2023 North Carolina FC season

North Carolina FC
2023 season
Owner	Stephen Malik
Head coach	John Bradford
Stadium	Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
USL League One	2nd
USL1 Playoffs	Champions
U.S. Open Cup	2nd Round
Top goalscorer	League: ; All: Oalex Anderson (17)
Highest home attendance	League/All: 5,795; (10/14 vs. Koxville)
Lowest home attendance	League/All: 1,119; (4/8 vs. Charlotte
Average home league attendance	2,503
Biggest win	3 goals ; (April 21 vs. Chattanooga) ; (September 2 at Fuego FC)
Biggest defeat	0–3 ; (June 10 at Forward Madison)
	← 2022 2024 →

The 2023 North Carolina FC season was the 17th season of the club's existence, and their third season in USL League One, the third division of the American soccer pyramid. North Carolina was coached by John Bradford, his third season with the club, and played their home games at Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. The club had finished at the bottom of the table in their second season in USL League One. North Carolina finished the season in 2nd place in the league table, earning a spot in the playoffs. After defeating Hailstorm FC 3–1 in the semi-finals, they defeated rival Charlotte Independence 5–4 in penalties to win the 2023 USL League One Final.^[1]
It was announced on August 7, 2023, that North Carolina will return to the USL Championship for the 2024 season.^[2]

Club

Roster

As of November 5, 2023^[3]

No.	Pos.	Player	Nation
1	GK	Nick Holliday	United States
2	DF	Christian Lue Young	United States
3	DF	Nelson Blanco	El Salvador
4	DF	Luke Croll	England
5	DF	Navarro	United States
6	DF	Gustavo Fernandes	United States
7	MF	Luis Arriaga	United States
8	MF	Pecka	Brazil
9	FW	Oalex Anderson	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
10	MF	Jaden Servania	Puerto Rico
12	GK	Tor Saunders	United States
13	MF	Louis Perez	France
14	FW	Rafael Mentzingen	Brazil
15	FW	Mikey Maldonado	United States
17	FW	Shak Adams	United States
18	DF	David Benton	United States
19	FW	Garrett McLaughlin	United States
22	DF	Max Flick	United States
23	FW	Marvin Mariche	United States
24	DF	David Garcia	Spain
25	GK	Trevor Mulqueen	United States
26	MF	John McDowell	United States
31	GK	Brooks Thompson	United States
44	MF	Raheem Somersall	Saint Kitts and Nevis
88	FW	Preston Popp	Canada

Competitions

Exhibitions

February 11, 2023 (2023-02-11) Preseason 1	North Carolina FC	v	UNC–Chapel Hill	Cary, North Carolina
1:30 PM EST				Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

February 18, 2023 (2023-02-18) Preseason 2	North Carolina FC	v	One Knoxville SC	Cary, North Carolina
2:00 EST				Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

February 22, 2023 (2023-02-22) Preseason 3	North Carolina FC	v	New York City FC II	Cary, North Carolina
3:00 PM EST				Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

February 25, 2023 (2023-02-25) Preseason 4	North Carolina FC	v	Charleston Battery	Cary, North Carolina
2:00 PM EST				Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

March 1, 2023 (2023-03-01) Preseason 5	North Carolina FC	v	Columbus Crew 2	Cary, North Carolina
2:00 PM EST				Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

March 4, 2023 (2023-03-04) Preseason 6	North Carolina FC	v	Loudoun United FC	Cary, North Carolina
1:00 PM EST				Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

March 11, 2023 (2023-03-11) Preseason 7	North Carolina FC	v	Charlotte Independence	Cary, North Carolina
2:00 PM EST				Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

July 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)	North Carolina FC	2–4	Sunderland A.F.C.	Cary, North Carolina
7:05 PM EDT	Mentzingen 52' Perez 59'		Matete 5' Batth 14' Roberts 44' Clarke 45+2'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

