Facing the second place team in the league, South Georgia Tormenta FC was twice able to take a one-goal lead in the first half.
Both times they had the lead, Tormenta committed a foul in the penalty box which saw North Carolina FC convert to even the score.
Then, in the 76th minute, North Carolina’s Oalex Anderson was able to corral a bouncing ball in the box and get just enough of the ball to trickle it past a sliding Preston Kilwein and Tormenta goalkeeper Pablo Jara for the difference in South Georgia’s 3-2 defeat Saturday night.
“I think you’re looking at a group that feels they can beat everybody in the league,” said Tormenta Manager Ian Cameron. “We just faced the best team in the league and for parts of the game were really dominant.”
“But the reality is we’re just shaky in the back and we’re not making enough plays,” Cameron said. “So for all the good work, it just zaps the team’s energy. We’re having to score too many goals to win football games and that’s something we have to try to rectify.”
Tormenta has not shut out an opposing team since a 2-0 defeat of Chattanooga on May 5, a span of 12 games.
To Cameron’s point, Tormenta had 53 percent of the possession on the night and outshot North Carolina 16-12 with both teams having six shots on target.
Cameron said defensively they have the talent, especially with Kilwein and Dalton Knutson as center backs, to be able to earn a clean sheet at home.
“We need to wholesale address it to whether it’s a system change or something else,” he said, adding later “If there was just a solution that I can stand here and tell you then we’d have solved it by now,” he said.
Tormenta opened the scoring in the 13th minute on a designed set play. Rather than crossing the ball into the box, Pedro Fonseca played a through ball to Kazaiah Sterling near the endline close to the six-yard box on the right. Sterling was able to cut the ball back to Kingsford Adjei who touched the ball through NCFC goalkeeper Brooks Thompson’s legs for a 1-0 Tormenta lead.
“I knew where I was supposed to run, Kaz knew where he was supposed to be and Pedro knew where he was supposed to put the ball,” Adjei said of the goal.
North Carolina would tie it up when Garrett McLaughlin was fouled on the penalty area by Nick Akoto in the 34th minute, earning Akoto a yellow card and a penalty kick for NCFC.
Jara guessed the right way with his dive and was able to get a hand on Rafael Mentzingen’s shot, but it wasn’t enough as it found the back of the net to even the score.
Tormenta would take the lead again five minutes later. Mukwelle Akale gathered the ball just past midfield on the right and was able to dribble all the way to the top of the 18-yard box. There he was able to cut to the middle to find Sterling who took a touch to gather himself and then slipped the ball past Thompson to give South Georgia a 2-1 lead.
North Carolina would answer just three minutes later on another penalty kick by Mentzingen, this time after a foul by Knutson in the penalty area.
Tormenta looked poised to take the lead again five minutes into the second half as Fonseca and Sterling had some nifty passing through the middle of the NCFC defense to leave Fonseca open from 18 yards out and the goalkeeper out of position. Fonseca’s shot hit off the left post and bounced away to keep the score tied at two.
“We know we can beat anybody in the league, but we’ve now got a race against time to accumulate enough points to put ourselves in a position where we get to face a team like that in a playoff scenario,” Cameron said. “And that’s what we will fight for with every ounce of energy that we’ve got.”
In addition to facing North Carolina, Tormenta has a tough schedule this month. After Wednesday’s game against Central Valley, South Georgia will face three of the top five teams in the league to close out the month of August.
Cameron praised the crowd at Saturday's match, which featured the Claxton High School Marching Band as well as other organizations from Claxton in attendance.
“The crowd tonight was superb,” Cameron said. “That was a really fun atmosphere for the guys to play in. That’s a credit to the community and a great credit to Claxton who came out in massive numbers.”
He added “I really look forward to doing something for them and returning and growing the connection we have between the two communities.”
Tormenta returns to action on Wednesday as they host Central Valley at 7:30 p.m. at Tormenta Stadium.
News and Notes:
Pablo Jara appears in 100th game for Tormenta
Goalkeeper Pablo Jara made his 100th appearance for Tormenta and was honored before the game with a commemorative jersey to mark the occasion. Jara is the first Tormenta player to reach that milestone.
“I’m very proud. I’m very grateful for this organization,” he said after the match. “This organization opened the door for me to begin my career and it’s been a beautiful five years.”
Cameron had high praise for his goalkeeper. “He’ll go down as one of the legends of this club. One of the founding fathers, one of the foundational pieces that allowed this club to win a championship last year and everything that’s built on it from years out will be built on the shoulders of guys like him.”
“He’s a huge example of what a capitan and a leader is,” Adjei said of Jara. “I can’t stress enough that he’s probably one of the best guys I’ve met playing football.”
“I want to use the opportunity to thank my family, to thank the club, to thank the coaches and the teammates I’ve had along the way,” Jara said. “And all the community for all their support. I feel like a part of the community and a part of Tormenta FC and I’m grateful. I’m very, very grateful”
New uniform makes brief appearance
Saturday was to be the unveiling of the new Championship Nights kit for Tormenta that is black on the front and white on the back. Tormenta came out wearing the new uniforms but after only two minutes were forced to change as the referee determined the back of the uniforms were too similar to North Carolina’s uniform. Tormenta changed to its typical navy uniform for the remainder of the match.
The team plans to wear the kit for multiple games throughout the rest of the season.
Expected Promotion/Relegation vote delayed
According to a report in The Athletic, USL owners are postponing a vote on implementing promotion and relegation within the USL structure.
Owners are scheduled to meet this week and a report from The Athletic last month indicated a vote was expected to be taken on whether to implement a system which would see teams at top of the standings promoted to a higher division while teams at the bottom of the standings relegated to a lower division as is common throughout the rest of the world’s soccer leagues.
The latest report cited anonymous sources saying the delay is due to a lack of clarity around what owners were voting on and needed more specifics of what a vote in favor would mean. The delay is thought to allow for more time to work out the details of how such a plan would work.
Tormenta owner Darin Van Tassell had no comment on the report, saying “these remain internal conversations with our league partners.”
Sterling nominated for Player of the Month
Tormenta striker Kazaiah Sterling is one of five finalists for USL1 player of the month for July. Sterling scored four goals and added an assist for the month that saw Tormenta go 3-2-0.
The winner will be announced on August 9.
