Charlotte FC bench leads advance in US Open Cup

CHARLOTTE FC

Charlotte FC forward Kerwin Vargas celebrates after scoring a goal in the Crown's 6-0 win against Charlotte Independence at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews.

Charlotte FC is in a familiar place after the inaugural Charlotte Derby.

The Crown rolled to a 6-0 win against Charlotte Independence in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Wednesday to move to the round of 16 to set up a match against MLS rival Atlanta United on April 28 in Charlotte. For Independence, it was a crushing end for the USL League One side, especially when the shorthanded Jacks lost goalkeeper George Tasouris in the 23rd minute to a red card that left them with 10 players. 

“The young players came through well, the lads who needed minutes came through,” Crown coach Dean Smith said. We had good control of the game, 11 v 11, and no fault of ours, their goalkeeper gets sent off. We were given an advantage and took advantage of that.

Before Tasouris’ ejection, Independence was on the back foot when center back Kevin Riascos was sidelined in the 12th minute by a non-contact injury. The Jacks’ defense ultimately crumbled against the deeper and more polished Crown.

“I thought we started the game pretty brightly,” Independence coach Mike Jeffries said. “The first seven minutes were good. Riascos’ injury was a big setback and altered the game for us a little bit, and then the game changed on the red card. It’s a big moment. It was always going to be uphill for us, but being down a man against an MLS team is a pretty big hill to overcome.”

Charlotte FC made sure the Jacks didn’t rally. Archie Goodwin put the Crown ahead for good with a goal in the first minute of stoppage time in the first half on Rodolfo Aloko’s assist. Henry Kessler added the second goal in the 59th with a header followed eight minutes later when Aloko, who was promoted to the first team last week, bagged his second assist on Nimfash Berchimas’ tally in the 67th. Charlotte defender David Schnegg opened the floodgates in the 71st with a free kick that slid past the Independence wall into the net.

“Before the red card, we were really hard to break down,” Jacks defender Clay Dimick said. “Even after the red card, the first 10 minutes of that, we couldn’t get broken down, which is huge. I think we can take that and continue to be hard to play against. With 11 men, it’s a different game. We can always pride ourselves in being hard to break down.”

Kerwin Vargas and Liel Abada, who usually start for Charlotte FC, came on late to make contributions. Vargas made the score 5-0 in the 85th and Baye Coulibaly closed the proceedings with an 88th minute goal.  

“Fantastic atmosphere,” Jeffries said. “This was a big night for our guys, and I’m very disappointed for them in that. These things happen and I think they’re going to walk away feeling like they never really got a chance in this game to showcase what they’re about, other than showing a lot of heart and fight and courage in the game.”

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