USL League One

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Union Omaha (S)	32	19	5	8	61	41	+20	65	Qualification for the semi-finals
2	North Carolina FC (C)	32	19	7	6	58	39	+19	63	Qualification for the semi-finals
3	Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC	32	18	6	8	59	37	+22	62	Qualification for the play-offs
4	Charlotte Independence	32	13	9	10	50	42	+8	49
5	Greenville Triumph SC	32	13	10	9	45	40	+5	48

Source: USL League One
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 6) disciplinary points; 7) drawing of lots.
(C) Champions; (S) Players' Shield winner

Match results

March 17, 2023 (2023-03-17) 1	North Carolina FC	0–1	Tormenta FC	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT		Report	Akale 34'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 3,429 Referee: Jeremy Scheer

April 1, 2023 (2023-04-01) 2	North Carolina FC	2–1	Lexington SC	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT		Report	Akale 34'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 1,423 Referee: Shawn Tehini

April 8, 2023 (2023-04-08) 3	North Carolina FC	1–1	Charlotte Independence	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	Anderson 32'	Report	Kelly 61'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 1,119 Referee: Alejo Calume

April 15, 2023 (2023-04-15) 4	Union Omaha	1–2	North Carolina FC	Omaha, Nebraska
3:00 PM EDT	Gallardo 84'	Report	Mentzingen 3' (pen.) Perez 43'	Stadium: Al F. Caniglia Field Attendance: 1,665 Referee: Jervis Atagana

April 21, 2023 (2023-04-21) 5	North Carolina FC	3–0	Chattanooga Red Wolves	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	Anderson 45' Mentzingen 57', 66'	Report		Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 1,766 Referee: Izlen Peksenar

April 29, 2023 (2023-04-29) 6	Greenville Triumph	1–2	North Carolina FC	Greenville, South Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	Wu 90+4'		Perez 19' Mentzingen 37' (pen.)	Stadium: Paladin Stadium Attendance: 3,228 Referee: Joshua Encarnación

May 5, 2023 (2023-05-05) 7	Fuego FC	0–2	North Carolina FC	Fresno, California
10:00 PM EDT		Report	Mentzingen 32' Perez 60'	Stadium: Fresno State Soccer Stadium Attendance: 775 Referee: Ricardo Fierro

May 13, 2023 (2023-05-13) 8	North Carolina FC	0–2	Forward Madison	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT		Report	Martinez 14' Osmond 68'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 2,610 Referee: Abdou Ndiaye

May 17, 2023 (2023-05-17) 9	North Carolina FC	3–2	Richmond Kickers	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	Anderson 62' Perez 73' McLaughlin 76'	Report	Da Silva 29', 32'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 1,377 Referee: José Carlos Rivero

May 21, 2023 (2023-05-21) 10	Charlotte Independence	2–1	North Carolina FC	Charlotte, North Carolina
2:00 PM EDT	Mbuyu 61' Bennett 81'	Report	Anderson 47'	Stadium: American Legion Memorial Stadium Attendance: 3,672 Referee: Servando Berna Rico

June 3, 2023 (2023-06-03) 11	One Knoxville SC	0–1	North Carolina FC	Knoxville, Tennessee
7:30 PM EDT		Report	Servania 45+1'	Stadium: Regal Stadium Attendance: 2,422 Referee: Michael O'Reilly

June 10, 2023 (2023-06-10) 12	Forward Madison	3–0	North Carolina FC	Madison, Wisconsin
8:00 PM EDT	Payne 44' Prentice 64' Crull 75'	Report		Stadium: Breese Stevens Field Attendance: 4,567 Referee: Matt Geringer

June 18, 2023 (2023-06-18) 13	North Carolina FC	2–2	Lexington SC	Cary, North Carolina
3:00 PM EDT	Perez 50' McLaughlin 54'	Report	Baynham 31' Robertson 81'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 1,682 Referee: Cristian Campo Hernández

June 30, 2023 (2023-06-30) 14	North Carolina FC	2–0	Charlotte Independence	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EST	Anderson 40', 59'	Report		Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 2,396 Referee: Joe Surgan

