Charlotte Independence fall in USL One quarterfinal

CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE

The Charlotte Independence's season ended in the USL League One quarterfinals with a 2-1 loss to One Knoxville.

At the top of the table early in the season, the loss of two key midfielders early in the season eventually caught up with the Charlotte Independence. 

Luis Álvarez was sold to Tampa Bay in June for the highest-ever transfer fee paid in a move from a USL League One club to a USL Championship side, and Alfredo Midence was recalled from his loan by Lexington SC, also in the Championship, in late May. Álvarez had been the most influential player on the field for the Jacks, with three goals and two assists in nine USL1 matches where the team went 5-2-2.

Midence had one goal and four assists in the first seven league games for Charlotte.

The Jacks' playoff aspirations ended Sunday with a loss to top seeded One Knoxville 2-1 in the USL League One quarterfinals.

Charlotte came out of the gate with offensive intentions, outshooting Knoxville 17-10 (6-4 on target), forcing five saves from goalkeeper Sean Lewis. They came close. In the 13th minute, Christian Chaney hit the frame. A minute later, Souaibou Marou’s close-range header was saved by Lewis.

“I thought we came out really brightly and pushed the game, said Jacks head coach Mike Jeffries. “I think we made them adjust to us in the first 15 minutes, and we had a few good looks, hitting the post, but we weren’t able to score.” 

“Our league is an even league, and Knoxville deserves all the credit for making it through the season and winning the Players’ Shield. They’re a hard team to play at home, but I also thought our group was fully up for the challenge. We definitely showed a belief that we could end up with the win.”

That belief was tested when Sivert Haugli headed home a corner kick to put the Players’ Shield winners ahead in the 17th minute, but the Jacks kept coming. An early second-half surge still couldn’t breach the Knoxville net as Jon Bakero’s shot was saved and Chaney’s header bounced over the crossbar. The Tennessee team doubled the lead with a counterattack in the 64th minute that put Stavros Zarokostas on goal behind the defense.

Chaney got one back on its own counterattack in the 77th minute, but the league leaders were able to close out the match.

“We’re gutted,” Chaney said.” We thought going into the game and even at the start of the game, after I hit the post, we had them, and I think that we took the game to them. It’s one of our better performances that we’ve had this year, honestly. If we put our chances away, things are different, but that’s part of the game.”

Added Jeffries: “I felt like we continued to push the game in the first half and create chances. We started on the front foot in the second half. The second goal was a back breaker. I thought we still bounced back and made the game interesting at the end with a really good goal. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite push enough to get chances once we got to 2-1.”

“I was proud of the way the team approached the game and came out on the front foot,” said team captain Clay Dimick. “We had chances to place our stake in the game early. Despite giving up two frustrating goals, we never stopped fighting and put everything we had into this game.”

The Independence finished the season 10-13-7.

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