North Carolina FC has little time to celebrate its 6–1 win Wednesday over Carolina Dynamo in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup.

Now, the Oaks (3–2–2, 11 pts.) travel to Bayamon and Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium to face Puerto Rico FC (0–3–4, 3 pts.) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Puerto Rico are riding a four-game losing streak following their 4–3 loss to the New York Cosmos last weekend. They had a 2–0 lead on the Cosmos until Yuma was shown a red card following a challenge. New York scored three unanswered after the Puerto Rico side went down to 10 men.

“Maybe after the streak we’ve been having the team is more sensitive to changes during the game,” said Ramon Soria, Puerto Rico FC center-back, on the team’s website following the loss to New York.

Only they and Indy Eleven have failed to collect a win in the first seven games of the season.

They also fired their coach after the debacle against the Cosmos.

Sitting in last place with three points after seven games will do that. The team has talent on their roster, and a winless start to the season can only go without consequences for so long. They are certainly a team in turmoil; we’ll see how they respond tomorrow night.

NCFC, on the other hand, are fresh off their U.S. Open Cup win in Greensboro on Wednesday night. Coach Colin Clark was able to bring in three new faces to the starting line-up to give veterans a rest before the return to league play.

Macklin Robinson, Marcel Kandziora and Dre Fortune all made their first start of the season against the Dynamo. Matt Fondy returned to the starting lineup as Lance Laing — the hero of the Oaks’ 3–1 win over Jacksonville Armada FC last weekend — earned a rest.

Against Puerto Rico FC, it is to be expected that Laing return to the starting lineup. Laing is tied with Indy Eleven’s Justin Braun for the league lead in goals scored with four.

The question is whether Fondy or Schuler will start alongside Laing up front. Schuler’s brace last weekend gives him three goals on the season to match Fondy’s three. The difference is in their attack.

Against San Francisco Deltas, the Oaks were whistled offside five times, three of those attributable to Fondy. On the other hand, Schuler has yet to concede a foul but has only played in four games to Fondy’s six.

Defensively, NCFC have put together back-to-back games where they gave up just two goals — including holding one of the hottest-scoring teams in Jacksonville to just one goal — and scored nine.

If history has any play Saturday night, the Oaks did collect their first and only clean sheet of the season in their last meeting with Puerto Rico, a 1–0 win on April 29 in Bayamon.

What to expect

There is a level of frustration with Puerto Rico, and clearly losing the coaching staff this week will shake things up. They were close to their first win of the season last week though, only to have it erased following a red card. But they have also given up a league-high 13 goals. We really don’t know what to expect: it could be a mixed bag on Saturday night.

If the Oaks press the attack and use a mix of Laing, Fondy, Schuler and even Tiyi Shipalane, the Puerto Rico defense may be on its heels all night, regardless of their turmoil.

The only drawback for NCFC is playing with only three days rest and going on the road while the Orange haven’t played since last weekend. They will be fresh, but that’s about all we know.

Form

North Carolina FC

W-D-W-L-W

Puerto Rico FC

D-L-L-L-L

Check out the game

Watch | ESPN3 (National — U.S.), NASL.com (National — Canada). WAPA 2 (National — Puerto Rico)

Set piece

Just to revel back to Wednesday’s win in the U.S. Open Cup, the Oaks will return home to face Charlotte Independence on May 31 in the third round of the nation’s oldest tournament.

If NCFC defeats the Independence, they will stay at home and play host to MLS side Houston Dynamo. The fourth round is where MLS teams enter the tournament.