Greenville suffers first defeat in preseason match against fellow League One club, Charlotte Independence / Image Credit: Greenville Triumph SC
Preseason play continued with Tormenta FC winning comfortably against Georgia State as Greenville Triumph narrowly lost out to Charlotte Independence
The entire 2023 League One preseason schedule can be found here.
STATESBORO, Ga. — South Georgia Tormenta FC obtained its first victory of the preseason after defeating Georgia State University 2-1 on Saturday afternoon. Goals from Pedro Fonseca and Kazaiah Sterling led Tormenta FC to its first two goals of the preseason campaign. New additions Matheus Cassini and Jackson Khoury received their first few minutes of action with Tormenta FC as well.
In a very intense first half, both sides were able to create dangerous moments, but Tormenta FC had the opportunity to go up early in the match; however, the shot went just wide of the keeper.
In one of Mukwelle Akale’s runs through the right side of the pitch, the ball was crossed into the area finding a trialist, who flicked the ball, finding Pedro Fonseca in the middle of the penalty box. Fonseca placed the ball out of the keeper’s reach, scoring his first goal for South Georgia and the first goal for Tormenta FC in 2023.
The second half saw Tormenta FC regain possession of the ball and remain dangerous offensively. Sterling was able to bag his first goal of the preseason after a ball was recovered by Fonseca. The Brazilian played it out wide to Akale, who unselfishly played the ball into Sterling’s path, where he simply tapped the ball into the bottom of the net.
Georgia State found its lone goal of the night after a powerful strike beat TJ Bush in the 80th minute.
Tormenta FC is set to take on the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the USL Championship next Saturday, Feb. 25, at 3 p.m. ET from Optim Sports Medicine Field at Tormenta Stadium
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Greenville fell to a 1-0 loss in the club's first preseason scrimmage against fellow USL League One opponents Charlotte Independence. A misstep by the Greenville defense allowed Charlotte to notch the sole goal during the final minutes of the first period.
On the pitch for the first time in months, Greenville’s lineup included many returnees and four new players including Devin Boyce, Tevin Shaw, Daniel Wu and a trialist. Greenville maintained possession during the first period, dribbling and combining passes throughout Charlotte’s defensive third. With Greenville unable to finish their opportunities, Charlotte was able to capitalize on a short pass between the Triumph backline and tuck away a goal at the end of the period. The teams were sent into the first break with Charlotte ahead 1-0.
Back for the second period and motivated by the score, Charlotte took control of the match. Both teams shared time on the ball, but Greenville lacked the attacking threats they had during the first 30 minutes. Still, the score remained 1-0 in favor of Charlotte, neither team conceding.
Greenville reverted back to a version of their starting lineup to begin the final period and tested the Independence goalkeeper regularly. A header from academy signee Jonah Biggar almost equalized for Greenville, but was then called offsides. Despite dozens of chances, the home side couldn’t find the back of the net and Charlotte held a 1-0 victory.
The Greenville Triumph will play Anderson University next on April 25 in a closed-door scrimmage, followed by Atlanta United 2 on March 3rd and Crown Legacy on March 15th