Cary, NC (August 19, 2020)- Three close-range goals from the Charleston Battery lead to North Carolina FC’s defeated on Wednesday night at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. The Charleston Battery took home the Southern Derby for the second consecutive year. North Carolina FC goalkeeper Alex Tambakis had five saves during the match.
Daniele Proch started his first professional game by creating an early chance in the 10th minute. Ben Speas played a hard-driven ball into the box that Proch headed just over the crossbar. Just five minutes later, the Italian forward nearly scored again when Charleston’s goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky spilled a save. A Battery defender was able to get in front of the ball before Proch’s shot could break the goal line.
Tambakis came up with a big save in the 42nd minute on a breakaway to keep Charleston scoreless before the half. The score remained 0-0 going into halftime. North Carolina FC took seven shots in the first half.
In the 56th minute, Zeiko Lewis sent a ball across the box to a wide open Romaro Piggott. After a quick touch, Piggott was able to blast the ball into the net from very close range to put Charleston up 1-0.
In the 70th minute, Charleston scored again. A corner kick turned into several opportunities for the Battery right in front of the goal. Nicque Daly eventually put it in the net amidst a swarm of NCFC defenders.
An unlucky deflection gave Charleston a larger lead in the 81st minute. Stavros Zarokostas was in the right place at the right time when Jared Van Schaik played a ball that took the perfect bounce of NCFC’s backline. Zarokostas was able to score from close range.
“I thought Tambakis made some great saves for us tonight, but our quality in front of goal is not good enough,” said NCFC head coach Dave Sarachan. “You give a team a chance, and they buried it. So, disappointed that we didn’t get anything out of this game.”
North Carolina FC remains in third place with seven points in six games. Sarachan’s team will return to their home field at WakeMed Soccer Park again on Saturday, August 29.
Notes:
Daniele Proch made his first career professional start in the match.
North Carolina FC Youth products DJ Taylor and Conor Donovan started the match. Manny Perez and Dre Fortune came into the game as substitutions.
Alex Tambakis increased his save count to 19 on the season.
Up Next: North Carolina FC will travel to the Charlotte Independence on Wednesday, August 26 at 7 p.m. at Matthews Sportsplex.
Box:
NC (4-4-2): Alex Tambakis; Alex Comsia, Conor Donovan, DJ Taylor, Akeem Ward; Pecka (Graham Smith, 81’), Nazmi Albadawi © , Ben Speas (Manny Perez, 66’), Danielle Proch (Dre Fortune, 46’); Hadji Barry (Steven Miller, 66’), Marios Lomis (Robert Kristo, 78’)
Subs Not Used: Sam Brotherton, Paolo Pita
CHS (4-5-1): Joe Kuzminksy; Logan Gdula, Leland Archer, Jared van Schaik © , AJ Paterson (Kyle Nelson, 86’); Robbie Crawford, Angelo Kelly, Romario Piggott (Dante Marini, 66’), Mauro Cichero (Temi Adesodun, 86’, Zeiko Lewis (Stavros Zarokostas, 76’); Nicque Daley (Arthur Bosua, 75’)
Subs Not Used: Phil Breno, Renicco Clarke
Score:
NC: 0
CHS: 3
Goals:
NC: —
CHS: Romario Piggott (Zeiko Lewis, 56’), Nicque Daley (AJ Paterson, 69’), Stavros Zarokostas (Unassisted, 81’)
Cautions:
NC: Pecka (73’), Conor Donovan (90’), Dre Fortune (90’)
CHS: Angelo Kelly (29’)
Ejections:
NC: —
CHS: —
Cary, NC (August 19, 2020)- Three close-range goals from the Charleston Battery lead to North Carolina FC’s defeated on Wednesday night at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. The Charleston Battery took home the Southern Derby for the second consecutive year. North Carolina FC goalkeeper Alex Tambakis had five saves during the match.
Daniele Proch started his first professional game by creating an early chance in the 10th minute. Ben Speas played a hard-driven ball into the box that Proch headed just over the crossbar. Just five minutes later, the Italian forward nearly scored again when Charleston’s goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky spilled a save. A Battery defender was able to get in front of the ball before Proch’s shot could break the goal line.
Tambakis came up with a big save in the 42nd minute on a breakaway to keep Charleston scoreless before the half. The score remained 0-0 going into halftime. North Carolina FC took seven shots in the first half.
In the 56th minute, Zeiko Lewis sent a ball across the box to a wide open Romaro Piggott. After a quick touch, Piggott was able to blast the ball into the net from very close range to put Charleston up 1-0.
In the 70th minute, Charleston scored again. A corner kick turned into several opportunities for the Battery right in front of the goal. Nicque Daly eventually put it in the net amidst a swarm of NCFC defenders.
An unlucky deflection gave Charleston a larger lead in the 81st minute. Stavros Zarokostas was in the right place at the right time when Jared Van Schaik played a ball that took the perfect bounce of NCFC’s backline. Zarokostas was able to score from close range.
“I thought Tambakis made some great saves for us tonight, but our quality in front of goal is not good enough,” said NCFC head coach Dave Sarachan. “You give a team a chance, and they buried it. So, disappointed that we didn’t get anything out of this game.”
North Carolina FC remains in third place with seven points in six games. Sarachan’s team will return to their home field at WakeMed Soccer Park again on Saturday, August 29.
Notes:
Daniele Proch made his first career professional start in the match.
North Carolina FC Youth products DJ Taylor and Conor Donovan started the match. Manny Perez and Dre Fortune came into the game as substitutions.
Alex Tambakis increased his save count to 19 on the season.
Up Next: North Carolina FC will travel to the Charlotte Independence on Wednesday, August 26 at 7 p.m. at Matthews Sportsplex.
Box:
NC (4-4-2): Alex Tambakis; Alex Comsia, Conor Donovan, DJ Taylor, Akeem Ward; Pecka (Graham Smith, 81’), Nazmi Albadawi © , Ben Speas (Manny Perez, 66’), Danielle Proch (Dre Fortune, 46’); Hadji Barry (Steven Miller, 66’), Marios Lomis (Robert Kristo, 78’)
Subs Not Used: Sam Brotherton, Paolo Pita
CHS (4-5-1): Joe Kuzminksy; Logan Gdula, Leland Archer, Jared van Schaik © , AJ Paterson (Kyle Nelson, 86’); Robbie Crawford, Angelo Kelly, Romario Piggott (Dante Marini, 66’), Mauro Cichero (Temi Adesodun, 86’, Zeiko Lewis (Stavros Zarokostas, 76’); Nicque Daley (Arthur Bosua, 75’)
Subs Not Used: Phil Breno, Renicco Clarke
Score:
NC: 0
CHS: 3
Goals:
NC: —
CHS: Romario Piggott (Zeiko Lewis, 56’), Nicque Daley (AJ Paterson, 69’), Stavros Zarokostas (Unassisted, 81’)
Cautions:
NC: Pecka (73’), Conor Donovan (90’), Dre Fortune (90’)
CHS: Angelo Kelly (29’)
Ejections:
NC: —
CHS: —
