2020 Charlotte Independence season

Charlotte Independence

2020 season
President	Jim McPhilliamy
Head coach	Mike Jeffries
Stadium	Sportsplex at Matthews
USL	Conference: 6th Group G: 1st
USL Playoffs	Conference Quarterfinals
U.S. Open Cup	Cancelled
Biggest win	MEM 0–2 CLT (September 2) CLT 3–1 NC (September 5) BHM 1–3 CLT (September 12)
Biggest defeat	BHM 4–1 CLT (August 5) CLT 1–4 BHM (August 29)
Home colors Away colors
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The 2020 Charlotte Independence season was the club's sixth season of existence, and their sixth in the USL Championship (USLC), the second tier of American soccer. This article covers the period from November 18, 2019, the day after the 2019 USLC Playoff Final, to the conclusion of the 2020 USLC Playoff Final, scheduled for November 12–16, 2020.^[1]

In December, the club and Mecklenburg County broke ground on renovations to American Legion Memorial Stadium that will upgrade the facility and create a home ground for the Independence through a ten-year lease, with the opening scheduled for Spring of 2021.^[2] In January, the club announced that they were retaining seven players from the previous year's roster,^[3] while also acknowledging that longtime club presence Alex Martínez would not be among the returnees.^[4] Later signings in January included a Congolese midfielder with Ligue 2 experience at AS Béziers (Junior Etou),^[5] the 2017 USLC Golden Boot winner Dane Kelly,^[6] as well as two rookies (Oscar Ramsay and Casey Penland) from the team's Invitational Combine.^[7]

Acquisitions continued apace in February as the club signed a veteran defender (Duke Lacroix),^[8] a UNC Charlotte alum with Championship goalkeeping experience (Austin Pack),^[9] and a former loanee winger (Derek Gebhard).^[10] The club then announced the signing of two of the club's academy players, (Owen Barber) and (Joey Skinner), to professional contracts.^[11] A player with U-15 USMNT experience, Rey Ortiz, was brought in from FC Cincinnati on a season-long loan.^[12] The next addition was Guido Vadalá, a 23-year-old forward with first-team experience at Argentinian club Boca Juniors.^[13]

On the minus side, the club announced the retirement of veteran Charlotte forward Jorge Herrera.^[14]

Charlotte began their 2020 campaign with a 2–1 victory on the road versus Sporting Kansas City II.^[15] In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league suspended play for 30 days beginning March 12.^[16] On March 19, the suspension was further extended to May 10.^[17]

On June 4, the league announced a tentative date of July 11 for a resumption of play.^[18] Later, the league announced that upon resumption of play, teams would be separated into eight regional groups and play enough matches to complete a 16-game schedule.^[19] On June 26, the league announced that Charlotte was to be placed into Group G with other regional clubs including Birmingham, Memphis, and North Carolina.^[20]

Charlotte began their Return To Play action with a 2–2 draw away to Memphis, recovering twice from single goal deficits to bring the match level.^[21] The draw was sandwiched by postponements to matches away in Miami^[22] and home versus North Carolina.^[23]

The Independence began the month with a 4–1 loss away to Birmingham. The team failed to score from open play, with their lone goal coming from a penalty conversion by Enzo Martínez.^[24] That loss was followed up by successive 1-1 draws, the first on the 8th versus Charleston in the club's home opener,^[25] followed by the second draw on the 12th of the month against Birmingham.^[26] The team finished the three-game homestand with a 3–2 victory over Memphis, their first home win of the season.^[27] The team then traveled to Miami for an out-of-group match that resulted in a 2–1 loss.^[28] The Jacks completed the month with a two-game homestand. In the first match, the team secured a 1–0 win on the first professional goal scored by Rey Ortiz.^[29] The team finished the month as they started it, with a 4–1 loss to Birmingham. The Jacks conceded four unanswered goals before Dane Kelly netted his fifth goal of the season in the 85th minute.^[30]

The Independence began a busy month with a 2–0 win on the road versus Memphis. The win solidified the club's hold on second place in Group G, five points clear of third place.^[31] The club followed up that performance with a 3–1 home win against North Carolina. The sum total of the Independence scoring consisted of a Dane Kelly hat trick.^[32] The club then went on the road to score a 3–1 win over Group G leading Birmingham. The Jacks, aided a brace of goals from Dane Kelly, moved within one point of Birmingham in the standings.^[33] Staying on the road, the Independence scored another victory, this time over North Carolina. Despite being down to 10 men at the time by way of a Dane Kelly straight red card, Aaron Maund headed home the only goal of the match in the 51st minute to secure the club's first away win against NCFC.^[34]

