CARY, N.C. (Oct. 9, 2024) — North Carolina FC took down FC Tulsa, 2-0, in a crucial midweek matchup in the home stretch of the 2024 USL Championship regular season.
With the win, NCFC improved to 11-11-9 on the season and jumped into a playoff position, moving up to seventh in the Eastern Conference with 42 points and three games to play.
Rodrigo Da Costa opened the scoring for NCFC in the 19’, pouncing on a rebound after a hard-hit shot from Rafa Mentzingen forced a tough save from the Tulsa keeper.
Evan Conway sealed the win with a penalty kick in the 81’. Louis Perez did well to beat a defender out wide and find Conway breaking into the box, who beat his defender with a chop to draw the penalty. The goal was Conway’s 10th of the season, tying him with Oalex Anderson for the team lead.
Match Notes:
- Lamar Batista hit 10,000 career combined USL (USL Championship and USL League One) regular season minutes in the 27’.
- Rodrigo Da Costa’s goal in the 19’ was his 10th goal contribution (six goals, four assists) of the season.
- Evan Conway’s penalty kick was his 10th goal of the season and brought him level with Oalex Anderson as the team’s leading scorer.
Up Next: North Carolina FC is back on the road to take on Hartford Athletic on Saturday, October 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The match will stream on ESPN+.
Box Score:
NCFC (3-4-2-1): Jake McGuire; Paco Craig ©, Lamar Batista, Bryce Washington; Ezra Armstrong, Mikey Maldonado, Collin Martin, Rafa Mentzingen (Jacori Hayes – 88’); Louis Perez (Shaft Brewer Jr. – 82’), Rodrigo Da Costa (Raheem Somersall – 68’), Evan Conway.
Subs Not Used: Trevor Mulqueen, Justin Malou, Daniel Navarro, Jaxon Silverman, Fin Sundstrom.
TUL (5-3-2): Johan Penaranda; Alexis Souahy ©, Rashid Tetteh (Arthur Rogers –68’), Patrick Seagrist (Santiago Sanchez – 85’), Owen Damm, Harvey St Clair; Boubacar Diallo, Andrew Booth (Sebastian Sanchez – 61’), Faysal Bettache; Aaron Bibout (Matthew Bell – 68’), Stefan Stojanovic (Diogo Pacheco – 61’).
Subs Not Used: Alexander Dalou, Joey Roggeveen.
Score:
NCFC: 2
TUL: 0
Goals:
NCFC: R. Da Costa – 19’, E. Conway – 81’ (PK)
TUL: –
Cautions:
NCFC: L. Perez – 30’, E. Armstrong – 36’
TUL: P. Seagrist – 22’, A. Bibout – 33’, A. Booth – 45’ + 3’, S. Sanchez – 85’
Ejections:
NCFC: –
TUL: –
Attendance: 1,959
