CHARLOTTE, NC (April 15, 2026) – The U.S. Open Cup run for the Charlotte Independence came to an end Wednesday night, falling to Charlotte FC 6-0 in the competition’s Round of 32.
The inaugural Charlotte Derby was always going to be an uphill climb, but the test was made even harder when the Jacks were dealt a costly red card early in the contest. The MLS side grabbed the opener at the close of first half before putting the game away in the second.
After a steady start from the Jacks in the first ten minutes, the Independence was dealt a major blow to their back line in the 12th minute as center back Kevin Riascos left the match with a non-contact injury. With defenders like Fabrice Ngah and Sega Coulibaly already missing due to injury, Enzo Martinez came on with Reudd Manin dropping into center back.
The bad luck continued in the 23rd minute. Charlotte FC slid a through ball to Archie Goodwin. While the striker didn’t make any contact with the ball, he was taken out by goalkeeper George Tasouris, who was then shown red and the Jacks suddenly were down to 10 men.
Yet, despite the man advantage, the Independence were resolute in defense the remainder of the first half, frustrating Charlotte’s attack and they nearly made it out of the half.
However, Goodwin had other ideas, burying a Rodolfo Aloko cross in the first minute of first half stoppage time for a back-breaking goal before the stoppage.
Charlotte FC came inches from making it two in the 54th minute. Being the lone unmarked man in the box, Henry Kessler headed a corner effort just wide of Matt Levy’s net. However, the big center back would not denied five minutes later, heading home after creating some space in the box to double the advantage.
Charlotte FC found their third and fourth in the 67th and 71st minute. First, Aloko picked up his second helper of the evening, finding his Crown Legacy running mate Nimfasha Berchimas at the penalty spot and leaving Levy no chance. Four minutes later, defender David Schnegg slid his free kick under the Independence wall and past an outstretched Levy to put the match out of reach.
After Charlotte FC manager Dean Smith put on two regulars in Kerwin Vargas and Liel Abada late, Charlotte FC made it five in the 85th minute. Vargas found it on the edge of the area and his strike deflected off Manin and between the legs of Levy.
Baye Coulibaly added a sixth in the 88th minute to salt the match away.
The Independence return to action in USL League One play as they take on the defending champion One Knoxville SC on Saturday night at 7:00 pm. The match will be available on ESPN+ and WCCB Charlotte.
POSTGAME SOUND
Head Coach Mike Jeffries on the early unfortunate events:
“I thought we started the game pretty brightly. The first seven minutes were good. Riascos’ injury was a big setback and altered the game for us a little bit, and then the game changed on the red card. You know, look, it’s a big moment. It was always going to be uphill for us, but being down a man against an MLS team is a pretty big hill to overcome.”
Jeffries on the atmosphere at the Sportsplex:
“Fantastic atmosphere. This was a big night for our guys, and I’m very disappointed for them in that. These things happen and I think they’re going to walk away feeling like they never really got a chance in this game to showcase what they’re about, other than showing a lot of heart and fight and courage in the game.”
Clay Dimick on the defensive effort:
“Before the red card, we were really hard to break down. Even after the red card, the first ten minutes of that, we couldn’t get broken down, which is huge. And so I think we can take that and continue to be hard to play against. With 11 men, it’s a different game. We can always pride ourselves in being hard to break down.”
