The 2018 Charlotte Independence season was the club's fourth season of existence, and their fourth in the United Soccer League, the second tier of American soccer.
| 2018 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Jim McPhilliamy | ||
| Head coach | Mike Jeffries | ||
| Stadium | Sportsplex at Matthews | ||
| U.S. Open Cup | Second round | ||
| Highest home attendance | 3,312 (June 26 vs. Charleston) | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 982 (August 8 vs. Bethlehem) | ||
| Average home league attendance | 1,756 | ||
|
| |||
Background
editThe Independence finished the 2017 season with a record of 13–9–10, finished 5th in the Eastern Conference, and 11th overall. In the 2017 USL Playoffs, Charlotte were bested in the first round by the Rochester Rhinos. Elsewhere, the Independence reached the third round of the 2017 U.S. Open Cup, losing 1–4 to NASL outfit, North Carolina FC.
Club
editRoster
edit| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Brandon Miller |  United States
|
| 3 | DF | Bilal Duckett | United States
|
| 4 | MF | Jake Areman | United States
|
| 6 | MF | Greg Jordan | United States
|
| 7 | MF | Yann Ekra |  France
|
| 8 | DF | Kay Voser |  Switzerland
|
| 9 | FW | Éamon Zayed |  Libya
|
| 10 | MF | Jorge Herrera |  Colombia
|
| 11 | MF | Mutaya Mwape |  Zambia
|
| 12 | GK | Kainoa Likewise | United States
|
| 13 | MF | Kevan George |  Trinidad and Tobago
|
| 14 | DF | Lee Jung-soo |  South Korea
|
| 15 | DF | Calvin Doum |  Cameroon
|
| 16 | DF | Bertrand Owundi (on loan from Minnesota United FC) | Cameroon
|
| 17 | FW | Cordell Cato | Trinidad and Tobago
|
| 18 | GK | Ben Beaury | United States
|
| 20 | MF | Ricardo Perez ([A]) |  Mexico
|
| 22 | DF | Joel Johnson |  Liberia
|
| 23 | MF | Alex Martínez |  Uruguay
|
| 25 | DF | Henry Kalungi |  Uganda
|
| 27 | MF | Je-Vaughn Watson |  Jamaica
|
| 29 | FW | Caleb Calvert ([A]) | United States
|
| 31 | DF | Sam Vines ([A]) | United States
|
| 33 | DF | Donnie Smith | United States
|
- ^ Signed to first team contract with MLS affiliate Colorado Rapids.
Competitions
editFriendlies
edit- All times in regular season on Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-04:00)
Win Draw Loss Upcoming fixture
| February 14 Preseason | Atlanta United FC | – | Charlotte Independence | Marietta, Georgia |
| EST (UTC–5) | Stadium: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground | |||
| Note: Closed door; match not publicized. | ||||
| February 17 Preseason | Charlotte Independence | 5–3 | Columbus Crew SC | Charleston, South Carolina |
| EST (UTC–5) | Duckett  Martínez (pen.)Trialist Steedman Trialist |
|||
| Note: Closed door | ||||
| February 25 Preseason | Charlotte Independence | 0–1 | North Carolina FC | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 13:00 EST (UTC–5) | Miller |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews |
| March 3 Preseason | Atlanta United 2 | 2–4 | Charlotte Independence | Marietta, Georgia |
| EST (UTC–5) | Trialist Herrera (o.g.)Doum |
Stadium: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground |
| March 10 Preseason | Charlotte Independence | 2–1 | Old Dominion Monarchs | Matthews, North Carolina |
| EST (UTC–5) | Kronschwitz |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews |
| September 5 Midseason | Charlotte Independence | 0–3 | Santos Laguna | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 19:30 EST (UTC–5) | Report | Martínez 60' Rivas Cetré |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews |
USL Regular season
editStandings
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | North Carolina FC | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 60 | 50 | +10 | 47 |
| 10 | Ottawa Fury | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 31 | 43 | −12 | 45 |
| 11 | Charlotte Independence | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 42 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 41 |
| 13 | Penn FC | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 38 | 47 | −9 | 37 |
Source: 2018 USL standings
Rules for classification: 1) total wins; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 5) disciplinary points; 6) coin toss or drawing of lots
Rules for classification: 1) total wins; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 5) disciplinary points; 6) coin toss or drawing of lots
Results summary
edit| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 37 | 49 | −12 | 37 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 30 | −16 |
Last updated: 25 September 2018.
