There’s no denying it: the Charlotte Independence are red hot. They won again on Saturday night just as they have the last four games, defeating Saint Louis FC 5–1 to move back into third place in the USL Eastern Conference. Yes… that’s five green rectangles in a row.

There’s another trend forming over the last month or so too: the Independence are scoring first and scoring early. They’ve scored first in seven of their last 8 games and have a record of 5–1–2 in those games.

In all three games played at home since opening Matthews Sportsplex, they have scored before the 15th minute. Jorge Herrera started the party against Harrisburg City in the 13th, David Estrada struck first against the Rhinos in the 12th, and last night, Herrera scored the opener (and his first of three on the night) against Saint Louis in the 14th minute of play.

That opening goal came from Enzo Martinez working hard to take the ball off the defender at the endline. He then faked a shot to clear the other defender before hitting a left-footed shot toward goalkeeper Devala Gorrick. Gorrick made a great save down low, but the ball popped right into the path of Jorge Herrera, who headed it into the back of the net. Gorrick would make several great saves on the night, so don’t let the scoreline fool you, he’s a good player. His defense… well… not so much.

The next ten minutes or so saw Charlotte look to possess the ball and play a little keep away, but they weren’t as crisp with their passing and movement. We saw a lot of giveaways, but Saint Louis was very impatient in possession, often giving the ball right back or taking ill-advised shots from distance. I think the weight of going more than 400 minutes without scoring a goal might have gotten into the heads of some of their players (their last goal came on June 11th in a loss to Bethlehem Steel).

Charlotte then took back control of the ball and made the lead two goals to nil after a long spell of possession. Austin Yearwood and Alex Martinez linked up down the left wing and got the ball to Enzo Martinez, who laid it off to Herrera, whose shot was saved again by Gorrick… but Jorge followed the rebound and put it away. Hat trick watch was on again!

It felt like Saint Louis needed to pull a goal back before the half to have a chance of getting any kind of result out of the game, but they couldn’t even manage a shot before Enzo made it 3–0. Austin Yearwood launched the attack after he intercepted a pass near the Independence 18 and hit a pass to Herrera at the half-field line. Saint Louis was able to get back and stop the initial attack but could only clear it as far as Callum Ross, who passed to Alex Martinez, who found his brother in the right spot to hit it low and hard and into the net. It was 3–0 before the break, and the three points were essentially secured.

Saint Louis came out of halftime and started to play better. They picked up their energy level and had more possession of the ball in the Independence half. This isn’t surprising for the Jacks; their opponents have been trailing a lot at halftime lately, and they’ve learned to weather the storm (both literally and metaphorically).

The Jacks went close to making it 4–0 in the 53rd minute when Alex Martinez hit an inch perfect diagonal through ball about 40 yards to the feet of Herrera who tried to play in Enzo, but Gorrick came off his line just in the nick of time to collect it in the box.

Saint Louis finally ended their goal-scoring drought in the 57th minute on a nice flick by Octavio Guzman on a ball crossed in from the right side. It looked like Yearwood may have gotten a touch to the ball, but it wasn’t enough to knock the cross off its path. Guzman did well hitting it off the bounce into the net. 3–1.

The Jacks wouldn’t let that put a damper on the evening though. In the 60th minute, David Estrada played a great pass into the Saint Louis box to Callum Ross, who was then run over by the defender. The penalty set up Jorge Herrera to make some history, and he did not disappoint. It might be time to start talking about Jorge as the co-MVP of this team. He secured his hat trick, the first in Independence history, from the penalty spot.

The Jacks were in complete control the rest of the way in this one. There were a couple of really good chances to score the 5th, Alex Martinez and David Estrada both saw shots go just wide and Saint Louis blocked a shot in the box from Enzo.

The Martinez brothers came off together in the 77th minute; Lewis Hilton and David Spies replaced them. Alex came off due to a possible injury, it looked like he took a hard kick to the leg, hopefully he’s okay!

The final goal of the game finally was scored by the Captain, Bilal Duckett, and it might have been the most attractive goal of the night. It came from the free kick that Alex won before being subbed off. Jorge Herrera (who else) put a beautiful ball into the box, and Bilal flew and flicked a header to the top corner and into the net. Absolutely gorgeous!

There was a very ugly moment minutes later when Emir Alihodzic kicked Lewis Hilton after he knocked Hilton to the ground. I’m not sure what was going through his head, but he lost his cool. This game is life for young professional soccer players, and emotions run high on the field, just as they run high in the stands. I’m sure he’s not a dirty player, and I’m sure he regretted it after the game, but the Saint Louis midfielder was shown a straight red card in the 84th minute.

All in all, this was a dominant performance from the Jacks, who are playing at the highest level possible right now with five straight wins. There isn’t a player on the team who isn’t in good form, and if they can continue this hot streak, even the Eastern Conference leading Charleston Battery should be on high alert.

Seriously, Charlotte sports fans owe it to themselves to head down to Matthews and take in a game. This team is good.

Man of the Match

I might need to rename this section to “The Jorge Herrera Award.” This was an easy choice… with the hat trick, Jorge Herrera wins again! You can’t stop Jorge, you can only hope to contain him, and Saint Louis could not contain him either.

The first hat trick in Charlotte Independence history is scored by the first player signed in Independence history. Fitting. Go get some sweet tea, Jorge. Hip Hip!