South Georgia Tormenta FC was defeated in tonight's home opener 1-3 against the Charlotte Independence. Mukwelle Akale scored the only goal of the night for Tormenta FC. Tonight's result sees South Georgia drop its first home game ever at Tormenta Stadium.
“I am extremely proud of our team tonight,” Akale commented. “We played exactly how we wanted to play. We controlled the possession of the ball and created chances. At the end of the day, sometimes things do not go your way. We keep moving and now focus on next week.”
Despite the weather delay, Tormenta FC fans made the atmosphere electric as the home team settled down onto the field. South Georgia was unable to connect the dots throughout the first few minutes of the game, and the Independence found a moment of opportunity and scored first.
South Georgia was able to find the equalizer in the dying moments of the first half after Akale found his second goal of the season. Akale’s free kick soared through the air in a graceful arc, passing the defenders' wall and leaving the goalkeeper with no chance. The sound of the ball hitting the top corner of the net brought joy to South Georgia.
South Georgia was unable to find a response in the second half of the match despite a strong start. The Independence were able to find the back of the net twice in the 59th minute following a rebound in the area. In the final minutes of the match, Bennett’s header beat Pablo Jara to give the Independence a lead that South Georgia would not come back from.
South Georgia is poised to make a strong push for the championship title in the upcoming season. Fans can secure their seats at the new Tormenta Stadium ahead of 2023, with Season Tickets now available for purchase.
Tormenta FC is set to remain at home for its second consecutive match as they host Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC next Saturday, April 1, at 7:30 p.m. ET from Optim Sports Medicine Field at Tormenta Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia.
STATS: TRM V CLT 1-3
GOALS:
6’ CLT Brad Dunwell
45+’ TRM Mukwelle Akale
59’ CLT Shalom Dutey
83’ CLT Khori Bennett
YELLOW CARDS:
24’ TRM Preston Kilwien
30’ CLT Omar Ciss
34’ TRM Pedro Fonseca
52’ TRM Preston Kilwien
67’ CLT Brad Dunwell
71’ TRM Andrew Akindele
RED CARDS:
52’ TRM Preston Kilwien
SUBS:
13’ TRM Deshawon Nembhard for Jake Dengler
55’ CLT: Nick Spielman for Hector Acosta
55’ TRM: Chris Heckenberg for Kingsford Adjei
64’ TRM Elijah Amo for Mukwelle Akale
64’ TRM: John Murphy Jr. for Pedro Fonseca
67’ CLT Bachir Ndiaye for Brad Dunwell
67’ CLT Khouri Bennett for Dan Kelly
67’ CLT Luis Alvarez for Miguel Ibarra
78’ CLT Avionne Flanagan for Gabriel Obertan
