FRESNO, California– For the first time, the Central Valley Fuego FC go head to head with the North Carolina FC at Fresno State Soccer Stadium. North Carolina is coming off a win at home hoping to continue their success tonight.
Fuego FC wasted no time scoring early in the 30th minute. Thanks to North Carolina’s attempt to disrupt the offensive attack, the ball lands perfectly in front of Maxi Schenfeld, who then strikes it in from distance just out of the goalie’s reach. Even though the shot was difficult, Schenfeld saw the opportunity to take the lead and he did. In the 37th minute, North Carolina FC responded to Fuego FC’s goal quickly ensuring this game would not be the first shutout of the season. Though they were tied, Fuego FC remained calm passing their way to the next goal. Christian Chaney then joined the fun by kicking the ball into the goal off the crossbar. Schenfeld was credited with the assist helping Fuego FC take the lead to finish off the half.
Chaney’s dominance continued in the second half scoring a brace. He deflected Schenfeld’s volley past the goalie, shocking North Carolina. North Carolina FC made some last-minute efforts to avoid the loss, scoring a goal in the 90th minute. But ultimately, North Carolina could not get the equalizer even with 5 minutes of stoppage time. The final whistle finalized the score 3-2 with the Central Valley Fuego FC securing their first home game of the season and their record advancing to 4-3-5.
UP NEXT: Central Valley Fuego FC takes on South Georgia Tormenta FC for the second time this season on July 2 at 7:30 PM PST at Fresno State Soccer Stadium. The match will be available on ESPN+.
Match: Central Valley Fuego FC vs North Carolina FC
Date: June 25, 2022
Venue: Fresno State Soccer Stadium
Weather: 106 degrees
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| Central Valley Fuego FC | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| North Carolina FC | 1 | 1 | 2 |
CV – Maxi Schenfeld 30’
NC – Oalex Anderson (Jaden Servania) 37’
CV – Christian Chaney 45’ + 2
CV – Christian Chaney (Diego Casillas) 70’
NC – Garrett McLaughlin (Max Flick) 90’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CV – Ozzie Ramo 17’ (CAUTION)
NC – Jaden Servania 18’ (CAUTION)
CV – Jordan Chavez 18’ (CAUTON)
CV – Fraçois Dulysse 22’ (CAUTION)
NC – Gustavo Fernandez 45’ + 2 (CAUTION)
CV – Ofek Antman 65’ (CAUTION)
NC – Oalex Anderson 66’ (CAUTION)
CV – David Diaz 80’ (CAUTION)
LINEUPS
Central Valley Fuego FC (1-4-4-2): Ofek Antman, Tunde Akinlosotu (Marco Torralva), François Dulysse, Jordan Chavez, Michael Hornsby (Cherif Dieye), Diego Casillas (David Diaz), Victor Falck, Ozzie Ramos (Jesus Partida), Maxi Schenfeld, Christian Chaney (William Gillingham), Villyan Bijev
Subs not used: Mitch North, Renato Bustamante
FC Tucson (1-4-2-2): Nicholas Holliday, Max Flick, Jordan Skelton, Gustavo Fernandes, Nelson Flores Blanco (Christian Lue Young), Luis Arriaga, Raheem Somersall, Jaden Servania (Showkat Tahir), Nelson Martinez (Nicolas Rincon), Oalex Anderson (Cole Frame), Nicolas Molina (Garrett McLaughlin)
Subs not used: Will Pulisic, Britton Fischer
Team Perspective
“The team had a clear understanding of what they had to do tonight. They needed to win, they needed to get three points at home, they needed to redeem themselves from our last game,” said Martin Vasquez. “Fuego FC had a good performance against North Carolina FC. They earned their first victory at home. I’m very proud of them!”
“We needed to get three points today no matter what. It was tough because we played one of the best teams in the league and we showed character which is very important for us. At times the game is not going to be pretty but it is important we keep getting results and being more solid and confident with and without the ball,” said Maxi Schenfeld. “I want to thank all the fans because it was hard for us to get the first win at home so this is for them because they have been supporting us so I’m very happy we can finally celebrate our first three points at home. There are still 18 more games in front of us so we have to keep calm and work hard because the league this year is very competitive and is going to be a long journey before playoffs start and we definitely want to be there.”
“I feel as a team we went into this game knowing we haven’t been in the best run of form. We were all on the same page in terms of knowing it might not be pretty, it might not be the way we want it to be but we have to go out and get a result. At the end of the day, we all played like it was our last game in a sense. We had to defend together, we had to run together, we had to fight to the last second. As you can see it was a one-goal game and thankfully my teammates were there and helped me score the two goals,” said Christian Chaney. “As a whole, I felt we were moving forward, it was a step in the right direction. We all did better individually and collectively as a whole. We have to be better every single game because there are no easy games in this league. Everybody is here to compete and ultimately we have to pick up as many points as we can. We needed our first home win. Thankfully Coach Martin gave me a start today– he had the confidence in me. We got it done together. It’s only up from here.”
Honors
Man of the Match: Christian Chaney
