Charlotte Independence Conceded Four Goals in Loss to Richmond Kickers
RICHMOND VA – The Charlotte Independence fell to the Richmond Kickers on the road 4-0 on Saturday, June 11 at City Stadium in Richmond, V.A.
“We have to stick together and put tonight behind us,” defender #17 Clay Dimick said. “We believe we can be at the top of the league, we have to go and show it next week in Raleigh.”
Richmond opened the scoring in the 14th minute to take an early 1-0 lead. #17 Jonathan Balnos received the ball on the left side of the Independence’s box and crossed in a pass to #8 Ethan Bryant who found the back of the net to score his first goal of the season.
Less than 10 minutes later, the Kickers doubled their advantage at home. Bolanos once again was on the left side of the box and delivered a cross. This time, it found the head of #9 Matthew Bentley and the Kickers took a 2-0 lead.
The Jacks continued attacking, creating chances in Richmond’s end but could not find the back of the net. Richmond scored their third goal of the match just minutes before heading into the locker room.
Bolanos earned his third assist of the night, once again finding Bryant in the box from a cross. Initially, Independence goalkeeper Derrek Chan made the save, but the ball bounced right back to Bolanos. He crossed it into the path of Bryant who scored his second goal of the night.
At half, the Jacks replaced #9 Ivan Luquetta with #18 Illia Shevtsov and #8 Will Vint with #4 Diego Rocha.
The Independence started the second half strong, with #90 Khori Bennett taking a shot to force a save from the Kickers’ goalkeeper in the 49th minute. The Jacks kept up the pressure, but could not break through.
“We made big mistakes at the beginning of the game and put ourselves in a hole. It’s natural that we’re going to make a push in the second half,” Head Coach, Mike Jeffries said. “I do give the guys credit for walking in at halftime down 3-0 giving away certainly a strange goal at the end of the half and continuing to fight and push.”
In the 61st minute, Jeffries made a change to bring on #11 Tresor Mbuyu in place of #21 Giuseppe Barone. It was Mbuyu’s first appearance since May 18, when he scored a goal against Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC.
“It was nice to get Tresor on the field and try to get him back in the rhythm of the game and get him up to speed,” Jeffries said. “If you’re going to look for positives from tonight I guess we’ll call that one.”
Richmond added onto its lead in the 74th minute to take a 4-0 lead. The Jacks continued to attack, and made multiple changes late in the second half. Defender #2 Hector Acosta and midfielder #26 Noah Behrmann entered the match, but it wasn’t enough to get on the scoreboard.
“I’m so grateful that the coaching staff gave me an opportunity to play tonight,” Behrmann said. “I wanted to give it my all for my teammates, coaches, and God!”
The final score in Richmond: Charlotte Independence 0 – Richmond Kickers 4
NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE: The Jacks continue their road trip next week to take on North Carolina FC at Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina on Saturday, June 18 at 7:00 PM. Fans can live stream all away matches for free on bahakelsports.com.
