The physical match, played in front of an announced crowd of 1,112 fans at WakeMed Soccer Park on a cool Wednesday night, resulted in only one goal and one red card. The good news for hosts North Carolina FC was that an opponent scored a goal and the opposing team was given a red card.
One second-half strike from youngster Julian Placias was enough for North Carolina FC to defeat Carolina Core FC 1-0 in the third round of the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
“I thought our guys played well tonight,” NCFC coach John Bradford said. “We played a good game and I think it was important for us to get the shutout for the first time in a while. I'm really happy with the overall effort and (the win) allowed us to get our young players to play and give them trust, confidence and support. I really think it speaks to the mission of the club, to give these young people the opportunity to see them perform on a great stage.”
The win marks NCFC's eighth time reaching the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. It was also the first time since 2019 that NCFC won a game in the 100-year-old soccer tournament, ending a three-game losing streak.
This season will be Carolina Core FC's first active season. The MLS NEXT Pro side is based in High Point, North Carolina, approximately 135 miles west of his NCFC home base in Triangle, North Carolina. The two teams played a preseason friendly, with NCFC winning 5-2, but the Tar Heel State derby was the first official matchup with substantial stakes for both teams.
Carolina Core FC defeated USL League 2's Vermont Green FC 2-1 on the road two weeks ago to advance to this stage of the Open Cup.
“I expected a really good game from them,” said NCFC forward Garrett McLaughlin, who assisted on Placias' goal. “John got us prepared and showed us film. They've had some good results this year. We expected it to be a tough game.”
NCFC, with a 5-3-2 formation, dominated the ball from the start of the match, at one point having possession 71% of the time, but could not get a good look at the opponent's net until the 21st minute. Unfortunately for the home side, Jacori Hayes took a feed from Placias and fired a left-footed shot from inside the box, but could not find the net. Moments later, Jayden Servania took a shot on target, but Carolina Core's Alex Sutton dove low to his left and stopped the attempt.
NCFC had a chance to score in the 42nd minute with Nelson Flores Blanco's cross, but Sutton's shot went over the bar and the score remained tied going into the break.
In the 61st minute, NCFC finally broke through. Within seconds, McLaughlin recovered the rebound from his second of his own misses, collected the ball and turned to pass to Pracias, who was standing free at the far post, and fired his right-footed shot. Go behind the net relatively easily.
“Sometimes it was bad. We only got one thing done, but that's all we needed,” McLaughlin said. “I'm really, really happy for[Plasias]. He's been training really well and is getting more and more chances. Seeing him so happy after scoring a goal felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I'm happy to be able to offer that to him.”
It was Pracias' first goal in an NCFC uniform. The LA Galaxy Academy product just turned 18 in less than two weeks.
Kairom Ramsden, a 16-year-old midfielder from LAFC's academy, made his professional debut as a substitute for NCFC in the 69th minute. He received his first yellow card of his professional career in the 83rd minute for a heavy tackle in midfield.
Moments later, referee Josh Park gave the Carolina Core bench a yellow card for verbal abuse from former men's national team head coach Roy Lassiter. Lassiter was also left frustrated when what appeared to be Koa's equalizer was called off in the 88th minute after scorer Josuja Rodríguez was whistled for offside. The core bench was then given a second yellow card after assistant coach Amado Guevara expressed his dissatisfaction. In the 90th minute, Guevara was given a red card for touching an NCFC player and was sent off for a second yellow card.
There were a total of 12 yellow cards in this match.
“I didn't expect to see so many fouls and nonsensical yellow cards as the game progressed. But we have to deal with it and that's part of the problem,” Brad said. Mr. Ford said. “I hope our players will have very little time talking to the referees and wasting their time on things that the referees can't change.”
Another big name on the Carolina Core bench, goaltending coach Donovan Ricketts (who played in 100 games for the Jamaican national team), was pleased with Sutton's performance as he finished the game with at least seven saves and only one goal conceded. I had to. He scored despite 15 shots from NCFC.
“I thought their goaltender played a great game,” McLaughlin said.
The home team's goalkeeper also played well. It was 20-year-old Antonio Carrera's first start between the pipes for NCFC at WakeMed Soccer Park, but he held the Carolina Core to four shots and finished the game scoreless.
“It was a team effort,” Carrera said. “It wasn't pretty, it wasn't pretty, but we got the job done and that's what you need in an Open Cup.”
The Carolina Core are 0-2-1 in the MLS Next Pro season, while NCFC is 1-2-3 so far in their first season back in the USL Championship after three seasons in USL League 1. It is.
North Carolina FC will play in the round of 32 on May 7th or 8th.