Source: Matches
Updated to match(es) played on 14 October 2018. Source: Matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed
Matches
edit- All times in regular season on Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-04:00)
Win Draw Loss Upcoming fixture
| March 17 1 | Charlotte Independence | 4–1 | Ottawa Fury FC | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 19:00 EST (UTC–5) | Cato 41', 58' George  45'Herrera 67', 80' (pen.)Porter 83' (o.g.) |
Report | Sito 64' Oliveira 90+3' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 1,438 Referee: Jonathan Bilinski |
| March 24 2 | Charlotte Independence | 2–0 | Toronto FC II | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:00 PM EDT | Herrera 18' Calvert 42' Johnson 70' |
Report | Spencer 22' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 1,026 Referee: Javier Santos |
| March 31 3 | Charlotte Independence | 2–2 | Atlanta United 2 | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:00 PM EDT | Martínez 32' Herrera 37', 85'George 61' |
Report | Jung-soo 28' (o.g.) Kunga 82' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 1,375 Referee: Daniel Gutierrez |
| April 7 4 | Nashville SC | 2–0 | Charlotte Independence | Nashville, Tennessee |
| 8:30PM EDT | Winn 24' Mensah 90+1' |
Report | Duckett 12' Johnson 89' |
Stadium: First Tennessee Park Attendance: 7,487 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic |
| April 14 5 | Charlotte Independence | 0–2 | North Carolina FC | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:00 PM EDT | Martínez 7' Smith 85' |
Report | Ríos 50' Doue 59' Fortune 61' Lomis 86' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 2,264 Referee: Matthew Franz |
| April 28 6 | Charlotte Independence | 0–0 | Indy Eleven | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:00 PM EDT | Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews |
| May 5 7 | Charleston Battery | 2–0 | Charlotte Independence | Charleston, South Carolina |
| 7:00 EDT | Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium |
| May 12 8 | Charlotte Independence | 4–1 | FC Cincinnati | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:30 EDT | Cato 38' Ekra 45+2'Voser 57'Zayed 87' |
Report | König 52' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 2,314 Referee: Kevin Broadley |
| May 19 9 | Charlotte Independence | 2–1 | Toronto FC II | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:30 EDT | Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 987 | |||
| Note: Originally scheduled to be played at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario.[1] | ||||
| May 26 10 | Richmond Kickers | 1–3 | Charlotte Independence | Richmond, Virginia |
| 7:00 EDT | Stadium: City Stadium |
| June 2 11 | Ottawa Fury FC | 0–1 | Charlotte Independence | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 7:00 EDT | Reid 55' Edward 90' |
Report | Ekra 83' |
Stadium: TD Place Stadium Attendance: 5,693 Referee: Carol Anne Chenard |
| June 9 12 | New York Red Bulls II | 4–2 | Charlotte Independence | Montclair, New Jersey |
| 7:00 EDT | Stadium: MSU Soccer Park |
| May 26 13 | Atlanta United 2 | 1–1 | Charlotte Independence | Richmond, Virginia |
| 7:00 EDT | Stadium: City Stadium |
| June 16 14 | Charlotte Independence | 1–1 | Charleston Battery | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:30 EDT | Mwape 79' |
Report | 25' Higashi |
Stadium: Matthews Sportsplex Attendance: 3,312 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez |
| June 23 15 | Richmond Kickers | 1–1 | Charlotte Independence | Richmond, Virginia |
| 7:00 PM EDT | Shriver 6' |
Report | Cato 20' George 63' |
Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 5,364 Referee: Javier Santos Escobar |
| Note: Leigh Cowlishaw's final match as manager. | ||||
| June 27 16 | Charlotte Independence | 2–2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:30 EDT (UTC−4) | Herrera 57' (Cato) Cato 64' (Herrera)Johnson 86'  89'Smith  90+2' |
Report | Gorskie 44' Mkandawire 66'Lachowecki 78'Oduro 90' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 1,399 Referee: Marcos de Oliveira |
| June 30 17 | Bethlehem Steel FC | 4–1 | Charlotte Independence | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania |
| 5:00 PM EDT | Nanco 10' Moar 46'Skundrich 72'Herbers 80'Mbaizo 90+2' |
Report | 11' Kalungi 69' Watson 83' Areman 90+3' Herrera |
Stadium: Goodman Stadium Attendance: 2,346 Referee: Matthew Franz |
| July 7 18 | Indy Eleven | 2–1 | Charlotte Independence | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 7:00 PM EDT | Speas 62' Mitchell 70' |
Report | Duckett 49' 77' Herrera 50', 55'Areman 90+2'Martínez 90+3' |
Stadium: Lucas Oil Stadium Attendance: 9,858 Referee: Lukasz Szpala |
| July 11 19 | Charlotte Independence | 1–0 | Nashville SC | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:30PM EDT | Johnson 15' George 42'Calvert 90+4' |
