CARY, NC (June 5, 2021) — In a hard-fought battle strewn with close chances for the home squad, North Carolina FC fell short, 2-1, against Fort Lauderdale CF at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday night. Selmir Miščić added a goal to his tally on the season, totaling three goals in five appearances for the club. Mitchell Curry and Edison Azcona notched a goal apiece for the visitors.
“I feel for the guys in our locker room tonight,” Head Coach John Bradford said. “ To lose on a late goal after battling down a man for as long as the guys did, I hate this for our group. It was good to see more attacking chances created, but we know we need to finish better. Other positives that we’ll take away will be the professional debut of Damian Las, who I thought played well this evening, as well as Curtis De Leon, who also got his professional debut tonight.”
“It’s just the little moments that we are letting take over the game,” NCFC midfielder Peter Pearson said. “We’re getting a ton of chances and we are starting to click but it’s just about finishing those chances. We had more than they did tonight, we just need to capitalize. It’s coming for us.”
Despite the result, the young team pieced together what was arguably one of their most impressive performances on offense this season. The combined efforts of Miščić, Thorn Simpson, and Jay Tee Kamara contributed to several scoring chances in the final third. North Carolina FC will look to add their first win against the Greenville Triumph next Wednesday, June 16 at 7 p.m. ET.
Scoring Recap:
30’ Mitchell Curry (Venton Evans) – NCFC 0, FTL 1
Fort Lauderdale CF drew first blood in tonight’s match, as George Acosta threaded a through ball to Venton Evans on the right wing. Evans took a single touch and slotted a ball across the face of the net, landing directly into the path of Mitchell Curry as he sprinted into the box. Curry converted the close-range shot to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute.
36’ Selmir Miščić (Jay Tee Kamara) – NCFC 1, FTL 1
NCFC was quick to erase the 1-0 deficit, the equalizer beginning at the hands of Malick Mbaye, who sent a long ball to Thorn Simpson. Taking the ball to the goal line and shielding off a defender, Simpson completed a backheel pass to Jay Tee Kamara just outside the Fort Lauderdale box. With two quick touches, Kamara beat the defender on his back and slipped a pass to Selmir Miščić inside the six. On his first touch, Miščić netted his third goal of the season to tie the game at one goal apiece in the 36th minute.
90+2’ Edison Azcona (Josh Penn) – NCFC 1, FTL 2
Fort Lauderdale came away with all three points after finding a go-ahead goal in the second minute of stoppage time, as Josh Penn sent in a ball that found the head of Edison Azcona. Azcona redirected the header into the upper 90, narrowly avoiding the diving effort of keeper Damian Las to put Fort Lauderdale up 2-1 in the final minutes.
Match Notes:
- Damian Las, Shermaine Martina and Curtis De Leon made their NCFC and USL League One debuts in tonight’s match.
- Selmir Miščić scored his third goal of the season in tonight’s match.
- North Carolina FC maintained 84% pass accuracy throughout the contest.
Up Next: North Carolina FC will travel to take on Greenville Triumph SC on Wednesday, June 16 at 7 p.m. ET at Legacy Early College in Greenville, South Carolina.
Scoring Summary:
NCFC: Selmir Miščić (Jay Tee Kamara) 36’
FTL: Mitchell Curry (Venton Evans) 30’, Edison Azcona (Josh Penn) 90+2’
Box Score:
NCFC (4-5-1): Damian Las, Nelson Flores, Max Flick, Malick Mbaye, Nelson Martinez (Shermaine Martina — 34’ (Curtis De Leon — 90+1’), Pecka©, Peter Pearson, Selmir Miščić (Collin McCamy — 84’), Jay Tee Kamara (Josh Coan — 84’) , Luis Arriaga, Thorn Simpson (Yekeson Subah — 90+1’)
Subs Not Used: Cole Frame, Jake McGuire
FTL (4-4-2): Luis Zamudio, Christian Lue Young, Brian Rosales, Ethan Hardin, Sami Guediri (Ignacio Poplawski — 11’), Venton Evans, Harvey Neville, George Acosta, Josh Penn, Mitchell Curry, Shaan Hundal (Edison Azcona — 61’)
Subs Not Used: Luciano Natoli, Frank Nodarse, Francisco Raggio, Joshua Saavedra, Abel Caputo
Score:
NCFC: 1
FTL: 2
Goals:
NCFC: Selmir Miščić — 36’
FTL: Mitchell Curry — 30’, Edison Azcona — 90+2’
Cautions:
NCFC: Pecka — 78’
FTL: —
Ejections:
NCFC: Malick Mbaye — 77’
FTL: —
CARY, NC (June 5, 2021) — In a hard-fought battle strewn with close chances for the home squad, North Carolina FC fell short, 2-1, against Fort Lauderdale CF at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday night. Selmir MišÄiÄ added a goal to his tally on the season, totaling three goals in five appearances for the club. Mitchell Curry and Edison Azcona notched a goal apiece for the visitors.
