all clubs were in action. It turns out, NOCO can be stopped, and the state of North Carolina is where they finally ran into their wall. Here’s a review of the action:
- Madison 1-4 Tormenta
- NCFC 2-0 NOCO
- Charlotte 4-1 NOCO
- Lexington 2-2 Richmond
- Chattanooga 1-2 NCFC
- Madison 1-1 Greenville
- Omaha 3-2 Tormenta
- Fuego 0-1 One Knox
1) North Carolina FC
Last week: 4
Record: 10-4-4 (2nd)
Matches since last ranking: WIN vs. NOCO 2-0; WIN at Chattanooga 1-2
Next league match: at Tormenta
NCFC left the week with six of six possible points, handing Northern Colorado its first loss since April. The squad left the usually solid NOCO defense flat-footed almost all of the first half, and a beauty of a free kick from Louis Pérez as the first half expired put the hosts up by one. Of course, this is always a dangerous proposition to be in against Northern Colorado. But the home defense frustrated the visitors at every turn throughout the second half and stepped up in support of third-string goalkeeper Trevor Mulqueen who only faced one shot on target. Oalex Anderson finally broke away late in the match to seal the deal, scoring his 10th of the year.
A few days later, the squad would roll into Chattanooga and handle the Red Wolves on first half goals from Raheem Somersall and Rafa Mentzingen. This time it was Brooks Thompson in goal, making five saves on the night. The 21 year old joined the team on loan from Union II only the day before.
While the goaltending question is still open with the absence of Nick Holliday and Tor Saunders, it doesn’t seem to be much of an issue at the moment. They’ll likely be tested again when they travel to Statesboro to face a potent Tormenta offense on Saturday.
2) Hailstorm FC
Last week: 1
Record: 10-5-3 (1st)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS at NCFC 2-0; LOSS at Charlotte 4-1
Next league match: vs. Lexington
Last week we asked: is there a club out there that can put a stop to Hailstorm FC? Turns out, there are two, and they’re both in the state of North Carolina. The undefeated streak ended at 12 with a mid-week loss at NCFC, and then turned into the first losing streak of the season with a 4-1 drubbing at Charlotte. Perhaps we can chalk it up to playing two away matches in a row in a week where the heat and humidity were especially brutal on both nights, but the squad did not look like the one we’ve been seeing for the last few months.
Still, they’ve built enough of a cushion to where they still lead the league table, and lead in almost every metric that goes into these rankings. We bump them to number two based only only on the fact that NCFC has 11 points in their last five matches, while NOCO falls to nine.
They’ll return home this weekend to face Lexington.
3) Charlotte Independence
Last week: 5
Record: 9-6-6 (3rd)
Matches since last ranking: WIN vs. Northern Colorado 4-1
Next league Match: at Greenville
The Jacks made a statement with a 4-1 win over first place Northern Colorado, after a disappointing loss to Fuego FC last weekend. Dane Kelly got the party started early with a penalty conversion after a Rob Cornwall foul, and Avionne Flanagan added an important insurance goal to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. They’d concede one soon after the second half started, but Fabrice Ngah and Gabriel Obertan came off the bench as the latter assisted the former in the 77th minute. Obertan notched another assist minutes later on a Dane Kelly goal to drive the nail into this coffin. Meanwhile, Austin Pack saved five to keep his side in the lead.
When this squad is healthy, they go deep. They’ll try to keep things going at Greenville on Saturday in the final match of a series that is currently split.
4) Greenville Triumph
Last week: 3
Record (8-5-6, 5th)
Matches since last ranking: DRAW at Madison, 1-1
Next match:
Greenville would have liked to have jumped their hosts in the standings, but had to settle for a road draw at Madison. Christian Chaney notched another early goal to put his side up, but Greenville survived a first half onslaught, and the crossbar stopped a Jayden Onen penalty kick late in the half to keep Greenville in the match. They’d come back out with a vengeance, drawing the match on a Noah Franke goal.
Greenville now finds itself solidly within the playoff bubble, and will look to keep things rolling with a visit from Charlotte on Saturday.
5) Forward Madison
Last week: 2
Record: 8-6-5 (4th)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS vs. Tormenta 4-1; DRAW vs. Greenville 1-1
Next match: at Richmond
It was a disappointing week in Madison, as the Mingos walked away from two home matches against lower ranked teams with only one point. On Wednesday, things seemed to be on the right track after Christian Chaney scored the fastest goal in club history, only 17 seconds into the match. But Tormenta would answer just seven minutes later, and then added three more in the second half to complete the rout. Then on Saturday against Greenville, it was Chaney adding an early goal again, but the Mingoes were unable to capitalize on a rare penalty kick, as Jayden Onen sent the shot off the crossbar. They settled for a draw, and one of six possible points.