July 8, 2023 (2023-07-08) 15	One Knoxville SC	2–2	North Carolina FC	Knoxville, Tennessee
7:30 PM EDT	Crisler 31' Ross 36'	Report	Anderson 4' McLaughlin 60'	Stadium: Regal Stadium Attendance: 2,109 Referee: Muhammad Hassan

July 15, 2023 (2023-07-15) 16	North Carolina FC	2–2	Forward Madison	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	Anderson 67', 90+3'	Report	Gebhard 16' Bartman 37'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 1,875 Referee: Michael O'Reilly

July 26, 2023 (2023-07-26) 17	North Carolina FC	2–0	Hailstorm FC	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	Perez 45' Anderson 90+5'	Report		Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 1,354 Referee: Shawn Tehini

July 29, 2023 (2023-07-29) 18	Chattanooga Red Wolves	1–2	North Carolina FC	East Ridge, Tennessee
7:30 PM EDT	Hernandez 83'	Report	Sommersall 33' Mentzingen 39'	Stadium: CHI Memorial Stadium Attendance: 2,717 Referee: Madzid Coric

August 5, 2023 (2023-08-05) 19	Tormenta FC	2–3	North Carolina FC	Statesboro, Georgia
7:30 PM EDT	Adjei 13' Sterling 39'	Report	Mentzingen 35' (pen.), 42' (pen.) Anderson 76'	Stadium: Optim Health Systems Field Attendance: 2,041 Referee: Donovan Eubank

August 9, 2023 (2023-08-09) 20	Richmond Kickers	2–2	North Carolina FC	Richmond, Virginia
7:00 PM EDT	Terzaghi 33' Hornsby 90+6'	Report	McLaughlin 36' Hornsby 90+6' (o.g.)	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 3,143 Referee: Gary Gutiérrez

August 12, 2023 (2023-08-12) 21	North Carolina FC	2–1	Greenville Triumph	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	McLaughlin 54' Perez 56'	Report	MacKinnon 36'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 2,301 Referee: Cristian Campo

August 19, 2023 (2023-08-19) 22	Richmond Kickers	1–3	North Carolina FC	Richmond, Virginia
7:00 PM EDT	Fitch 86'	Report	Anderson 16', 53' Maldonado 81'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 5,570 Referee: Gabriele Ciampi

August 26, 2023 (2023-08-26) 23	North Carolina FC	1–2	Hailstorm FC	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	Garcia 52'	Report	Amann 27' Rendón 64'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 2,343 Referee: Olvin Oliva

September 2, 2023 (2023-09-02) 24	North Carolina FC	2–1	Fuego FC	Cary, North Carolina
4:00 PM EDT	Servania 36' Benton 89'	Report	Cerritos 4' (pen)	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 2,142 Referee: Velimir Stefanovic

September 6, 2023 (2023-09-06) 25	Union Omaha	4–3	North Carolina FC	Papillion, Nebraska
8:00 PM EDT	Dolabella 9' Brito 45+2' Duba 59' Meza 75'	Report	McLaughlin 11' Mentzingen 85' Popp 90+4'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 2,648 Referee: Joe Surgan

September 9, 2023 (2023-09-09) 26	Greenville Triumph	0–2	North Carolina FC	Greenville, South Carolina
7:00 PM EDT		Report	Mentzingen 11' (pen.) Servania 23'	Stadium: Paladin Stadium Attendance: 1,524 Referee: John Rush

September 16, 2023 (2023-09-16) 27	North Carolina FC	2–3	Tormenta FC	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	Sommersall 49' Anderson 60'	Report	Akale 21' Khoury 82' Adjei 90+4'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 2,952 Referee: Aleksandar Zhelyazkov

September 20, 2023 (2023-09-20) 28	Fuego FC	0–3	North Carolina FC	Fresno, California
10:30 PM EDT		Report	Anderson 28' McLaughlin 74' Mentzingen 81' (pen.)	Stadium: Fresno State Soccer Stadium Attendance: 582 Referee: Olvin Oliva