Report | 46' Akinyode 74'Winn 90+5' Pickens 90+5' Woodberry |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 1,247 Referee: Kevin Broadley |
| July 18 20 | FC Cincinnati | 2–0 | Charlotte Independence | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| 7:30 EDT | Keinan 7' Lasso 20'Ledesma 67'Welshman 87' |
Report | Duckett 28' Zayed 65'Voser 87' |
Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 25,251 Referee: Jon Freemon |
| July 21 21 | Louisville City FC | 4–1 | Charlotte Independence | Louisville, Kentucky |
| 7:30PM | McCabe 21' Ilić 72' (pen.)Lancaster 81'Davis IV 87' |
Report | George 71' Herrera 90' |
Stadium: Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 8,006 Referee: Lorant Varga |
| July 28 22 | Charlotte Independence | 1–1 | Penn FC | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:30 EDT | Areman 47' Herrera 56'Zayed 64'Duckett 90+1' |
Report | 62' Metzger 72' Dennis 90+5' Rezende |
Stadium: Matthews Sportsplex Attendance: 2,159 Referee: Jonathan Bilinski |
| August 8 23 | Charlotte Independence | 0–3 | Bethlehem Steel FC | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:30 EDT | George 35' |
Report | 7' Chambers 65' Real 74' Holness 89' 90' Skundrich |
Stadium: Matthews Sportsplex Attendance: 982 Referee: Amin Hadzic |
| August 18 24 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 0–0 | Charlotte Independence | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 7:00 EDT | Report | Jordan 10', 58' |
Stadium: Highmark Stadium Attendance: 2,765 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic |
| August 22 25 | Charlotte Independence | 0–3 | Louisville City | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:30 PM EDT | Mwape 90' |
Report | Lancaster 13' (pen.), 29', 42' Spencer 65' |
Stadium: Matthews Sportsplex Attendance: 2,189 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez |
| August 25 26 | North Carolina FC | 6–2 | Charlotte Independence | Cary, North Carolina |
| 19:00 EDT | Steinberger 26', 51' 52' Fernandes 36' Miller 36' 49' da Luz 69' Ríos 72', 78' |
Report | George 24' 32' Owundi 72' Areman 85' |
Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 4,195 Referee: Daniel Gutierrez |
| September 1 27 | Charlotte Independence | 1–0 | Nashville SC | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 6:30PM CDT | Watson 25' George 53', 86' Jung-soo 81' |
Report | Winn 45' Moloto 53' Woodberry 67' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews |
| September 8 28 | Charlotte Independence | 2–1 | Richmond Kickers | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 19:00 EDT | Zayed 5' Areman 58' |
Report | Gonzalez 72' Nascimento 83' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 1,175 Referee: Greg Dopka |
| September 19 29 | Charleston Battery | 1–1 | Charlotte Independence | Charleston, South Carolina |
| 7:00 P.M. | Rittmeyer 9' Woodbine 80' Mansaray 90+1' |
Report | Herrera 69' (pen.) Martínez 89' |
Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Referee: Joseph Dickerson |
| September 22 30 | Charlotte Independence | 1–1 | New York Red Bulls II | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:00 PM | Jordan 15' Johnson 33' |
Report | Aguinaga 54' Cásseres 62' Abang 70' Ndam 90+2' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 1,608 Referee: Eric Tattersall |
| September 29 31 | Charlotte Independence | 2–2 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:00 PM EDT | Herrera 19' Johnson 46' Watson 77' Zayed 86' Duckett 90+2' |
Report | Parkes 4', 44' Zemanski 90+3', 90+4' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 1,878 Referee: Mark Allatin |
| October 3 32 | Penn FC | 2–2 | Charlotte Independence | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| 6:30 PM EDT | Venter 36' Mkosana 44' Calvano 74' Baffoe 90' |
Report | Zayed 17', 28' Johnson 87' Kiffe 90' |
Stadium: FNB Field Attendance: 2,013 Referee: Guido Gonzales, Jr. |
| October 6 33 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1–2 | Charlotte Independence | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 19:30 EDT (UTC−4) | Gorskie 75' Taylor 80' (Guenzatti)Vega 90+7' |
Report | Voser 26' (Zayed), 84' Gebhard 32' (Cato)Miller 82' |
Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 7,709 Referee: Luis Guardia |
| October 13 34 | Charlotte Independence | 1–3 | North Carolina FC | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 19:00 EDT | Herrera 6', 7' |
Report | Ríos 5', 87' Smith 30' Igbekoyi 73' Miller 90+3' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 1,486 Referee: RefereeRamy Touchan |
U.S. Open Cup
edit| May 16 Second round | Charlotte Independence  | 1–3 |  Ocean City Nor'easters | Matthews, North Carolina |
| 7:30 EDT | Herrera 58' Martínez 84' |
Report | Gurrieri 4', 6' Ndah 23' Mompremier 44', 67' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Attendance: 300 Referee: Eric Usher |
References
edit- ^ "Toronto FC II match moved to Charlotte". Toronto FC. May 15, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2018.