2020 North Carolina FC season

The 2020 North Carolina FC season was the 14th season for North Carolina FC and its second in the USL Championship, the second-tier professional soccer league in the United States.

North Carolina FC
2020 season
OwnerStephen Malik
Head coachDave Sarachan
StadiumSahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Cary, North Carolina
(Capacity: 10,000)
USLGroup G: 3rd
Conference: 10th
USL PlayoffsDid not qualify
Top goalscorerLeague: Fortune (6)
All: Fortune (6)
Highest home attendanceLeague/All: 3,515
(March 7 vs. Louisville)
Lowest home attendanceLeague/All: 432
(October 3 vs. Charlotte)
(six home games played without crowd because of COVID-19 pandemic)
Average home league attendance1,974
Biggest winNY 0–3 NC (September 30)
Biggest defeatNC 0–3 CHS (August 19)
← 2019
2021 →

The season was suspended March 12 after the opening week because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] It restarted July 11 with a restructured format and schedule, with NCFC's first game scheduled for July 17.[2]

The team partnered with rapper J. Cole's Dreamville Festival for kit sponsorship for the season.[3]

Roster

edit

As of 26 April 2021[4]

No. Position Player Nation
7 MF Pecka   Brazil
10 MF Nazmi Albadawi   Palestine
11 FW Robert Kristo   Bosnia and Herzegovina
15 DF Malick Mbaye   Senegal
-- MF Luis Arriaga   United States
-- MF Nelson Blanco   El Salvador
-- MF Josh Coan   United States
-- DF Max Flick   United States
-- MF Malyk Hamilton   Canada
-- MF Jay Tee Kamara (on loan from Louisville City FC)   Sierra Leone
-- GK Damian Las (on loan from Fulham FC)   United States
-- MF Shermaine Martina   Curaçao
-- DF Nelson Martinez   United States
-- GK Jake McGuire   United States
-- MF Selmir Miscic (on loan from Philadelphia Union)   United States
  1. ^
    North Carolina FC Youth Academy Contract

Competitions

edit

Source:[5]

Friendlies

edit
February 8 North Carolina FC v Richmond Kickers Cary, NC
12:30 PM EST Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Note: Result not published.
February 15 Charlotte Independence 1–1 North Carolina FC Matthews, NC
2:00 PM EST   Report Miller   7' Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews

USL Championship

edit

Standings — Group G

edit
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG Qualification
1 Charlotte Independence 16 8 4 4 24 22 +2 28 1.75 Advance to USL Championship Playoffs
2 Birmingham Legion FC 16 7 4 5 29 19 +10 25 1.56
3 North Carolina FC 15 6 1 8 17 21 −4 19 1.27
4 Memphis 901 FC 15 4 4 7 24 31 −7 16 1.07
Source: USL

Match results

edit

All games broadcast on ESPN+ as part of the USL Championship's rights agreement with the platform.[6] Home games broadcast locally on WRAL-2.

March 7 1 North Carolina FC 0–1 Louisville City FC Cary, NC
2:30 PM EST Kristo   88'
Taylor   90+3'
Report Lancaster   63' Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 3,515
Referee: Adam Kilpatrick
July 17 2 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–2 North Carolina FC St. Petersburg, FL
6:45 PM EDT Guenzatti   7'
Fernandes   22'
Mkosana   40'
Report Fortune   56'
Kristo   83'
Stadium: Al Lang Stadium
Attendance: 141
Referee: Gabriele Giusti
August 1 3 North Carolina FC 1–0 Birmingham Legion FC Cary, NC
7:00 PM EDT Donovan   29'
Fortune   51',   90+2'
Kristo   87'
Report Akinyode   33'
Brett   45'
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 0
Referee: Kevin Broadley
Note: Played in empty stadium because of COVID-19 pandemic
August 8 4 Memphis 901 FC 0–1 North Carolina FC Memphis, TN
5:00 PM EDT Paul   65' Report Ward   15',   38'
Fortune   21'
Stadium: AutoZone Park
Attendance: 901
Referee: Matthew Thompson
August 15 5 North Carolina FC 0–2 Birmingham Legion FC Cary, NC
8:30 PM EDT Donovan   48' Report Servania   18'
Brett   21' (pen.)
A. Crognale   42'
Akinyode   46'
Van Oekel   59'
Lopez   60'
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 0
Referee: Matthew Franz
Note: Played in empty stadium because of COVID-19 pandemic
August 19 6 North Carolina FC 0–3 Charleston Battery Cary, NC
7:00 PM EDT Pecka   73'
Donovan   90'
Fortune   90+6'
Report Kelly-Rosales   29'
Piggott   56'
Daley   69'
Zarokostas   81'
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 0
Referee: John Griggs
Note: Played in empty stadium because of COVID-19 pandemic
August 26 7 Charlotte Independence 1–0 North Carolina FC Matthews, NC
7:00 PM EDT Ortiz   59' Report Ward   42'
Pecka   68'
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews
Attendance: 0
Referee: Kevin Broadley
Note: Played in empty stadium because of COVID-19 pandemic
August 29 North Carolina FC v Memphis 901 FC Cary, NC
TBA PM EDT Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Note: Postponed as part of the protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake.[9][10] Rescheduled for September 10.[11]
September 2 8 Birmingham Legion FC 1–2 North Carolina FC Birmingham, AL
7:00 PM CDT Kobayashi   45+1'
Kasim   59'
Brett   90'
Report Albadawi   24'
Fortune   62' (pen.)
Stadium: BBVA Field
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
September 5 9 Charlotte Independence 3–1 North Carolina FC Matthews, NC
7:00 PM EDT Kelly   10',   20',   43',   79'
Lacroix   18'
Martínez   51'
Report Smith   35'
Taylor   60'
Fortune   90+1'
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews
Referee: Jonathan Bilinski
Note: Played in empty stadium because of COVID-19 pandemic
September 10 10 North Carolina FC 2–3 Memphis 901 FC Cary, NC
7:00 PM EDT Pecka   45+1'
Fortune   64'
Kristo   86'
Taylor   90+1',   90+7'
Report Mentzingen   30'
Baxter   36'
Paul   55'
Hundley   75',   90+8'
Jennings   89'
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Referee: John Matto
Note: Played in empty stadium because of COVID-19 pandemic
September 13 11 North Carolina FC 3–2 Memphis 901 FC Cary, NC
6:00 PM EDT Barry   29',   58'
Donovan   55'
Ward   65'
Albadawi   89'
Report Jennings   24',   35'
Carroll   45+1'
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Referee: John Griggs
Note: Originally scheduled for September 12. Rescheduled to accommodate for rescheduling of previous game.[11] Played in empty stadium because of COVID-19 pandemic.
September 19 12 North Carolina FC 0–1 Charlotte Independence Cary, NC
7:00 PM EDT Albadawi   45+1'   67'
Taylor   50'
Donovan   69'
Fortune   73'
Report Kelly   44'
Miller   45+1'
Martínez   45+1'
Maund   51'
Lacroix   66'
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Referee: Matthew Franz
September 23 Memphis 901 FC Canceled North Carolina FC Memphis, TN
7:00 PM CDT Stadium: AutoZone Park
Note: Postponed after a member of the Memphis 901 FC organization tested positive for COVID-19.[12] Game was not rescheduled after both teams were eliminated from playoff contention.
September 26 13 Birmingham Legion FC 1–2 North Carolina FC Birmingham, AL
7:00 PM CDT Cromwell   23'
Servania   67'
Williams   87'
Report Perez   7',   37'
Fortune   26' (pen.)
Kristo   90+6'
Stadium: BBVA Field
Referee: Jonathan Bilinski
September 30 14 New York Red Bulls II 0–3 North Carolina FC Richmond, VA
5:00 PM EDT Cummins   44'
Hot   88'
Toure   90+3'
Report Fortune   12' (pen.),   28'
Speas   26'
Tolkin   45+3' (o.g.)
Stadium: City Stadium
Referee: Matthew Franz
Note: Neutral site game scheduled after both teams had upcoming games against Loudoun United FC canceled because of COVID-19 outbreak.[13]
October 3 15 North Carolina FC 0–1 Charlotte Independence Cary, NC
7:00 PM EDT Report Haakenson   45+1'
Kelly   88'
Gebhard   90+1'
Sabella   90+4',   90+5'
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 432
Referee: John Griggs
Note: Rescheduled from September 30 to accommodate for newly scheduled match against New York Red Bulls II.[13]
October 4 Loudoun United FC Canceled North Carolina FC Leesburg, VA
11:00 AM EDT Stadium: Segra Field
Note: Match cancelled due to multiple positive COVID-19 tests in Loudoun United FC organization and a lack of rescheduling windows.[14]

U.S. Open Cup

edit

As a USL Championship club, North Carolina FC was scheduled to enter the competition in the second round, which was to be played April 7–9.[15] Pairings for that round were announced on January 29.[16] The first three rounds of the tournament were postponed on March 13, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[17] On August 17, the tournament was canceled.[18]

Squad statistics

edit

Source: Match reports

Appearances and goals

edit
No. Pos Nat Player Total USL Championship Regular Season
Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK   GRE Alex Tambakis 14 0 14 0
2 MF   USA Manny Perez 14 1 11+3 1
3 DF   USA Caleb Duvernay 2 0 2 0
4 DF   CAN Alex Comsia 11 0 9+2 0
5 DF   NZL Sam Brotherton 11 0 10+1 0
7 MF   BRA Pecka 14 0 13+1 0
8 MF   TRI Dre Fortune 14 6 11+3 6
9 MF   NED Marios Lomis 12 0 8+4 0
10 MF   PLE Nazmi Albadawi 12 2 8+4 2
11 FW   BIH Robert Kristo 15 2 6+9 2
15 DF   SEN Malick Mbaye 1 0 0+1 0
16 MF   USA Graham Smith 14 0 7+7 0
17 MF   USA Ben Speas 14 1 8+6 1
20 DF   USA Conor Donovan 14 1 14 1
21 FW   ITA Daniele Proch 11 0 1+10 0
24 GK   BRA Paulo Pita 1 0 1 0
27 DF   USA D.J. Taylor 15 1 15 1
30 DF   USA Akeem Ward 11 1 10+1 1
31 MF   USA Steven Miller 11 0 6+5 0
92 FW   GUI Hadji Barry 15 1 11+4 1

Goal scorers

edit
Place Position Nation Number Name USL Championship Regular Season Total
1 MF   8 Dre Fortune 6 6
2 FW   11 Robert Kristo 2 2
MF   10 Nazmi Albadawi 2 2
4 MF   2 Manny Perez 1 1
MF   17 Ben Speas 1 1
DF   20 Conor Donovan 1 1
DF   27 D. J. Taylor 1 1
DF   30 Akeem Ward 1 1
FW   92 Hadji Barry 1 1
Own goals by opponent 1 1
TOTALS 17 17

Disciplinary record

edit
Number Nation Position Name USL Championship Regular Season Total
       
8   MF Dre Fortune 6 0 6 0
20   DF Conor Donovan 4 0 4 0
27   DF D.J. Taylor 4 0 4 0
7   MF Pecka 3 0 3 0
11   FW Robert Kristo 3 0 3 0
30   DF Akeem Ward 3 0 3 0
10   MF Nazmi Albadawi 2 1 2 1
2   MF Manny Perez 1 0 1 0
16   MF Graham Smith 1 0 1 0
92   FW Hadji Barry 1 0 1 0
TOTALS 26 1 26 1

References

edit
  1. ^ "USL Championship Temporarily Suspends Play". uslchampionship.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  2. ^ "North Carolina FC Set to Return to Play with Schedule Announcement". North Carolina FC. July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  3. ^ "North Carolina Football Club Announces Dreamville Festival as NCFC Front-of-Jersey Partner". North Carolina FC. February 27, 2020.
  4. ^ "North Carolina FC 2020 Roster". North Carolina FC. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "North Carolina FC Announces Preseason Schedule". North Carolina FC. January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  6. ^ "USL Reaches New Rights Agreement with ESPN, ESPN+". USLSoccer.com. August 27, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  7. ^ Birkedal, Morgan (July 24, 2020). "North Carolina FC Match Against Charlotte Independence Postponed Until August 26". NorthCarolinaFC.com. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  8. ^ Scott, David (July 24, 2020). "Coronavirus concerns move Charlotte Independence vs. North Carolina FC match to August". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  9. ^ "Memphis 901 FC considering skipping Saturday's game vs. North Carolina FC". WREG.com. WREG. August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "Saturday's NCFC home match with Memphis 901 postponed". WRALSportsFan.com. WRAL. August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  11. ^ a b "North Carolina FC Sets New Dates for Matches Against Memphis 901 FC". NorthCarolinaFC.com. September 2, 2020.
  12. ^ "North Carolina FC Match Against Memphis 901 FC Postponed". NorthCarolinaFC.com. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "NCFC to Play New York Red Bulls II on Wednesday, Match Against Charlotte Rescheduled for Saturday". NorthCarolinaFC.com. September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  14. ^ "Remaining Loudoun United FC Games Cancelled". USLChampionship.com. September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  15. ^ "Restructured Competition Format For 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Provides Opportunity For More "David vs. Goliath" Matchups In 107th Edition Of U.S. Soccer's National Championship". U.S. Soccer Federation. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  16. ^ "2020 U.S. Open Cup Second Round Pairings and Host Scenarios" (Press release). U.S. Soccer. January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  17. ^ a b "U.S. Soccer Temporarily Suspends 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Due To COVID-19 Outbreak" (Press release). U.S. Soccer. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  18. ^ "2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Cancelled Due to COVID-19" (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. August 17, 2020.