Tobacco Road FC took the short drive down to Cary last night for their season opening match with NCFC U23, and as the title spoils the surprise, they tied their fellow PDL side 2–2, securing a point in their season opener. Let’s get to the details.

Tobacco Road came up with a hot start in the first half with a ninth minute goal from midfielder Joaquin del Rosario. Joaquin was able to get open in the box with a nice pass from Zach Wright for the assist. The defense later let in an opening goal from NCFC-U23’s Ryan Spaulding to tie up the match. Then, Spaulding was able to break away in the 40th minute and send a nice pass to Dean Rutherland to send NCFC up 2–1 right before the half.

Back and forth play in the second half kept NCFC in the lead until the dying minutes of the match, when NCFC committed a foul and gave Tobacco Road a free kick in a threatening position. Jon Ray took his chance and put one in the back of the net in the 89th minute to bring the score level, and the final whistle blew at 2–2.

Young Local Talent

This match featured 13 former players who played for the Capital Area RailHawks Academy: NCFC had nine and Tobacco Road had four. Of all the players on the NCFC roster, 15 currently play soccer for seven different college programs across the state: UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, Charlotte, UNC-Wilmington, Appalachian State, Duke, and UNC-Greensboro.

Next Match for Tobacco Road

TRFC heads home for their season home opener against the Carolina Dynamo at 7pm this Saturday… as in, two days from now. The Dynamo are coming off a US Open Cup victory against Legacy 76 last night, so they’ll be tired as well. Make sure to make it out to the tailgate in the parking before the game with the guys from Bright Leaf Battalion at 5:30.