Forward Madison Falls to North Carolina 2-1

Forward Madison FC concluded its two-game road trip on Wednesday, August 10th with a match against North Carolina FC at WakeMed Soccer Park. The ‘Mingos 19th USL League One match of the season was supposed to kick off at 6:00 pm CT but a weather delay forced the match to start at 6:45 pm. The match resulted in a last-second goal from NCFC, giving the home team a 2-1 win over Forward Madison. Abdou Mbacke-Thiam provided the singular goal for the Flamingos and Eric Leonard put on a stellar defensive performance, but it just wasn’t enough for the ‘Mingos.

Both squads began the match slowly with neither team able to get much offense going in the first ten minutes. An early Eric Leonard yellow card and a FMFC foul gave North Carolina a couple of free kicks right outside Forward Madison’s box. Raiko Arozarena made the first save of the match in the 11th minute when North Carolina recorded a shot off the free kick. North Carolina nearly scored the first goal of the match in the 14th minute when a good through ball gave Garrett McLaughlin a breakaway. Luckily for FMFC, Eric Leonard managed to speed back on defense and box out the NCFC striker, eventually forcing a clearance for the Pink and Blue.

In the 24th minute, a perfectly placed Forward Madison through ball led to a quick breakaway for Jeremiah Streng. Streng shot a low shot at the NCFC keeper which was saved and deflected right back to Abdou Mbacke-Thiam who fired a rocket of a shot into the back of the net. Thanks to the Senegalese striker, Forward Madison grabbed an early 1-0 lead. The goal pumped lots of momentum into the squad as the Flamingos controlled possession for a while after scoring. At the 42nd minute mark, North Carolina started to make its presence felt on the offensive end. Raiko Arozarena showed off his athleticism and silenced the NCFC faithful when he came up with a huge jumping, catch save off the home team’s corner kick in the 43rd minute. The first half concluded as Forward Madison entered the halftime break winning 1-0.

Unfortunately for the Pink and Blue, the second half began poorly. A foul by Mitch Osmond in the 46th minute led to a penalty kick for NCFC. Garrett McLaughlin managed to score his penalty kick in the 47th minute to even up the score at 1-1. An injury to Mitch Osmond in the 58th minute forced head coach Matt Glaeser to sub in Mele Temguia. A few more injuries occured over the next ten minutes of the match, causing the game to slow down a bit. At the 76th minute mark, North Carolina started to regain momentum as they controlled possession in the ‘Mingos’ half of the field. Mele Temguia put his body on the line to deflect a shot out of the box and Raiko Arozarena made a crucial save to keep the score tied at 1-1.

With roughly ten minutes left in the match, coach Glaeser decided to add some fresh legs onto the pitch, as he subbed off goal scorer Abdou Mbacke-Thiam for Justin Sukow. Sukow made an immediate impact as he moved the ball down the pitch and shot the ball just over North Carolina’s top goal post. In the 87th minute, Mikey Maldonado got called with his second yellow card of the match as he tried to make a tackle on an NCFC midfielder. Due to Maldonado’s red card, the ‘Mingos were forced to conclude the match with only ten players on the pitch. Moments after the booking, North Carolina stole the ball, leading to a breakaway. Raiko Arozarena made the right decision to pressure the striker, preventing NCFC from shooting the ball. At the 90+5th minute, Jeremiah Streng juked past a North Carolina defender and shot a ball at the net that barely got tipped away by NCFC’s goalkeeper Nicholas Holliday. In the final moments of the match, North Carolina managed to control possession and get a shot off at Raiko Arozarena. The Forward Madison goalie deflected the shot but unfortunately the ball landed at the feet of Christian Lue Young, who had a wide open net. Lue Young tapped the ball into the open net to give NCFC the game-winning goal. North Carolina managed to hold onto their 2-1 lead and win.

Next up for the Flamingos, the squad will flock home for a match against the Chattanooga Red Wolves on Saturday, August 13th. As for North Carolina, their next game will come against Central Valley Fuego on August 13th.

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Major Moments:

2’ MAD Offside
4’ MAD Yellow Card (Eric Leonard)
8’ MAD Foul, No Card
10’ NC Shot Saved by Raiko Arozarena
11’ MAD Offside
12’ MAD Shot Saved
13’ MAD Corner Kick
20’ NC Corner Kick
23’ MAD Shot Missed Goal
24’ MAD Goal (Abdou Mbacke Thiam)
27’ NC Foul, No Card
28’ MAD Yellow Card Mikey Maldonado
32’ MAD Foul, No Card
35’ MAD Offside
40’ NC Foul, No Card
42’ NC Shot Saved
43’ NC Corner Kick
43’ MAD Save Raiko Arozarena
2 Minutes of Stoppage Time
45+2’ MAD Foul, No Card

HT: North Carolina FC 0 – 1 Forward Madison FC

HT SUB NC:
- Showkat Tahir subbed off for Oalex Anderson
46’ MAD Foul, No Card – Penalty Kick NCFC
47’ NC Penalty Kick Goal – Garrett McLaughlin
53’ NC Shot Saved by Raiko Arozarena
53’ NC Foul, No Card
58’ MAD SUB:
- Mitch Osmond subbed off for Mele Temguia
59’ MAD Foul, No Card
66’ MAD Foul, No Card
67’ NC Foul, No Card
69’ NC Foul, No Card
72’ MAD Foul, No Card
74’ NC Foul, No Card
76’ NC Shots on Goal Saved and Deflected
77’ NC Corner Kick
79’ NC Corner Kick
79’ MAD SUB:
- Abdou Mbacke-Thiam subbed off for Justin Sukow
80’ NC Shot Saved by Raiko Arozarena
81’ NC Shot Missed
85’ MAD Shot Missed
87’ MAD Red Card Mikey Maldonado
87’ MAD SUBS:
- Rojay Smith and Derek Gebhard subbed off for Alann Torres and Cesar Murillo Jr.
89’ NC Shot Saved by Raiko Arozarena
90’ MAD Yellow Card Matt Glaeser
7 Minutes of Stoppage Time
90+2’ NC Shot Missed
90+5’ MAD Shot Missed
90+7’ MAD Shot Saved
90+7’ NC Goal Christian Lue Young
90+9’ NC SUB:
- Garrett McLaughlin subbed off for Nicolas Molina