CARY, NC (April 9, 2022) – North Carolina FC fell short of the Chattanooga Red Wolves at home on Saturday night by a scoreline of 3-1. Despite the result, the match was highlighted by Garrett McLaughlin’s second goal of the season, as well as Oalex Anderson’s second assist. Nico Rincon also made his debut with the North Carolina side, entering the match in the 89th minute of play.
“For me, it’s disappointing because I thought the first half was very well-played by our guys,” said Head Coach John Bradford following the match. “We were organized, focused, and got a good goal in transition, keeping the clean sheet [during the first half]. There’s nothing more to do than learn from those moments [in the second half]. I think the positives are that the first half was what we wanted it to be.”
Garrett McLaughlin scored his second goal of the season in tonight’s contest, the scoring play beginning with Oalex Anderson receiving a ball into space and taking it to the endline. Cutting a pass back toward the penalty spot, Anderson connected with McLaughlin whose first touch was a shot past Carlos Avilez and into the lower 90 to give the home side the upper hand. McLaughlin’s goal marks the second time that Anderson and the striker have linked for a scoring play this season.
“[That was a] frustrating one,” NCFC captain Jordan Skelton said. “[We were] up 1-0 at halftime, we came out in the second half knowing that we’ve got over 45 minutes to do a job. Fair play to Chattanooga, they came out, did what they are known for, and raised the level. We’ve got to do better as a group, so lots of work to do, but we’ll stay positive – early start to the season, one win, one loss. We’ll roll our sleeves up and just keep working to get better.”
With 15 minutes gone in the second half, the Red Wolves knotted the score at 1-1 courtesy of Rey Ortiz, who entered the match as a substitute. Seven minutes later, Josue España netted a go-ahead goal for the visitors, with Aaron Lombardi adding Chattanooga’s third goal of the night in the 70th minute of play. Despite several near-chances to edge into the Red Wolves’ lead as the match drew to a close, John Bradford’s team was unable to find the net as Chattanooga collected three points on the road.
Match Notes:
- Garrett McLaughlin scored his second goal of the season in tonight’s contest.
- NCFC collected 15 clearances throughout the match.
- Oalex Anderson added his second assist of the season, servicing McLaughlin’s goal.
- Nico Rincon made his debut with the club in the 89th minute.
Up Next: North Carolina FC will take on Greenville Triumph SC at WakeMed Soccer Park next Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m. ET. Tickets to the match are available here, and the contest will stream on ESPN+.
Box Score:
NCFC (4-4-2): Will Pulisic, Christian Lue Young, Jordan Skelton ©, Gustavo Fernandes, Nelson Flores Blanco (Max Flick – 90’), Raheem Somersall, Luis Arriaga, Jaden Servania, Cole Frame, Garrett McLaughlin (Nicolas Rincon – 89’), Oalex Anderson (Showkat Tahir – 76’)
Subs Not Used: Britton Fischer, Nicholas Holliday, Pecka, Caden Tolentino
CHA (4-5-1): Carlos Avilez, Aaron Lombardi, Jorge Luna, Sebastian Capozucchi, Devin Benton, Jose Carrera-García, Josue Cartagena, Ernesto Espinoza (Andres Hernandez – 83’), Josue España (Nicolas Cardona – 83’), Rafael Mentzingen (David Texeira – 83’), Brian Bement (Rey Ortiz – 58’)
Subs Not Used: Tor Saunders, Jonny Guadarrama, Nico Cardona, Rey Ortiz, Pedro Hernandez, David Texeira
Score:
NCFC: 1
CHA: 3
Goals:
NCFC: Garrett McLaughlin (Oalex Anderson) – 19’
CHA: Rey Ortiz (Josue Carrera-García) – 60’, Josue España – 67’, Aaron Lombardi – 70’
Cautions:
NCFC: Jordan Skelton – 15’, Jaden Servania – 37’, Nelson Flores Blanco – 85’
CHA: Aaron Lombardi – 16’, Jorge Luna – 38’, Josue España – 64’, Nicolas Cardona – 88’
Ejections:
NCFC: —
CHA: —
