Thursday night saw another gorgeous evening at Eagle Field on the campus of Winthrop University, and yet another slow start for the boys in blue and parchment. The team needed a win, and sitting in last place and facing the reigning USL champions seemed like a tough combination to earn one.

But… spoiler alert: they dominated.

Despite nearly going ahead in the 11th minute on a shot from David Estrada, Charlotte seemed a little unsettled to start the game. In the 21st minute Junior Flemmings put NYRBII ahead 1–0 and many fans were probably thinking “I’ve seen this movie before.”

Junior Flemmings celebrated his goal by dancing with teammates. (photo: Alex Warren)

From that moment though, I’m not sure what changed (perhaps the players drank some Red Bull?). It was as if the Independence finally woke up after sleepwalking through the first part of this game, and to a larger extent, this season.

Jorge Herrera brought the Independence even in the 33rd minute with a smash into the roof of the net from close range after NYRBII’s keeper was unable to control Enzo Martinez’s shot. As you’ll see later, Jorge and Enzo combined really well for the rest of the night.

Hip hip ¡JORGE!

The Independence seemed to gain a lot of confidence after equalizing and put the Baby Bulls under a lot of pressure. That culminated in this gorgeous headed goal from rookie Callum Ross off a Jorge Herrera free kick just 10 minutes later.

History for Callum Ross!

This was my favorite moment of the game.

I was standing just behind and to the left of the goal and I was able to see that Ross and Jorge had locked eyes and were on the same page as they set up for the free kick. As you saw, Jorge lofted a perfect ball towards Ross, who got up above the defender and headed it home past the keeper. 2–1 good guys.

Another angle on my favorite goal of the night. (photo: Alex Warren)

I’m not sure if the halftime message from Mike Jefferies was “step on their throats,” but the Independence did just that. Jorge and Enzo connected again in the 51st minute: this time it was Jorge playing the ball in behind for Enzo to run on to and after the keeper saved his first attempt, he collected the rebound and scored on the follow up.

The Independence really took control of the game at this point, something they haven’t done as much in previous games. NYRBII never really threatened Charlotte’s goal and were left to defend for most of the half and as we saw, that is not their strength.

David Estrada added a nice goal to really put it out of reach in the 82nd minute. It was good to see Estrada back in the starting 11 again after David Spies played that role for a few games previously. In my opinion, his creativity and confidence on the ball is needed for the Independence attack to thrive.

The icing on the cake came in added time as rookie Jaime Siaj came on as a substitute for his professional debut. It would have been a great moment in his career even if he never touched the ball, but he wasn’t satisfied just seeing the field. He scored his first career goal in what has to be a club record for fastest goal scored. Someone fact check that for us?

Final score: Charlotte Independence 5 - New York Red Bulls II 1

So what does this mean going forward??

It’s hard to find negative things to say about a 5–1 win and a club record for goals scored, so I won’t nitpick. Independence fans should enjoy this and celebrate it as much as they can. Rewatch the game, tweet about it (I did all day on Friday) and tell all your friends. 5–1 doesn’t come around often: cherish it. Personally, I had a blast and I’m sure everyone in attendance did as well.

Obviously, no one should expect to see an offensive explosion like this on a regular basis, but it was encouraging to see a struggling attack take advantage of a leaky defense. I’m still not sure who the answer is up top but if Jorge and Enzo can link up and make runs in behind like they did in this game, that will alleviate some of the anxiety of not adding another striker.

It was all smiles on Thursday night!

I can’t write a recap without mentioning newcomer and local guy, Donnie Smith either. Starting in his first game for the Jacks, he fit right in. He controlled the left side of the field in defense and got forward often overlapping Alex Martinez. He was also strong on the ball and made himself available for teammates when they were under pressure. He could very well be the long-term answer at left back.