March 31, 2023 – United Soccer League One (USL1) – Lexington Sporting Club News Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Lexington Sporting Clubs heads to Cary, N.C., seeking its first points of the United Soccer League (USL) League One season, taking on North Carolina FC Saturday at 7 p.m.
The match, which marks the second of the USL League One season for both teams, will see both clubs searching for their first points of the season as NCFC also suffered a defeat in its opener.
Lexington SC was defeated 2-1 at Regal Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., against league rival One Knox SC in the opening match. Don Smart, who will miss this weekend’s match, scored the first goal in club history with a penalty kick in the 28th minute.
North Carolina FC fell to reigning USL League One champions South Georgia Tormenta FC 1-0 in its opener. Despite the loss, North Carolina FC was in control of the match against Tormenta, having 63.2% possession, 12 shots and 0.91 xG (Expected Goals) compared to Tormenta’s three shots and 0.57 xG.
TUNE IN
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MATCH NOTES
Lexington goalkeeper Amal Knight was recently called into action to compete for Jamaica in its 2023 CONCACAF Nations League fixture against Mexico. The “Reggae Boyz” ended up with a 2-2 draw.
Kaelon Fox earned Lexington’s first weekly award by being placed on the Team of the Week Bench for his efforts against One Knox.
Defender Daniel Navarro is a NCFC player to watch, as the team captain was a finalist for the 2022 USL League One Defender of the Year with Chattanooga Red Wolves SC.
Offensively, NCFC was led in 2022 by Garrett McLaughlin, who scored 14 of the team’s 35 goals in the season. He was followed by Oalex Anderson, who scored seven. Both McLaughlin and Anderson returned to North Carolina for the new season.
North Carolina FC finished 11th in the USL League One last season, its second in the league, with a record of 8-6-16 (30 points). The club was defeated by Rio Grande Valley FC of the USL Championship in its first match of the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
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