Next up is another trip to Richmond, a place where they’ve already won this season.
6) Union Omaha
Last week: 6
Record: 7-7-5 (6th)
Matches since last ranking: WIN vs. Tormenta
Next Match: vs. Tormenta 3-2
The Owls did what they had to do to fend off a Tormenta side that was coming off a huge win at Madison just a few days before. A first half offensive attack led to JP Scearce putting away the squad’s first penalty kick of the season, and just five minutes into the second half, Joe Gallardo sent a cross into the box headed into the net by Steevan Dos Santos. They’d concede two to put themselves into yet another dreaded draw, but this time they were able to seal the win when Alexis Souahy drove in a shot after some corner kick chaos in stoppage time.
Omaha did not move up in the table, but the win capitalized on Richmond’s draw to remain in the bubble. They’ll have a busy week with home matches against Lexington and Knoxville. Maximizing those points would move them well into the playoff race, rather than just hanging in the last spot.
7) Tormenta FC
Last week: 8
Record: 7-3-9 (9th)
Matches since last ranking: WIN at Madison 4-1; LOSS at Omaha 3-2
Next match: vs. NCFC
Tormenta once again failed to jump in the standings, but looked much better this week. First up was a 4-1 rout of Forward Madison, a match in which Kazaiah Sterling scored twice, Jackson Khoury had a goal and two assists and Matheus Cassini scored against his old team. The momentum was strong going into Omaha a few days later, but they went down 2-0 before equalizing, and ultimately conceding a tie-breaking goal in stoppage time.
They’ll return home on Saturday to host NCFC, and will look to conjure whatever magic they had in Madison. Sitting four points outside of the bubble, it’s still within reach, but they’ll need to find consistency, something that has eluded them all season.
8) Richmond Kickers
Last week: 7
Record: 6-8-6 (7th)
Matches since last ranking: DRAW at Lexington 2-2
Next match: vs. Madison
Sure it was a road draw, but at this point in the season, any match with a lower ranked team needs to be a must-win for a team sitting just outside of the playoff bubble. Nil Vinyas put the squad up 2-1 going into the second half, but an own goal off of Simon Fitch in the 68th minute set up Lexington to escape with a draw they probably didn’t deserve.
Richmond hosts Madison on Saturday. They remain only two points outside of the bubble, but also only one and two points ahead of Knoxville and Tormenta respectively. The pressure is on, and like Tormenta, they need to find some consistency.
9) One Knoxville SC
Last week: 10
Record: 6-7-8 (8th)
Matches since last ranking: WIN at Fuego 1-0
Next match: at Omaha
One Knox finally broke its losing streak with a 1-0 win at Fuego FC. Newcomer Rodolfo Castro scored the penalty kick in stoppage time to escape California with three points instead of one. It was an ugly match with a red card handed out to each side in the second half. Still, One Knox managed to prevent any shots on target from their hosts and the penalty kick was all they needed.
They’ll be without Dani Fernandez, serving the red card suspension, as they travel to Omaha on Saturday. Every match is now a must win as they head into August three points out of the playoffs, competing with Omaha, Richmond and Tormenta for that final spot.
10) Lexington SC
Last week: 11
Record: 4-6-9 (10th)
Matches since last ranking: DRAW vs. Richmond
Next match: at Omaha
It wasn’t pretty, and it took an own goal by their visitors to seal the deal, but Lexington managed to walk away with a point against a Richmond side that seemed to be cruising to a 2-1 win. But with Tormenta and Knoxville each adding three points last week, it wasn’t enough to move any closer to contention.
It’s a busy week coming up with a visit to Omaha and then Northern Colorado.
11) Fuego FC
Last week: 9
Record: 5-1-12 (11th)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS vs One Knox 1-0
Next match: vs Chattanooga
It was back down to earth for Fuego this week, as they returned to their no-shots-on-target ways and another 1-0 loss, this time to Knoxville. Maximus Ekk took a red card in the second half and will miss next week’s matchup with last place Chattanooga.
12) Red Wolves SC
Last week: 12
Record: 4-4-11 (12th)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS vs NCFC, 2-1
Next match: at Fuego
The squad went down early to NCFC, but put up a bit of a fight with six shots on target, one of which found its way through late in the match. But there was no late game magic this time, and they took the loss. They’ll try again at Fuego on Saturday, in a battle to exit the basement of the league. Making matters worse after the match, the team announced interim coach Jimmy Weekley would be taking a medical leave of absence. Our thoughts are with Coach Weekley as he battles through.