During a light weekend of NASL action, North Carolina FC stole the show with a thrilling 3:1 victory over FC Edmonton, igniting sparks of hope that our boys in blue may have what it takes to #MarchToNovember. Coming into Saturday’s match, NCFC sat in seventh place, one point ahead of last place FC Edmonton. Over NCFC’s first two matches, their only shimmers of greatness came from a pinpoint assist from Lance Laing to Matt Fondy during week one, and Tiyi Shipalane finding the net in his first appearance of the season during week two. Finally, with Laing recovered from a week one concussion and Shipalane’s improved mobility after a preseason hamstring injury, both playmakers were able to take the field together for the first time. And fire up the highlight reel.

In front of a moderate WakeMed crowd, NCFC dominated FC Edmonton from the opening whistle, taking optimistic chances that seemed so few and far between the last few seasons. Built as a ball control team, the RailHawks of yesteryear often found themselves passing the ball around their opponent’s goal box, hesitant to shoot until the perfect opportunity presented itself — which usually ended in a misstep and a loss of possession.

But for 2017… offense, meet Lance Laing. Lance, meet our offense.

Lance Laing’s set piece golazo in the fourth minute may have been the shot heard around the NASL, telling the league that we are going to go for goal and rip it this year.

Laing is a playmaker, but more so with his eye for goal rather than his underutilized– yet effective — passing abilities, and ended up taking a third of the team’s shot attempts despite not playing a full ninety minutes.

The early goal seemed to energize NCFC, as they looked extra sharp in every aspect. NCFC ended up adding two more goals for an early-season single-game high. Naz Albadawi’s personal effort to shake off one of the NASL’s most veteran defenders capped off by a bottom corner goal was almost as jaw dropping as Laing’s opening goal.

NCFC also set season highs in shot attempts (15), pass attempts (448), pass accuracy (84%), and percent of tackles won (90%). The lone goal they surrendered came from a ricochet off the top bar that found a wide-open Eddy to head it home. Losing the clean sheet in the 72’ did not dampen the party in the stands, as NCFC supporters partied on to the final whistle and the first three points of the NCFC season.

Now with four points on the table, NCFC sits tied for third place with next week’s familiar opponent — Miami FC. We’ll have a preview of that one later in the week.

A good night for NCFC, a good night at Sahlen’s at WakeMed. Let’s hope we see more of those before the Spring Season is through.