Charlotte Independence hasn’t left a game with three points in almost a month.

Since defeating the Charlotte Eagles 2-0 in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on May 18, the Independence has gone 0-2-1. They host the Bethlehem Steel on June 10 at 7 p.m.

“We come off the Toronto game [a 2-2 draw that was suspended due to poor weather conditions] knowing that we weren’t good enough at the beginning of the game, and we didn’t put the level of play on the field that we should have,” Independence coach Mike Jeffries said. “But at least we walk off feeling like the last 30 minutes were pretty good. We played at a good pace, created a lot of chances, moved the ball and that was more of what we are capable of. That’s what we want to carry into this weekend.”  

Over the last three games, Charlotte has scored twice – both by midfielder Jorge Herrera. In addition to being named to the USL Team of the Week, Herrera leads the Independence with four goals and two assists. Defender Bilal Duckett also has two assists.

“You saw a lot of younger guys featured [against Toronto],” Duckett said. “This week was more than anything about getting the guys who have been a larger part of it thus far kind of back into it, and getting peoples legs going again.”

Charlotte sits sixth in the USL’s Eastern Conference with 18 points.

“This is a short week for us, and preparing for another sort of MLS II team [affiliate of the Philadelphia Union] is always a little bit tricky and difficult in terms of lineups and so forth,” Jeffries said. “It’s been almost a month in which it’s been a little bit crazy—both game field, training field [transitions], and then the flurry of games. I think guys are really motivated to get back on the winning horse and push themselves to get results—that part is very good. Mentally, we’re in a pretty good spot.”

Coming off a 1-0 loss to New York, Bethlehem sits 11th in the East with 13 points. Midfielder Derrick Jones leads Bethlehem with two goals.

“Now we’re at a spot where we’re starting to feel like, as a group, we’re somewhat fresh again,” Duckett said. “We can put everything into this game and not worry about the past. We kind of view it as three points that we have to go out and take. Bethlehem is a good team. They’re a little unpredictable, as most MLS II [teams] are, but we’re expecting a challenge. We’re ready to get back to where we belong.”

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