September 23, 2023 (2023-09-23) 29	Hailstorm FC	0–2	North Carolina FC	Windsor, Colorado
9:00 PM EDT		Report	McLaughlin 40' Anderson 58'	Stadium: Future Legends Complex Attendance: 2,119 Referee: Cristian Campo

September 29, 2023 (2023-09-29) 30	North Carolina FC	1–1	Union Omaha	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	Mentzingen 12'		Gil 40'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 3,664 Referee: Gary Gutiérrez

October 7, 2023 (2023-10-07) 31	Lexington SC	0–1	North Carolina FC	Georgetown, Kentucky
7:00 PM EDT			Anderson 29'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 2,181 Referee: Richonne Clark

October 14, 2023 (2023-10-14) 32	North Carolina FC	2–1	One Knoxville SC	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	Fernandes 30' McLaughlin 89'	Report	Ross 55'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 5,795 Referee: Arnel Selman

Playoffs

October 28, 2023 (2023-10-28) Semi-final	North Carolina FC	3–1	Hailstorm FC	Cary, North Carolina
7:30 PM EDT	Blanco 15' Garcia 31', 49' Perez 85' 87'	Report	Folla 22' Rendón 56' Hernández 90+4'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 2,345 Referee: Alexis Da Silva

November 5, 2023 (2023-11-05) Final	North Carolina FC	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Charlotte Independence	Cary, North Carolina
5:00 PM EDT	Perez 86' Ntalu 108' Pack 111' (o.g.)	Report	Flanagan 71' Mbuyu 88' Acosta 99'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 4,487 Referee: Sergii Demianchuk
	Penalties
	Perez Servania Navarro Maldonado Arriaga		Kelly Johnson Acosta Álvarez Spielman

U.S. Open Cup

April 5, 2023 (2023-04-05) 2nd Round	North Carolina FC	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Loudoun United FC	Leesburg, Virginia
7:00 PM EDT	Servania 67'	Report	Ryan 7' Leggett 116'	Stadium: Segra Field Referee: Kenneth Rojas

References

^ "STARRY NIGHT! NCFC is 2023 USL League One Champion". northcarolinafc.com. North Carolina FC. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
^ "North Carolina FC to rejoin USL Championship in 2024". northcarolinafc.com. North Carolina FC. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
^ "North Carolina FC 2023 Roster". uslleagueone.com. USL League 1. Retrieved December 19, 2023.

[1] "STARRY NIGHT! NCFC is 2023 USL League One Champion". northcarolinafc.com. North Carolina FC. Retrieved December 19, 2023.

[2] "North Carolina FC to rejoin USL Championship in 2024". northcarolinafc.com. North Carolina FC. Retrieved December 19, 2023.

[3] "North Carolina FC 2023 Roster". uslleagueone.com. USL League 1. Retrieved December 19, 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e USL League One
Teams	AV Alta FC Charlotte Independence Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Forward Madison FC Greenville Triumph SC One Knoxville SC FC Naples Union Omaha Portland Hearts of Pine Richmond Kickers Spokane Velocity Texoma FC Tormenta FC Westchester SC
Future teams	Corpus Christi, Texas (2026) USL Eugene (2026) Boise Pro Soccer (TBA)
Former teams	Central Valley Fuego FC Fort Lauderdale CF Lansing Ignite FC Lexington SC New England Revolution II North Carolina FC North Texas SC Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC Orlando City B Toronto FC II FC Tucson
Seasons	2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
USL Cup	2024
Miscellaneous	United Soccer League USL Championship USL League Two

v t e 2023 USL League One season by team
Playoffs Final
Clubs	Central Valley Fuego FC Charlotte Independence Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Forward Madison FC Greenville Triumph SC One Knoxville SC Lexington SC North Carolina FC Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC Union Omaha Richmond Kickers South Georgia Tormenta FC