One word can sum up Saturday night’s game at the beautiful Matthews Sportsplex: celebratory. From the pre-game festivities, the match itself and the post-game fireworks, the night was a celebration of a club, a new stadium and an important win as the league’s standings start to take shape.

Chris Davis wrote about what this new stadium and this game meant to the fans, and he did an excellent job, as always. Check that out below!

As for the game itself, Charlotte was coming off a few disappointing results where they felt hard done by, only taking two points from three tough games, despite playing solid soccer against quality opponents.

The importance of this game was not limited to off-the-field reasons, then: Charlotte needed to win to get going on the road to the playoffs.

The return of the Captain, Bilal Duckett was a big boost for the Independence.

As Ben pointed out in his preview, there were going to be some forced lineup changes due to injuries and suspensions. Enzo Martinez picked up two yellow cards in the previous game, so he was forced to watch from the stands, and Luke Waechter is now expected to miss at least two games due to a knee injury. I talked to Luke before the game and he was in good spirits about the injury and was looking forward to getting back out on the field.

There was good news though: team captain Bilal Duckett was able to return to action after missing several weeks following knee surgery. He may not have played his best game on Saturday night, but as always, he left it all on the field and provided the leadership and experience that the Independence defense needed to earn their first clean sheet of the season.

Joel Johnson moved over to left back because en fuego Dennis Castillo has really thrived for both the Independence and the Colorado Rapids in recent weeks playing at right back. Joel put in a solid shift and made runs up the left side to put pressure on the Harrisburg defense.

The atmosphere was electric for the game thanks to all the fanfare surrounding opening a brand new stadium. It didn’t take long for the Independence to give the crowd something to cheer about (13 minutes) as Charlotte soccer legend Jorge Herrera bent a beautiful free kick around the wall and into the bottom corner of the goal.

It’s sure to be a candidate for USL Goal of the Week, and as the first in Matthews Sportsplex history, one we’ll all remember for years to come.

After the opening goal, Charlotte seemed content to control the possession and pass the ball around the back. There were very few chances to go up 2–0 in the first half, but the best one was created by rookie midfielder Callum Ross. He bolted forward from his normal deep-lying position and made two defenders look absolutely silly on his way into the six-yard box before laying the ball off for Herrera… but the pass was broken up by a defender.

I think Ross should have shot that ball, but without the help of additional views on replay, it’s hard to say for sure. I’m a big fan of Ross already, and he showed another facet of his game that we haven’t yet seen at the professional level.

Without their leading goal scorer in Enzo, I think Charlotte’s plan was to dominate possession of the ball in order to limit Harrisburg’s chances and then kill the game off in the second half. They did just that.

Jorge’s pass may have bounced off the post before being knocked in by Alex Martinez (far left). (Photo Credit: Alex Warren)

The second goal of the game is where it gets really tricky for me. All I know for sure is that Alex Martinez punched in a second goal for the Independence in the 61st minute. I was so excited that I missed the replay on the huge video board in the stadium (still not used to having a video board either.)

From my point of view, there was a great through ball in for Jorge and it looked like he passed it and it either hit the post or the defender and Alex knocked it in. Either way, it was a great attack and I wish I could see it again to break it down further for you.

Side note: the PA announcer’s call of the goal was “let the blue smoke fly!” and I absolutely loved it. I hope he makes that the signature call when the Independence score going forward.

“Let the blue smoke fly” is an exellent catch phrase that I want to see on a t-shirt. (Photo Credit: Alex Warren)

Approximately 15 minutes later, Cody Mizell (aka Cody Cody, aka Air Mizell) made yet another incredible save to keep the clean sheet intact and prevent any threat to the Independence taking all three points. A Harrisburg player sent an overhead kick in from an impossible angle heading towards the top corner, but Cody was in the exact right position and knocked it out over the crossbar for a harmless corner kick.

Lewis Hilton came on for Yann Ekra in the 75th minute and led the charge for a third goal. I love Hilton’s relentless energy and willingness to outwork everyone on the field. I also love that as soon as he crosses midfield he’s looking to create a chance, either by letting a shot fly or making an attacking pass. I felt like he deserved to score a goal but it wasn’t in the cards this night.

On the topic of substitutes, David Spies and Jaime Siaj also made late appearances in the game.

The final whistle blew and the fireworks got started almost immediately. It was a solid grand opening in front of the largest crowd in club history for a competitive match.

In summary, it was a game where the Independence never felt like they weren’t in control of the game. They probably had about 65% of the possession (again, making a slightly educated guess) and had far more chances to score than the Islanders. Their final third execution still needs to be better, as this could have been a far more lopsided score line if they had capitalized on their opportunities better. I’m sure that’s something Coach Jefferies will hit on in training this week.

Man of the Match

The man of the match for me was Jorge Herrera. Jorge put in a solid 90 minutes of work at the forward spot and provided a magical memory for fans of the Independence with his free kick goal. I’m giving him credit for an assist on the second goal as well, because I still think he was attempting a pass. Congratulations on this very prestigious honor Mr. Herrera, I’m sure we will see you on the USL Team of the Week yet again.

Have a sweet tea on me, Jorge!