Match Recap: North Carolina FC Snap Triumph’s Winning Streak
CARY, NC (May 21, 2022) – North Carolina FC snapped Greenville Triumph SC’s three-game unbeaten streak on Saturday night, defeating their regional rival, 1-0, behind an early goal from midfielder Luis Arriaga. The goal was Arriaga’s first of the regular season, with Jaden Servania picking up the assist. Nick Holliday recorded his second regular-season appearance between the posts in tonight’s match, collecting his first professional clean sheet.
“I thought that was the most complete performance that we’ve put together so far this year,” Head Coach John Bradford said following the match. “In previous games, we’ve found a way to have a moment where we lose focus or lose concentration or whatever it may be as the game wears on, but you had a feeling about the group tonight…that they were going to make sure that they saw out getting three points.”
“I’m really happy to get my first professional clean sheet,” Holliday said of the game. “It was an all around great effort from the guys, we stuck to our game plan and it paid off. Overall, I’m really excited and grateful.”
Arriaga scored the lone goal of the contest, and the scoring play began when a misclearance by a Triumph defender fell to the feet of Servania just outside the six. Looking for a shot on goal, Servania instead sent a slot pass to Arriaga, whose first touch was a line drive into the lower 90 to give the North Carolina side the 1-0 advantage in the 8th minute. Arriaga’s goal was his first of the regular season and determined the match result, with the NCFC defense preserving the scoreline through the rest of the match.
Up Next: North Carolina FC will play their third consecutive home match against the Richmond Kickers on Saturday, May 28, at WakeMed Soccer Park at 7 p.m. ET. Tickets are available here, and the match will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Match Notes:
- Nick Holliday recorded his first professional clean sheet in tonight’s match.
- Luis Arriaga scored his first goal of the regular season to win the game.
- North Carolina FC collected 21 clearances throughout the match.
Box Score:
NCFC (4-4-2): Nicholas Holliday, Christian Lue Young, Jordan Skelton ©, Britton Fischer, Nelson Flores Blanco, Raheem Somersall, Luis Arriaga, Jaden Servania (Gustavo Fernandes – 84’), Nelson Martinez, Garrett McLaughlin (Max Flick – 90+3’), Oalex Anderson (Cole Frame – 75’)
Subs Not Used: Will Pulisic, Max Flick, Drew Kerr, Nicolas Rincon, Showkat Tahir
GVL (4-4-2): Paul Christensen, Tyler Polak, Evan Lee, Brandon Fricke, Nate Shultz (Jimmy Filerman – 66’), Allen Gavilanes, Aaron Walker, Don Smart (Venton Evans – 46’), Lucas Coutinho, Jesus Ibarra (Jacob Labovitz – 81’), Jake Keegan
Subs Not Used: Ben Hale, Peter Pearson, Miles Felton, Alex Cox-Ashwood
Score:
NCFC: 1
GVL: 0
Goals:
NCFC: Luis Arriaga (Jaden Servania) – 8’
GVL: –
Cautions:
NCFC: Luis Arriaga – 62’, Nelson Martinez – 74’, Garrett McLaughlin – 90+3’, Nelson Flores Blanco – 90+6’
GVL: Don Smart – 35’
Ejections:
NCFC: —
GVL: –
