CHARLOTTE, NC (March 19, 2026) – A three-goal second half vaulted the Charlotte Independence into the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Second Round, knocking off Ristozi FC 4-1.
Clay Dimick opened the scoring early on and after Ristozi equalized before halftime, Enzo Martinez, Fabrice Ngah, and Christopher Jaime made sure to put the tie to bed in the second half.
The Jacks got off to a fantastic start in front of the home supporters at the Sportsplex. Hero of this past weekend, Viggo Ortiz cut onto his right foot and blasted a strike from 16 yards out. After it was parried away by Ristozi keeper Jermaine Fordah, captain Dimick pounced on the rebound and deposited it home for the lead four minutes in.
It was a steady run of possession and opportunities for the Independence in the first 35 minutes, totaling seven shots to Ristozi’s one and controlling the ball 65% of the time.
However, Ristozi had an answer against the run of play in the 38th minute. A dangerous ball was played into the Jacks’ box. Miscommunication between Sega Coulibaly and George Tasouris along with a failed clearance allowed the ball to fall into the path of Yohsuke Ono, who made no mistake into the vacated goal.
One final chance in the first frame came for the Independence. Jaime’s pass deflected past a Ristozi defender and fell for Enzo Martinez, only to be denied by a diving Fordah. Alas, that would be how the first half came to a close.
It was downhill pressure from Charlotte the first twenty minutes of the second half. Fordah denied the Independence on two consecutive corner kick chances – first off Javen Romero, then off Joey Skinner in the 65th minute.
The Jacks broke the deadlock in the 69th minute. Tasouris launched a throw from his box to the midfield line, catching off-guard the Ristozi backline. A misplay led to a 2-on-0 between Ortiz and Martinez. Martinez shot faked, putting Fordah on the ground and passed it into the empty net.
Fordah kept Ristozi in it in the 76th minute. The keeper denied Mathis Guffroy first with a diving stop and seconds later, stopped Souaibou Marou‘s directed header.
Charlotte put the game away in the 87th minute. A curved cross from Luis Alvarez landed perfectly on the foot of Ngah, who blasted a left-footed volley into the bottom corner.
The scoring wasn’t done there. Two minutes later, Alvarez’s finesse shot was pushed away by Fordah, but right to Jaime, who made no mistake for his first goal in Independence colors.
It finished 4-1, advancing the Independence to the second round for the second straight year.
Head Coach Mike Jeffries on the match:
“I thought we had decent control of the game and created enough chances. We got the early goal, and then we could never really push to get another one in the first half. Walking in at 1-1 at halftime was disappointing in that I think they really had one shot on goal in the first half and converted. The guys upped their level in the second half, and I think our quality showed through along with Ristozi starting to fatigue.”
Jeffries on Ristozi’s intensity:
“You know, you do see upsets, and I’ve been on the right side of the upsets and on the downside of the upsets. I thought Ristozi, they came out with great intensity. They were well organized and difficult to break down.”
Enzo Martinez on his goal and what it meant to him:
“Yeah, it obviously means a lot. Mike trusted me to be in a position that I’ve been dying to play for a long time, in a game that was tight, that could have gone either way. That goal just gave the team the confidence to push through. It could have been me, it could have been anyone else, but to get that goal and to get the win is massive right now.”
Christopher Jaime on netting his first with the Independence:
“It felt amazing. I think it’s something that I’ve been working for for a long time here. It is a relief and a payoff to the practice and all the work I put into it, and I’m glad that it finally went. Hopefully, this will break the bad luck that I have in front of goal, but it felt good, especially to get it with the win.”
