RICHMOND, VA (September 20, 2025) – The Charlotte Independence brought their four-game losing streak to a halt Friday night, beating the Richmond Kickers 3-2.
#99 Christian Chaney bagged two more goals, bringing his total to double digits, and #11 Bachir Ndiaye scored another as the Jacks broke their slump and grabbed a crucial three points.
After a start-and-stop first 20 minutes, the Kickers had a prime chance to get on the board first. #20 Adrian Billhardt was taken down in the box by #13 Anthony Sorenson in the 23rd minute, giving Richmond a penalty.
However, starting in his first game with the Jacks, #31 Amal Knight made a sterling save, getting down to his right to stop #19 Darwin Espinal.
Instead, the Independence broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute. After a Richmond deflection off a pass, the ball fell to #17 Clay Dimick. The fullback played a lovely shortly pass to Chaney, who buried it past #1 Pablo Jara for the 1-0 lead.
For Chaney, he gets his 10th goal of the season in his 100th USL League One appearance.
Making up for his penalty miss earlier in the half, Espinal buried one in the 38th minute to equalize the score.
Before the halftime break, the Jacks took the lead back. A lovely free kick from one of the league leaders in assists, #9 Jon Bakero, found Ndiaye on the back post. The midfielder nodded it home to re-establish the advantage in the 45th minute.
Fourteen shots in the first frame led to three goals and the teams headed to the halftime stoppage looking to re-focus for a pivotal 45 minutes ahead.
The Jacks kept the mojo going and doubled the lead in the 53rd minute. Bakero picked up his second assist of the night, flicking one on to Chaney who finished to Jara’s near post for his 11th of the year.
A crazy sequence in the 80th minute for both teams nearly resulted in a goal. Firstly, it was Knight to the rescue. Richmond got in behind the keeper, but he scrambled to recover, knocking the ball away before the Kickers could get off a strike.
The other way went to the Independence. Bakero beat his man and suddenly was in alone on Jara. His shot deflected just wide of the post.
Richmond cut the deficit in half in the 89th minute. #6 Omar Ciss took down a Richmond attacker in the box. Unlike their first penalty, the Kickers buried this try, courtesy of #27 Chandler O’Dwyer.
The Jacks saw the rest of the game out, securing all three points and jolting the club back into fifth position in the league table.
The Jacks will go for two in a row next Friday as they take on One Knoxville on the road.
QUOTES:
Head Coach Mike Jeffries on the performance:
”A huge win for us, and desperately needed, obviously with the run we’ve had lately. I thought we really started the game well and created a few good looks. Good play to get the first goal and then I actually thought, once we conceded the equalizer, we did a good job of hanging in and keeping our composure. And then, fantastic to stretch the game to 3-1. Obviously a little bit hairy at the end, but huge to pull out the result.”
Jeffries on the importance of the win for the playoffs:
”This was an important game for us. We’ve given away the edge we had in the standings and it has definitely narrowed as the sort of bottom of the playoff table tightens up. So this game, it was huge and we knew it going in.”
Christian Chaney on his brace:
”I’ve been waiting to get back on the score sheet. I’m hoping tonight pushes the boys forward, gives us some confidence and give us a little cushion. Obviously, it was needed. Without the team and the effort that we put in today, those goals don’t come, so it’s a huge credit to the team and our resilience that we bounced back.”
Bachir Ndiaye on the importance of the win:
“It was a very important win, one that we’ve truly needed. I think that we’ve played well all the previous game just haven’t been fortunate enough. Hopefully this one can give us the confidence that we need to push for the final stretch of the season.”