“I feel for the guys in our locker room tonight,” Head Coach John Bradford said. “ To lose on a late goal after battling down a man for as long as the guys did, I hate this for our group. It was good to see more attacking chances created, but we know we need to finish better. Other positives that we’ll take away will be the professional debut of Damian Las, who I thought played well this evening, as well as Curtis De Leon, who also got his professional debut tonight.”
“It’s just the little moments that we are letting take over the game,” NCFC midfielder Peter Pearson said. “We’re getting a ton of chances and we are starting to click but it’s just about finishing those chances. We had more than they did tonight, we just need to capitalize. It’s coming for us.”
Despite the result, the young team pieced together what was arguably one of their most impressive performances on offense this season. The combined efforts of MišÄiÄ, Thorn Simpson, and Jay Tee Kamara contributed to several scoring chances in the final third. North Carolina FC will look to add their first win against the Greenville Triumph next Wednesday, June 16 at 7 p.m. ET.
Scoring Recap:
30’ Mitchell Curry (Venton Evans) – NCFC 0, FTL 1
Fort Lauderdale CF drew first blood in tonight’s match, as George Acosta threaded a through ball to Venton Evans on the right wing. Evans took a single touch and slotted a ball across the face of the net, landing directly into the path of Mitchell Curry as he sprinted into the box. Curry converted the close-range shot to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute.
36’ Selmir MišÄiÄ (Jay Tee Kamara) – NCFC 1, FTL 1
NCFC was quick to erase the 1-0 deficit, the equalizer beginning at the hands of Malick Mbaye, who sent a long ball to Thorn Simpson. Taking the ball to the goal line and shielding off a defender, Simpson completed a backheel pass to Jay Tee Kamara just outside the Fort Lauderdale box. With two quick touches, Kamara beat the defender on his back and slipped a pass to Selmir MišÄiÄ inside the six. On his first touch, MišÄiÄ netted his third goal of the season to tie the game at one goal apiece in the 36th minute.
90+2’ Edison Azcona (Josh Penn) – NCFC 1, FTL 2
Fort Lauderdale came away with all three points after finding a go-ahead goal in the second minute of stoppage time, as Josh Penn sent in a ball that found the head of Edison Azcona. Azcona redirected the header into the upper 90, narrowly avoiding the diving effort of keeper Damian Las to put Fort Lauderdale up 2-1 in the final minutes.
Match Notes:
- Damian Las, Shermaine Martina and Curtis De Leon made their NCFC and USL League One debuts in tonight’s match.
- Selmir MišÄiÄ scored his third goal of the season in tonight’s match.
- North Carolina FC maintained 84% pass accuracy throughout the contest.
Up Next: North Carolina FC will travel to take on Greenville Triumph SC on Wednesday, June 16 at 7 p.m. ET at Legacy Early College in Greenville, South Carolina.
Scoring Summary:
NCFC: Selmir MišÄiÄ (Jay Tee Kamara) 36’
FTL: Mitchell Curry (Venton Evans) 30’, Edison Azcona (Josh Penn) 90+2’
Box Score:
NCFC (4-5-1): Damian Las, Nelson Flores, Max Flick, Malick Mbaye, Nelson Martinez (Shermaine Martina — 34’ (Curtis De Leon — 90+1’), Pecka©, Peter Pearson, Selmir MišÄiÄ (Collin McCamy — 84’), Jay Tee Kamara (Josh Coan — 84’) , Luis Arriaga, Thorn Simpson (Yekeson Subah — 90+1’)
Subs Not Used: Cole Frame, Jake McGuire
FTL (4-4-2): Luis Zamudio, Christian Lue Young, Brian Rosales, Ethan Hardin, Sami Guediri (Ignacio Poplawski — 11’), Venton Evans, Harvey Neville, George Acosta, Josh Penn, Mitchell Curry, Shaan Hundal (Edison Azcona — 61’)
Subs Not Used: Luciano Natoli, Frank Nodarse, Francisco Raggio, Joshua Saavedra, Abel Caputo
Score:
NCFC: 1
FTL: 2
Goals:
NCFC: Selmir MišÄiÄ — 36’
FTL: Mitchell Curry — 30’, Edison Azcona — 90+2’
Cautions:
NCFC: Pecka — 78’
FTL: —
Ejections:
NCFC: Malick Mbaye — 77’
FTL: —
