Arlington, TX (August 14, 2021) – North Carolina FC came up short against North Texas SC, 4-0, in a chippy contest which featured six yellow cards and 28 fouls. NCFC out-possessed the home side, but an impressive solo-goal from Kalil ElMedkhar preceded a pair of counter-attacking goals from Kazu and Gabriel Morais before a penalty kick from Dominic Hernandez capped off the win for North Texas.
Despite solid, early high-pressing from NCFC, North Texas opened the scoring early through Kalil ElMedkhar who was able to find space in the penalty area and slot the ball past NCFC goalkeeper Jake McGuire. The ball came to his feet from Hope Aveyevu, and the striker was able to chop the ball back towards the goal and onto his left foot before releasing his shot and finding the net.
Deeper into the half, after NCFC found their footing in the game with several offensive chances, North Texas scored their second of the match off a rebound through Kazu. Dominic Hernandez struck the post with a right-footed shot from the center of the box, but the ball popped out straight to Kazu who passed it into the empty net. The goal game against the run of play in the few minutes preceding it, but put North Texas firmly in the driver’s seat.
Shortly before halftime, North Texas was able to extend their lead as North Carolina continued to press forward in search of a lifeline. The Texan side found another counter-attacking chance as Derek Waldeck charged up the pitch from his own half and took on five NCFC defenders before slipping Gabriel Morais in behind who confidently slotted the ball past McGuire despite his best efforts.
After a stint of pressure on the NCFC goal, North Texas further stretched their lead from the spot after Gabriel Morais took a tumble in the box under pressure from Malik Mbaye in the 58th minute. The kick was converted by Dominic Hernandez, who stepped up and passed the ball to Jake McGuire’s right.
“Obviously a disappointing result tonight,” Head Coach John Bradford said. “There was a failure to defend in and around our box in the first half. We allowed the opponent too much time and space on their first two real moments in our defensive third and we were punished with conceding two early goals. Although there were some encouraging moments throughout the game, it doesn’t change the result and how we desperately need to improve the details in our defending. This has been a tough stretch of games for the group having played four games in under two weeks. We will use the next few days to recover and then shift our focus to improving and getting back on the right track.”
Match Notes:
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Coming into the match, both teams held the lowest number of yellow cards in the league, yet the match saw six total bookings, four yellow cards to North Texas and two to NCFC
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NCFC out-possessed North Texas, 60% to 40%
-
In aerial duels, NCFC dominated 66.7%
Up Next: North Carolina FC will return home to face Forward Madison on Wednesday, August 25 at 7 p.m. ET at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. Tickets available here and the match will also air live on ESPN+.
Box Score:
NCFC (4-5-1): Jake McGuire, Max Flick, Shermaine Martina(Nelson Flores —46’), Malick Mbaye, Malyk Hamilton, Nelson Martinez, Peter Pearson(Jay Tee Kamara —60’), Josh Coan, Nazmi Albadawi, Cole Frame(Thorn Simpson —84’), Robert Kristo(Selmir Miscic —60’)
Subs Not Used: Britton Fischer, Nick Holliday, Caden Tolentino,
NTX (4-3-3): Colin Shutler, Derek Waldeck, Mark Salas, Rio Ramirez, Collin Smith, Michael Maldonado(Caiser Gomes —77’), Blaine Ferri(Jorge Almaguer —65’) , Hope Avayevu (Dominick Hernandez —24’), Kalil ElMedkhar, Gabriel Morais(Gibran Rayo —77’), Kazu(Bernard Kamungo —64’)
Subs Not Used: Richard Sánchez, Thibaut Jacquel
Score:
NCFC: 0
NTX: 4
Goals:
NCFC:
NTX: Kalil ElMedkhar —11’ , Kazu —26’ , Gabriel Morais —40’ , Dominic Hernandez (p) —58’
Cautions:
NCFC: Max Flick —34’ , Nazmi Albadawi —67’
NTX: Hope Aveyevu —21’ , Michael Maldonado —66’ , Jorje Almaguer —69’ , Collin Smith —74’
Ejections:
NCFC: —
NTX: —
Arlington, TX (August 14, 2021) – North Carolina FC came up short against North Texas SC, 4-0, in a chippy contest which featured six yellow cards and 28 fouls. NCFC out-possessed the home side, but an impressive solo-goal from Kalil ElMedkhar preceded a pair of counter-attacking goals from Kazu and Gabriel Morais before a penalty kick from Dominic Hernandez capped off the win for North Texas.
