Charlotte Independence gets first win

Was it a whoop of elation or a sigh of relief coming from the Charlotte Independence sideline Saturday night?

Probably a little of both, said coach Mike Jeffries after his team notched its first-ever victory, a 1-0 USL Pro League decision over Louisville City Football Club in front of 1,987 fans at UNC Charlotte’s Transamerica Field.

Defender Patrick Slogic scored the game’s only goal in the 65th minute and goalkeeper John Berner recorded six saves for the shutout for Charlotte (1-2-2), who fought off a sluggish start to turn in a good all-around offensive and defensive effort against previously undefeated Louisville (2-1-3).

“It hasn’t been linear progress – we sometimes take a couple steps back after taking a step forward,” Jeffries said. “But all our guys did a great job on defense and we played well enough offensively to win.”

Slogic’s goal came at the end of a sequence started by a corner kick, which midfielder Enzo Martinez took a poke at in the box, but was cleared by Louisville goalkeeper Scott Goodwin. Martinez got the ball back and crossed it to Slogic at the left of the goal.

“It was right to me and all I had to do was get it past the keeper,” Slogic said. “It feels good to win one, because it’s been a while coming. We’re finally jelling as a team and fixing little mistakes.”

The game had started quite differently for Charlotte, which didn’t get a shot on goal for the first 24 minutes. But then the Independence had two near-misses in quick succession when Martinez ripped a 20-yard shot just wide. Then on the next possession, Jorge Herrera banged an open shot from about 15 yards off the left goal post.

“That got us going a little bit,” Jeffries said. “We were fortunate to survive the first 15 to 20 minutes at 0-0. Then we starting putting some things together.”

That may be a good description of how the season has gone so far, as the team has played with a constantly evolving roster that Jeffries hopes is beginning to solidify.

“In soccer one of the most important things is knowing what your teammates are going to do ahead of time,” he said. “We’re getting there.’”

NOTES: The Independence’s next game is at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Rock Hill at Winthrop University’s Eagle Field. Charlotte’s temporary home field at the Ramblewood Soccer Complex should be ready for a June 13 debut against Pittsburgh, team officials announced.

This story was originally published May 2, 2015 at 10:15 PM with the headline "Charlotte Independence gets first win."