The Jacks returned home four days later to face Miami FC. The point the club earned in the scoreless draw moved the Independence into a tie with Birmingham atop the Group G standings.^[35] The Independence then suffered their first loss of the month, falling 3–1 at home versus Memphis.^[36]

The Jacks secured the top spot in Group G thanks to a 1–0 road win versus North Carolina coupled with a Memphis victory over Birmingham on October 3.^[37] The Independence were then eliminated from the postseason in their opening conference quarterfinal match hosting Charleston Battery. The Jacks finished regulation time in a 1–1 deadlock, then conceded a headed goal by Arthur Bosua in the 101st minute.^[38]

As of March 4, 2020^[13]

No.	Position	Player	Nation
1	GK	Austin Pack	United States
2	DF	Shalom Dutey	Togo
3	DF	Hugh Roberts	United States
4	MF	Jake Areman	United States
5	DF	Casey Penland	United States
6	DF	Jack Maher (on loan from Nashville SC)	United States
7	MF	Rey Ortiz (on loan from FC Cincinnati)	United States
9	FW	Dane Kelly	Jamaica
11	MF	Valentin Sabella	Argentina
13	MF	Kevan George	Trinidad and Tobago
14	DF	Duke Lacroix	United States
15	MF	Luke Haakenson (on loan from Nashville SC)	United States
17	DF	Clay Dimick	United States
19	FW	Enzo Martínez	Uruguay
20	MF	Oscar Ramsay	New Zealand
21	MF	Brunallergene Etou	Congo
22	DF	Joel Johnson	Liberia
23	FW	Guido Vadalá	Argentina
27	MF	Derek Gebhard	United States
32	FW	Tresor Mbuyu	DR Congo
33	GK	Brandon Miller	United States
34	DF	Owen Barber ([A])	United States
35	DF	Joey Skinner ([A])	United States

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Qualification
1	Charlotte Independence	16	8	4	4	24	22	+2	28	1.75	Advance to USL Championship Playoffs
2	Birmingham Legion FC	16	7	4	5	29	19	+10	25	1.56
3	North Carolina FC	15	6	1	8	17	21	−4	19	1.27
4	Memphis 901 FC	15	4	4	7	24	31	−7	16	1.07

On December 20, 2019, the USL announced the 2020 season schedule, creating the following fixture list for the early part of Charlotte's season.^[1]

As part of the resumption of league play, the following schedule was announced for Charlotte on July 2, 2020.^[39]

As a USL Championship club, the Independence will enter the competition in the Second Round, to be played April 7–9.^[43]

As of November 23, 2020 Source: us.soccerway.com^[45]

Numbers after plus-sign(+) denote appearances as a substitute.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		USL Championship Regular Season		Playoffs
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
15	MF	USA	Luke Haakenson	17	3	12+4	3	1+0	0
19	FW	URU	Enzo Martínez	17	2	16+0	2	1+0	0
3	DF	USA	Hugh Roberts	17	2	16+0	1	1+0	1
7	MF	USA	Rey Ortiz	17	1	10+6	1	1+0	0
21	MF	CGO	Brunallergene Etou	17	0	16+0	0	1+0	0
14	DF	USA	Duke Lacroix	17	0	16+0	0	1+0	0
33	GK	USA	Brandon Miller	17	0	16+0	0	1+0	0
9	FW	JAM	Dane Kelly	16	11	14+1	11	1+0	0
4	MF	USA	Jake Areman	15	1	12+2	1	1+0	0
27	MF	USA	Derek Gebhard	13	2	7+5	2	0+1	0
17	DF	USA	Clay Dimick	13	0	6+6	0	1+0	0
11	MF	ARG	Valentin Sabella	14	2	4+9	2	0+1	0
18	DF	USA	Aaron Maund	14	1	13+1	1	0	0
22	DF	LBR	Joel Johnson	14	0	12+1	0	1+0	0
23	FW	ARG	Guido Vadalá	10	0	2+7	0	0+1	0
32	FW	COD	Tresor Mbuyu	8	0	1+7	0	0	0
90	FW	USA	Christian Chaney	7	0	0+6	0	0+1	0
20	MF	NZL	Oscar Ramsay	4	0	0+4	0	0	0
13	MF	TRI	Kevan George	1	0	1+0	0	0	0