April 25, 2022 – United Soccer League One (USL1) – Charlotte Independence News Release
CHARLOTTE, NC – The Charlotte Independence dropped their first match of the season to the Richmond Kickers tonight by a score of 1-2. The Jacks return to the pitch this Saturday, April 30 to host Union Omaha at American Legion Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM. Visit our website for tickets: www.charlotteindependence.com/.
When asked about his thoughts on the match, Head Coach Mike Jeffries explained, “We need to be better in our shape in terms of restarts. We were a little bit better with second balls getting around it, and I thought we did well with possession. We weren’t able to find as many chances as I thought we should. In the final third we were incisive enough and then it’s just mentality, being a little stronger in terms of making sure we’re concentrating the whole game and taking care of ourselves physically.”
The Jacks were first to put a strike on goal in the 4th minute of play. It was #6 Omar Ciss who took the left footed shot from outside of the box and towards the bottom right corner of the net. Richmond’s keeper #1 Akira Fitzgerald came up with the save.
Two minutes later Richmond came down the other end. They attacked up the flank and it was #11 Leonardo Baima’s cross which found the head of #32 Emiliano Terzaghi. Richmond took the early lead.
After a couple dangerous looks in the final third, Charlotte earned a corner kick in the 37th minute. #10 Ayrton Paez stepped up to take the kick. The service flew in to the head of #5 Shalom Dutey who snuck it into the back of the net for the Jacks.
“I think I just have a mentality that I want to win every ball I get inside the box,” stated Dutey. “I have a goal I want to get to, not just with set pieces but defensively how I play and I’m just trying to meet those expectations.”
The match was all square at halftime, Charlotte Independence 1 – Richmond Kickers 1.
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