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Talking Points - Week 8

By ETHAN TRIEBSCH - ethan.triebsch@uslsoccer.com, 05/12/23, 3:45PM EDT

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Greenville, South Georgia and North Carolina victorious in Week 8

Greenville halt the Jacks' unbeaten run, Madison match a club record, Kickers and Owls treat over 5,400 to defensive duel, the champions reign supreme in 2022 League One Final rematch, and North Carolina and Central Valley head in drastically different directions.

Here are the biggest takeaways from each Week 8 League One match.

1. Greenville first to Triumph over Charlotte this season

The Charlotte Independence (3-1-4, 2nd) fell just one match shy of matching Union Omaha's (2020) league-record eight consecutive unbeaten matches to start a season as Greenville Triumph SC (3-4-0, 4th) downed the Jacks in Charlotte on Wednesday evening, 3-1.

"It was a big win," said Greenville Head Coach John Harkes. "Charlotte was a big challenge and these guys rose to the occasion. To get back physically on a short week and perform like that against the first-place team was big. I’m so proud to see how they sacrificed for each other and performed for the guy next to them."

Greenville's first-year professional, Lyam MacKinnon, played a role in all three Triumph SC scores and earned Player of the Week honors. The 23-year-old Lausanne, Switzerland native and FC Lausanne-Sport youth product bagged his first professional goal, tallied his second assist of the season and helped set up Greenville's third goal of the evening.

"We’ll move forward from it," Independence Head Coach Mike Jeffries said. "We kept fighting, kept pushing until the end of the game. We were able to pull one back. We’ve had five games in 15 days so we weren’t at our best on the day."

"I think the whole team is disappointed," Charlotte's Miguel Ibarra added. "That’s not the performance we wanted to put out there. There’s nothing else we can do right now. We have 10 days until our next match so we stay positive, we keep going and we move on."

2. Madison's unbeaten streak matches club record

Forward Madison FC (1-0-4, 9th) played One Knoxville SC (2-2-2, 7th) to a scoreless draw on Wednesday, confirming the 'Mingos as the last unbeaten team in the league this season. The draw for Madison means the 'Mingos have matched a club record five consecutive unbeaten matches to start a season (2021).

"I’m happy with the point on the road against a good squad," FMFC Head Coach Matt Glaeser said. "It wasn’t a good collective performance and it's one that we need to improve upon, but road points down the line matter."

"We know we have a lot more quality than what we showed tonight, but a point on the road is good nonetheless," Madison defender Sam Brotherton said. "I thought we kept our defensive shape well and Bernd [Shipmann] made a couple of good saves to keep us in the match."

3. Crowded City Stadium treated to defensive duel

A pair of League One powers clashed in front of more than 5,400 at City Stadium as the Richmond Kickers (2-1-3, 6th) and Union Omaha (2-1-3, 5th) played to a scoreless draw on Friday evening. A draw in the pair's seventh all-time meeting means the Kickers increased their control over the all-time series record to 4-1-2.

The pair of League One powers have been performing in lockstep early in the campaign, and the incredibly even contest served as a microcosm of that; Richmond and Omaha have an identical record, goal differential this season, and nearly identical results in their last five fixtures.

"The fans at City Stadium were unbelievable, and we're so lucky to have the city of Richmond behind us," Kickers Head Coach and Sporting Director Darren Sawatzky said. "We're still working to get into the rhythm of our attack, but I thought we played very well tonight. I think a draw is a fair result."

"The guys fought hard," Omaha Head Coach Dominic Casciato said. "I think we were organized, and in the second half, we made some adjustments that really took away Richmond's opportunities. Aside from any set pieces at the end of the game, they didn’t really have any chances and I think on another day, some of the counterattacks that we had potentially could’ve nicked the game, as well.

"I'm pleased with the point on the road at a tough place. There’s a big crowd here and Richmond is a good side, so good point on the road, and we go again in two weeks against Chattanooga."

4. 2022 League One Final rematch favors Champions

In the first rematch of the 2022 League One Final, the champions reigned supreme once again. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (2-3-1, 8th) had a solid handle on the pace of the match, but it was South Georgia Tormenta FC (4-4-0, 3rd) that was able to put away its chances and secure a 2-0 victory.

South Georgia's victory on Friday is, rather surprisingly, just the second victory for a defending champion in a League One Final rematch across eight all-time contests. Still, the defending champions did what they had to do, leaning on goals from Pedro Fonseca and Ryan Sierakowski to get the job down and pick up a fourth win early in the campaign, matching the most wins for a club thus far.

"We need to find a way to start games better and we need to be more productive," Red Wolves Head Coach Ziggy Koritoski admitted. "We know we’re not up to the standard of where we need to be. It’s still early in the season, we’re still kind of in that first quarter of the season, but we need to make sure we’re living up to the standard that the Red Wolves should be living up to."

5. North Carolina continue rise, Central Valley continue fall

In a matchup of teams heading in drastically different directions, North Carolina FC (5-1-1, 1st) won its fourth consecutive match and Central Valley Fuego FC (1-5-1, 12th) lost its fourth consecutive contest with NCFC's 2-0 victory in Fresno.

North Carolina FC’s streak of seven unbeaten matches and four victories is the most for the club since 2019 and 2016, respectively. On the other hand, Central Valley is off to the fourth-worst start through seven matches in league history. The second-year side has also recorded the fewest goals through a club’s first seven matches in league history and is riding the second-longest scoreless streak in league history.

"Pleased for the group to get an important road win as well as secure the clean sheet," NCFC Head Coach John Bradford said. "I thought the entire group contributed to the result and it was a great team performance. We're going to continue to take things one game at a time, but we’re looking forward to playing back at home this Saturday."

"It’s not easy to come all the way across the country and put together a solid performance like that but I’m really proud of how we played today," NCFC midfielder Rafa Mentzingen said. "I’m really happy to be able to help the team get those points with my goals but all credit goes to my teammates for their help. Now time to rest and get ready for two huge games at home."


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