CARY, N.C. (June 18, 2023) — North Carolina FC played to a 2-2 draw with Lexington Sporting Club Sunday afternoon. After falling behind early, NCFC took a lead early in the second half, but would see the game go level at full time.
After Lexington grabbed a first-half goal around the half-hour mark to carry a lead into half time, NCFC answered right out of the gates in the second. Oalex Anderson carried up the left wing, centered for Garrett McLaughlin, who fed Luis Perez for a brilliant left-footed strike in the 50’ to equalize.
Moments later, McLaughlin would turn goal-scorer on a rolling cross from Rafa to put the home side in front. Lexington got the equalizer of their own in the 81’ when Tate Robertson buried a free kick from 30 yards out.
Quoting NCFC
“I think in the first half we created some chances but weren’t able to convert and had some poor marking on the goal that we gave up. But I thought the guys responded well in the second half with two quick goals to get us back on top. We were looking for that third goal to put things away, but they have a big time goalkeeper who made some big saves and, credit to them, they took a great free kick. Overall I thought it was a competitive game, unfortunately we couldn’t get another goal,” said head coach John Bradford.
“In that first 45, we had a lot of chances and quite a few shots but we didn’t play our best. When we went into halftime we said we have to play our game and set the tone. Then in those first 20-30 minutes (of the second half), I thought we were really good and created a lot of chances. We had two goals. I could have had three goals. It kind of feels like a loss, honestly. But a point is better than no point. So we’ll take a few days off and get ready to go against Charlotte,” said Garrett McLaughlin.
Next Match: North Carolina FC hosts the Charlotte Independence in the final iteration of the 2023 Dogwood Derby on Friday, June 30, at 7:00 p.m. ET. The match will stream live on ESPN+ and tickets can be purchased at www.northcarolinafc.com/tickets.
Box Score:
NCFC (4-4-2): Nicholas Holliday, Devin Benton, Gustavo Fernandes, Daniel Navarro, Christian Lue Young (Max Flick – 90+4’), Michael Maldonado, Luis Arriaga, Rafael Mentzingen (Nelson Flores Blanco – 77’), Garrett McLaughlin (Shak Adams – 70’), Louis Perez, Oalex Anderson (Preston Popp – 77’)
Subs Not Used: Tor Saunders, David Garcia, Pecka
LEX (4-4-2): Amal Knight, Tate Robertson, Cesar Murillo Jr., Kaelon Fox, Owen Green, Jalen James, Don Smart (Phila Dlaminski – 67’), Charles Machell © (Pierre Mane – 67’), Nico Brown, Ates Diouf (Seo-in Kim – 67’), Will Baynham (Khaled Balogun – 57’)
Subs Not Used: Austin Casey, Kimball Jackson, Franky Martinez
Score:
NCFC: 2
LEX: 2
Goals:
NCFC: L. Perez – 50’ (McLaughlin); G. McLaughlin – 54’ (Rafa)
LEX: W. Baynham – 32’ (Brown), T. Robertson – 81’
Cautions:
NCFC: D. Navarro – 62’
LEX: O. Green – 38’
Ejections:
NCFC: –
LEX: –