Quick Kicks: USL Super League Season Concludes as Club World Cup Kicks Off
Tampa Bay Sun win inaugural USL Super League Playoffs; Seattle Sounders Troll Inter Miami after Club World Cup Draw; Charlotte FC Lose at the Death in Philly
Saturday night’s two biggest soccer matches were scoreless in regulation, but they couldn’t have been more different. We’ll get into Tampa Bay’s USL Super League victory and Inter Miami’s disappointing Club World Cup kickoff below — as well as a last minute Charlotte FC collapse — but first, here are your scores from around the Carolinas:
MLS
Philadelphia Union 2 - 1 Charlotte FC
NWSL
Angel City FC 1 - 2 NC Courage
USL Championship
Hartford Athletic 1 - 2 Charleston Battery
Rhode Island FC 2 - 1 North Carolina FC
MLS NEXT Pro
Carolina Core FC 1 - 1 Chicago FC United
(Chicago wins 4-5 on Penalties)
Philadelphia Union II 3 - 0 Crown Legacy FC
USL League 1
Charlotte Independence 1 - 0 Greenville Triumph SC
USL W
Wake FC 0 - 3 Charlotte Eagles
NC Courage U23 3 - 1 SC United Bantams
Asheville City SC 4 - 2 Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
USL League 2
Columbus United 1 - 3 Asheville City SC
Wake FC 0 - 2 Charlotte Independence II
SC United Bantams 1 - 0 Charlotte Eagles
Salem City FC 2 - 1 NCFC U23
NPSL
Appalachian FC 3 - 1 Burlington United FC
865 Alliance 1 - 6 Hickory FC
Charlottetowne Hops SC 1 - 2 Port City
UPSL
Soda City FC 2 - 1 SC United Heat
Highlight: Soda City FC of Columbia, SC clinched the Mid-Atlantic South Conference Championship in the United Premier Soccer League Premier Division. Be on the look out for Soccer Sheet’s interview with Soda City’s leadership later this week.
Tampa Bay Sun Win Super League Championship
In the USL Super League final, #4 seed Fort Lauderdale United FC sought a second playoff upset in Tampa Bay, and battled the #2 seed Tampa Bay Sun FC to a 0-0 draw. This was familiar territory for the Florida derby, as the two teams had three draws during the inaugural Super League season (the Sun won the final regular season match 2-0).
Fort Lauderdale were playing in their third critical match in a row: first, they needed a win or draw in the last match of the season to make the playoffs — they would tie Spokane Zephyr FC 1-1 to secure fourth place.
Then, they faced regular season champions Carolina Ascent FC in the semifinals. After falling behind early in the second half, Kiara Locklear found an equalizer to send the match into extra time, then secured her status as the hero by competing the brace in the 120th minute of play.
Tonight, however, seemed destined to be Cecilie Fløe’s night. The Danish international had 11 goals during the regular season — third best in the league — and was also third in goal contributions thanks to four regular season assists. Surprisingly, she only received All-League Second Team honors — Tash Flint and Sydny Nasello were Tampa Bay’s First Team honorees — but that doesn’t minimize her role in Tampa Bay’s late playoff push.
Nor does it reflect that in the 100th minute of the final she scored the most important goal of the season.
Flint, Nasello, and Fløe all endured the grueling full 90 at Riverfront Stadium to make it to extra time, and in the 100th minute of the first extra time period Tampa Bay broke through.
After winning a throw-in deep in Fort Lauderdale territory, long-throw expert Jordan Zade defied expectations and sent a short throw in to Nasello on the right side of the pitch. Nasello beat a defender after almost being dispossessed, dribbled into the box towards the goal line, and passed at just the right moment through heavy traffic to find Fløe in front of the net for the go-ahead goal.
In the 116th minute of extra time, Fort Lauderdale’s Addie McCain was inches away from finding the equalizer on another throw-in play. Fullback Sabrina McNeill took the throw in from midfield and sent a near-perfect cross to McCain on the run in front of the goal. McCain tried to volley the ball in with her outstretched leg, and the shot would have beat Sun goalkeeper Ashley Orkus, but the ball landed just to the right of the right post.
The frustration and emotion on McCain’s face was palpable - she knew that was the last, best chance for her team, and it wasn’t long until the whistle blew, crowning the Tampa Bay Sun as the league’s inaugural champions.
We’ll have more on the USL Super League season soon, but for now, congratulations to the Sun — and all the women in the Super League — on an amazing first season.
Club World Cup Kicks Off
The Club World Cup is finally here, and Soccer Sheet is one of the many media organizations credentialed to cover the prelude to next year’s Men’s World Cup.
The tournament kicked off with a relatively quiet affair, a 0-0 draw between Inter Miami CF and Al Ahly FC from the Egyptian Premier League. Al Ahly was impressive, with more shots on target and three fewer yellow cards. The latter statistic is relevant, as “fair play” points are a tie breaker after head to head, goal difference, and goals scored. So, hypothetically, if Miami and Al Ahly happen to tie for second place in Group A, Miami’s yellow cards could be their demise.
After Inter Miami’s draw, the social media accounts for the Seattle Sounders of MLS posted a subtweet of sorts: “[We are the] only MLS team to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup by winning a continental title.”
Earlier today, FC Bayern Munich was relentless, beating Auckland City FC of New Zealand 10-0. It wasn’t a fair fight as Auckland is technically an amateur club on the second tier of New Zealand’s pyramid (their goalkeeper drives a forklift at his day job), but because of the importance of goal differential as a group stage tiebreaker, even the best clubs in the world cannot be expected to show mercy.
Charlotte FC Concedes Two Stoppage Time Goals in Philadelphia as they Face Ben Bender for the First Time
Charlotte FC is still having a rough time, and last night was no exception.
After a first half that head coach Dean Smith described as “cancelling each other out,” Philadelphia Union’s Jesús Bueno scored what could be the goal of the week from outside the box.
Goalkeeper David Bingham — who was a surprising pick to start for the second time over reigning goalkeeper of the year Kristijan Kahlina — had no chance at saving the goalazo, and the Crown went into the locker room down a goal.
“Ball comes out to the top of the box … I can’t see it until it hits the corner of the net, so it’s a good strike,” Bingham told Soccer Sheet after the match. “We can do a better job preventing those kind of situations, and we know that … [but] it’s a good strike from him and not much you can do about it.”
Goalkeeper David Bingham Speaks with Soccer Sheet
After conceding their first goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half, Wilfried Zaha turned his anger into a weapon as he equalized for the Crown in the 78th minute off of a pass from fullback Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty.
Charlotte also faced former player Ben Bender for the first time, and Bender played like he had a grudge.
"He wants to play his best game he's ever played against the team that let him go so we knew he was gonna come out flying,” said Bingham.
The match should have resulted in a draw and a much needed point for Charlotte FC, but in the closing seconds of the match, a poor clearance from an otherwise strong back line gave Philadelphia the chance to find the winner.
After the match, Smith told reporters that the two goalkeepers will continue to compete for minutes.
“I want to play every game,” said Bingham. “My mentality doesn’t change. Head down, work hard, and I expect to play every game, and at the end of the day, it’s Dean’s job to pick which one he wants to play.”