More Playoff Clarity for Carolinas Teams
In the first round of the USL playoffs, North Carolina FC will host Loudon United on Nov. 1, and the Independence will travel to Knoxville on Nov. 2. Oh, and Charlotte FC hosts New York tonight.
Tonight marks the first 2025 playoff match for Charlotte FC, but Bank of America Stadium isn’t the only place in the Carolinas to find playoff soccer.
Both North Carolina FC and the Charleston Battery of the USL Championship, and the Charlotte Independence of USL League One, are both playing playoff soccer this weekend - and with Charlotte FC’s early start time at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, you can catch all of the local playoff matches.
In fact, the Crown’s match tonight is not even the first soccer playoff in the Carolinas this season; the Carolina Core of MLS NEXT Pro played their first-ever playoff match in New Jersey on October 19. Unfortunately for the Foxes, they fell 5-1 to #1 seed New York Red Bulls II.
Below, we’ll cover the USL playoff matches — all of which are available to stream on ESPN+.
USL Championship: North Carolina FC vs. Loudoun United, Nov. 1
North Carolina FC have been relatively consistent all season, and that was good enough to end up in third place in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference after a decision day win over Loudoun United. While Louisville City and Charleston Battery clocked the rest of the league —Louisville secured a whopping 2.43 points per game in the regular season, and Charleston ended the season with 2.01 PPG — NCFC are solidly in the top half of the league, finishing 3rd in the East and 6th overall in the USL Championship standings.
So where can they go from here?
Their easiest challenge is their first one: after beating Loudoun United 0-1 in Virginia yesterday, NCFC will host them at home on Saturday, November 1 at 7:30 PM. In both league fixtures between the teams this season, the away team won, with an aggregate of 2 goals for each side.
In a third match between the two sides in USL Cup play, the teams drew in regulation, with NCFC winning the penalty shootout. Anything could happen next Saturday, but NCFC should be favored to prevail.
If they do, the path becomes harder, as they will likely travel to Charleston to take on the Battery. Charleston and NCFC also traded matches this year, with the home team winning both fixtures; however, Charleston owns the series 2-1-1 since NCFC made the jump to the Championship after winning the USL League One title in 2023.
USL Championship: Charleston Battery vs. Rhode Island FC, Nov. 2
Speaking of Charleston Battery, they have to be the favorites in their 3:00 PM match against Rhode Island FC on Sunday.
Rhode Island FC is dangerous in winner-take-all matches. Last year, they went from a 5th place finish in the Eastern Conference all the way to the USL Championship final. This year — only their second as an active team — they made it to the semifinals of the USL Cup. However, they needed some Decision Day luck, as both Detroit City FC and Indy Eleven dropped points.
So instead of facing the Louisville juggernaut, they face an incredibly strong Battery team. Here at Soccer Sheet, we’d be shocked if neither Charleston nor Louisville make the final, but RIFC has shown if anyone can do it, it’s them.
USL League One: One Knox vs. Charlotte Independence, Nov. 2
It’s been a tough couple months for the Charlotte Independence. After flying high in USL League One, their playoff chances were in doubt all the way to Decision Day. They lost their last match of the season, and only made the playoffs because their closest rivals did as well.
Despite losing talismanic forward J.C. Obregon — the most valuable player in League One at the time, according to Transfermarkt — Charlotte started the season strong, with good runs in the U.S. Open Cup and the USL Cup.
The result in Knoxville will come down to which Jacks show up: will it be the ones with the recent poor form, or will it be the Independence that beat One Knox 3-1 at home and drew them 2-2 away?
Also, which Knox will show up: the club on a three-match winning streak, or the one that lost to the Richmond Kickers before that streak started? The action starts at 3:00 PM on Sunday.