August 20, 2022 – United Soccer League One (USL1) – North Carolina FC News Release
PAPILLION, NE – A pair of red cards proved costly for North Carolina FC on Saturday night as the squad fell to Union Omaha 4-1 on the road, the North Carolina side being reduced to ten men in the 49th minute and later to nine in the 69th minute as a result of the ejections. Garrett McLaughlin scored his tenth goal of the season to rid Omaha of the shutout, with Nico Rincon registering his first professional assist. Kevin Piedrahita and Corey Hertzog each recorded a goal apiece for Omaha, and Noe Meza logged a brace to lead the Owls to the result. Christian Lue Young also recorded his 50th USL League One career appearance during the match.
Omaha opened the scoring in the first minute of tonight’s match, a punt from Piedrahita sailing the distance of the field and taking an unfortunate bounce over the head of Nick Holliday and into the net to give the Owls the advantage. Later, in the 6th minute, Hertzog bagged Omaha’s second of the night to double their lead, and Meza added Omaha’s final goal of the half, scoring in the 17th minute to extend the scoreline to 3-0.
Desperate to recover the deficit in the second half, NCFC worked tirelessly to create scoring chances, but to no avail as Piedrahita recorded several key saves to render their opponents scoreless. Meza then collected the brace for Omaha in the 58th minute, pulling the score to 4-0.
NCFC were finally able to carve into Omaha’s lead in the opening minute of stoppage time, as Rincon dribbled down the right sideline with pace, beating his defender to the endline and cutting a pass to McLaughlin inside the six. With a one-touch finish, the striker buried a shot past Piedrahita to score his tenth goal of the season. Rincon’s assist was his first as a professional, the midfielder having signed with the club earlier this week.
Up Next: North Carolina FC will continue their road trip against Forward Madison FC on Wednesday, August 24 at Breese Stevens Field in Madison, WI at 8 p.m. ET. The match will be available to stream live on ESPN+.
Box Score:
NCFC (4-4-2): Nicholas Holliday, Britton Fischer, Jordan Skelton, Gustavo Fernandes, Nelson Flores Blanco, Christian Lue Young (Max Flick – 64′), Luis Arriaga (Nelson Martinez – 70′), Jaden Servania (Nicolás Molina – 54′), Raheem Somersall, Garrett McLaughlin, Shak Adams (Nicolas Rincon – 63′)
Subs Not Used: Oalex Anderson, Will Pulisic
OMA (4-4-2): Kevin Piedrahita, Ryen Jiba,…