RICHMOND, Va. (August 9, 2023) — North Carolina FC finish their third match in their three-game road stretch with a 2-2 draw against the Richmond Kickers at City Stadium. North Carolina FC extend their unbeaten streak with 8 in a row and sit atop of the USL League One Table.
The match started with an intense physical matchup between both teams, as North Carolina had four yellow cards in the first half. Richmond started the scoring after a corner kick was headed in by Emiliano Terzaghi. Only three minutes later Garrett McLaughlin equalized the score when Nelson Flores Blanco soared a ball from the left side into the box, for McLaughlin to hit perfectly off his head into the back of the net making it 1-1 at half.
Only 15 minutes into the second half North Carolina was up a goal after a deflection from a corner kick deflection the Kickers defender Michael Hornsby gave up an own goal. Richmond came back in extra time after a long throw in was deflected to the penalty spot for Hornsby to smash into the upper ninety evening up the score ending the match with a 2-2 draw. North Carolina FC is coming home with one point and sitting top of the table going into the weekend.
Quoting North Carolina FC
Head Coach John Bradford on the match with the Richmond Kickers:
“Disappointed to not come away with all 3 points, but we’ll learn from it and move on. We have an important game with a quick turnaround back in front of our fans at home on Saturday..”
Defender Gustavo Fernandes on the match:
“It’s been a long couple weeks of being on the road but bringing back 7 points out of 9 isn’t the worst thing. Of course we wanted to bring home 3 points tonight and giving up a goal in the last minute like that really does sting. We need to move on from this because we have another huge game Saturday at home that we need to win.!”
Match Notes:
- North Carolina have scored in each of their last 8 games in the USL League One, scoring 17 goals in that run.
- North Carolina are undefeated in their last 8 games in the USL League One, their longest unbeaten streak in the competition.
- North Carolina have won 13 points from losing positions in the USL League One this season, no team has recovered more.
Next Up:
North Carolina FC will be back at home to face the Greenville Triumph on Saturday, August 12, with a 7:00 p.m. ET kickoff at WakeMed Soccer Park. The match will stream on ESPN+ and @NorthCarolinaFC will provide social media updates.
Box Score:
NCFC (4-4-2): Brooks Thompson, Nelson Blanco, Gustavo Fernandes, David Garcia, Devin Benton (Max Flick –87’), Luis Arriaga, Raheem Somersall, Michael Maldonado, Louis Perez (Preston Popp – 87’), Rafael Mentzingen (Oalex Anderson – 66’), Garrett McLaughlin (Chris Lue Young –74’)
Subs Not Used:, Trevor Mulqueen, Kyrome Lumsden, Marvin Mariche,
TRM (4-3-3): Akira Fitzgerald, Michael Hornsby, Dakota Barnathan, Nathan Aune, Simon Fitch, Nil Vinyals, Zacarías Morán C. O’Dwyer –64’), Justin Sukow (João Gomiero – 64’), Ryan Sierakowski, Emiliano Terzaghi, Matt Bentley (O. Gordon – 72’)
Subs Not Used: Palmquist, Gordon, Howell, Johnson, Mecham,
Score:
NCFC: 2
RIC: 2
Goals:
NCFC: G. McLaughlin — 36′ (N. Blanco), Own Goal – M. Hornsby 60′
RIC: E. Terzaghi — 33′ ( Nil Vinyals), M. Hornsby — 90+6′
Cautions:
NCFC: L. Perez –18′, D.Garcia — 28′, G. McLaughlin — 44′, R. Sommersall — 45+2′, P. Popp — 89
RIC: D. Barnathan — 75′
Ejections:
NCFC: –
RIC:
