I looked forward to the Tobacco Road game all Wednesday afternoon even though North Carolina FC’s USOC match was going on just 30 minutes down the street. Luckily for us in attendance, the game went though all 90 minutes without a rain delay and resulted in eight goals and a 4–4 draw. It was wild. Let’s get into the recap.

(Photo Credit: Zack Leischner)

This week’s starting line up was a little different from last week. TRFC had a week to rest up for a HOT game at home, and still they made changes. I walked into the game just a couple minutes late and Wilmington was already up 1–0. But luckily for me, I didn’t have to wait long for TRFC to tie it up.

In the 30th minute, Tobacco Road did well passing the ball and were great on the finish. Max Moser sent a nice cross into the box and Alan Winn headed it in. GOOOAAAALLLLLLLLL. 1–1.

TRFC had MANY chances in the rest of the first half but Wilmington was strong in defense. With 21 minutes left to play in the first half, Jon Ray got the ball and beat a defender off the dribble, but just barely missed the bottom corner with his shot. Then again with 19 minutes left, Alan Winn did a few tricks, ran for the left corner of the box, and passed to Jon Ray who missed again. Great moves but couldn’t finish.

With four minutes left to play in the first half, “Champe” Mendoza received a nice ball and had his shot from distance sail high. The half would end 1–1.

(Photo Credit: Matt Feltz)

A Crazy Second Half

During halftime, I talked to some fans and ordered some food from Bull City Street Food food truck (10/10 if anyone was wondering), so I again missed the first few seconds of the half. I walked up to my seat and before I could sit down, the Hammerheads were up 2–1. 11 minutes later, Jeremy Kelly of Wilmington did some flashy moves and slid by Tobacco Road to put the Hammerheads up 3–1.

Okay, this is when the game went crazy. In the 63rd minute, Jeremy Kelly scored again, but this time it was one of the best plays I’ve ever seen. Even as a Tobacco Road FC fan, I was in awe of this play. You have to watch it.

After the fourth goal, no one gave up on TRFC, even with a storm coming and a three-goal deficit. Alan Winn and “Champe” Mendoza played like a bunch of mad men on the pitch and dominated the Hammerhead defenders, who might have let up a bit too much. In the 67th minute, Alan Winn sent a nice pass to Mendoza who put it in the net to be down 4–2. Maybe one minute later, Tobacco Road marched down the field with the ball and Eli Garner passed to Jonathan Ray who scored to send the Los Toros to within one!

The fans were going crazy and the Tobacco Road FC players were controlling the field. Wilmington woke up though and played well for the next twenty minutes to keep the score 4–3.

Once the game neared the 90th minute, the action level just increased like crazy. In added time, Max Moser crossed the ball and Marshall Hodge just barely missed a header to tie the game up at 4. Then, Tyler Agiovlassitis passed to Jared Rist who sent it into the net to tie the game.

I honestly couldn't believe that they came back from three goals down to get the draw.

Even as Wilmington went up by three at the start of the second half, Tobacco Road did not give up. The fans and supporters were great throughout the game. Shoutout to the kid who brought his drum to the game and played it for 90 minutes.

If you want to watch the whole game, it’s available right here: