NCFC Win Big in First Home Victory of the Season
Cary, NC – Not only did North Carolina FC secure their first home field victory of the season, they did so with an impressive showing, taking down Penn FC three goals to none, all in a shocking span of time.
Rapid Fire Scoring
North Carolina FC took the field at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday, April 28, 2018 still buzzing from a steady undefeated streak. This might have given the team the confidence it needed against Penn FC as the home team showed their usual aggressive attack style.
This strategy paid off in the 29th minute as NCFC’s Austin da Luz got a cross assist from Kyle Bekker and kicked in the goal from the right flank. But six minutes later, Bekker himself got an assist, this one from Peabo Doue, and hit the ball into the back post, bringing the score to 2-0 in a remarkably short period of time.
But NCFC was not done there, and neither was Bekker. In the 37th minute, Daniel Rios charged Penn FC’s net and tried to score but was deflected by Penn goalkeeper Romuald Peiser. However, Bekker was near the back post already and went after the rebound. He got the ball back to Rios who scored on an empty net, bringing the score to 3-0.
“We knew that we owed these fans a result,” said Kyle Bekker. “You could see it at the beginning of the week: everybody knew we had something to prove. We hadn’t been happy with our performances, especially at home. Tonight we came out and kind of showed that everybody’s coming together, and we’re on the right foot.”
The score stayed at 3-0 for the remainder of the game, giving the home team their first home win of the season.
Analysis and Upcoming Games
This Saturday’s game was an impressive showing over Penn FC, considering in the rest of the season, they had only had three points scored on them total, and here, NCFC scored three points on them in eight minutes.
“Go on the road for three, come back home, it’s important to back that up, and obviously for us we wanted to win in front of our fans,” said NCFC Head Coach Colin Clarke. “With the break coming up, all of those little things just made it even more important than it was. But a massive three points and a great performance.”
NCFC will take part in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup next, with their first game on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, starting at 7 PM. Their opponent has not been determined yet.
Story by staff reports. Photos by Rob Kinnan.
