April 5, 2023 – United Soccer League One (USL1) – Charlotte Independence News Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Charlotte Independence defeated Appalachian FC 2-0 in the 2nd Round of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, N.C. This marks the Jacks first US Open Cup win since 2017.
“I thought we handled the game well,” Charlotte Independence Head Coach, Mike Jeffries said. “We came out with a good mentality, and for us, the Open Cup is just about getting a result, and we did that on the night. I thought Appalachian FC was very hard to break down.”
Charlotte came out strong putting a lot of pressure on the Appalachian FC defense. In the 5th minute, #10 Miguel Ibarra sent a quality service in to #90 Khori Bennett who just narrowly missed his header wide.
With his first start for the Independence, #27 Bachir Ndiaye made an immediate impact on the match. He got up for a header off a cross from #17 Clay Dimick but missed just wide of the net.
Later in the half, the Jacks kept pushing their way into the Appalachian FC final third. Bennett took off on the dribble, passing several defenders. He was pushed in the back by an Appalachian FC defender drawing a foul and a penalty kick for Charlotte. Bennett stepped up to take the strike and scored in the bottom left corner. Charlotte took the lead 1-0.
“The first goal kind of opened things up,” Bennett said. “It was very important, the timing of it, everything to kind of help us relax in the game. It was very important for the team and for me as well.”
On the other side of the pitch, Appalachian FC broke through the Charlotte back line finding an open look at goal. #6 Omar Ciss wound up blocking the shot and cleared it upfield to find #7 Avionne Flanagan. He took space down the flank and crossed it into Bennett who just missed his shot wide in front of goal.
Before the half, the Jacks found several more chances. Bennett passed to Ibarra who then found #14 Luis Alvarez with a chance from the wing but he was denied by the Appalachian FC Goalkeeper #1 Jacob Agnew.
At the half, Charlotte Independence 1 – Appalachian FC 0.
To start the second half, Appalachian FC developed an attack down the pitch crossing the ball into the box but defender #4 Nick Spielman was there to clear it away. Seconds later, Appalachian FC forced a corner kick on the left side of Charlotte’s goal. Once the cross came in, Dimick jumped and headed the ball out of the 18-yard box.
The Jacks…