Despite solid, early high-pressing from NCFC, North Texas opened the scoring early through Kalil ElMedkhar who was able to find space in the penalty area and slot the ball past NCFC goalkeeper Jake McGuire. The ball came to his feet from Hope Aveyevu, and the striker was able to chop the ball back towards the goal and onto his left foot before releasing his shot and finding the net.
Deeper into the half, after NCFC found their footing in the game with several offensive chances, North Texas scored their second of the match off a rebound through Kazu. Dominic Hernandez struck the post with a right-footed shot from the center of the box, but the ball popped out straight to Kazu who passed it into the empty net. The goal game against the run of play in the few minutes preceding it, but put North Texas firmly in the driver’s seat.
Shortly before halftime, North Texas was able to extend their lead as North Carolina continued to press forward in search of a lifeline. The Texan side found another counter-attacking chance as Derek Waldeck charged up the pitch from his own half and took on five NCFC defenders before slipping Gabriel Morais in behind who confidently slotted the ball past McGuire despite his best efforts.
After a stint of pressure on the NCFC goal, North Texas further stretched their lead from the spot after Gabriel Morais took a tumble in the box under pressure from Malik Mbaye in the 58th minute. The kick was converted by Dominic Hernandez, who stepped up and passed the ball to Jake McGuire’s right.
“Obviously a disappointing result tonight,” Head Coach John Bradford said. “There was a failure to defend in and around our box in the first half. We allowed the opponent too much time and space on their first two real moments in our defensive third and we were punished with conceding two early goals. Although there were some encouraging moments throughout the game, it doesn’t change the result and how we desperately need to improve the details in our defending. This has been a tough stretch of games for the group having played four games in under two weeks. We will use the next few days to recover and then shift our focus to improving and getting back on the right track.”
Match Notes:
-
Coming into the match, both teams held the lowest number of yellow cards in the league, yet the match saw six total bookings, four yellow cards to North Texas and two to NCFC
-
NCFC out-possessed North Texas, 60% to 40%
-
In aerial duels, NCFC dominated 66.7%
Up Next: North Carolina FC will return home to face Forward Madison on Wednesday, August 25 at 7 p.m. ET at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. Tickets available here and the match will also air live on ESPN+.
Box Score:
NCFC (4-5-1): Jake McGuire, Max Flick, Shermaine Martina(Nelson Flores —46’), Malick Mbaye, Malyk Hamilton, Nelson Martinez, Peter Pearson(Jay Tee Kamara —60’), Josh Coan, Nazmi Albadawi, Cole Frame(Thorn Simpson —84’), Robert Kristo(Selmir Miscic —60’)
Subs Not Used: Britton Fischer, Nick Holliday, Caden Tolentino,
NTX (4-3-3): Colin Shutler, Derek Waldeck, Mark Salas, Rio Ramirez, Collin Smith, Michael Maldonado(Caiser Gomes —77’), Blaine Ferri(Jorge Almaguer —65’) , Hope Avayevu (Dominick Hernandez —24’), Kalil ElMedkhar, Gabriel Morais(Gibran Rayo —77’), Kazu(Bernard Kamungo —64’)
Subs Not Used: Richard Sánchez, Thibaut Jacquel
Score:
NCFC: 0
NTX: 4
Goals:
NCFC:
NTX: Kalil ElMedkhar —11’ , Kazu —26’ , Gabriel Morais —40’ , Dominic Hernandez (p) —58’
Cautions:
NCFC: Max Flick —34’ , Nazmi Albadawi —67’
NTX: Hope Aveyevu —21’ , Michael Maldonado —66’ , Jorje Almaguer —69’ , Collin Smith —74’
Ejections:
NCFC: —
NTX: —
