In a wild back-and-forth affair, the Men in Blue earned a point on the road against nationally 13th-ranked Charlotte Independence 2.
The Blues opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Franco Ocana picked up the ball in midfield and slalomed through the Independence midfield. Ocana lofted a chip shot from about 40 yards out that fell past the outstretched arms of Tim Baerwalde and into the net to take a 1-0 lead.
In the 30th minute, the Independence were awarded a penalty after being taken down in the box. The attempt went toward the lower right corner but Francois Djiba made a brilliant diving save to preserve the Blues’ lead.
9 minutes later however, another penalty was awarded to Charlotte after some jockeying in the box during a free kick. This time Isaac Scheer made no mistake and blasted it home to tie things up at 1.
A minute later, Charlotte scored off a set piece again. Ayman Maasir took a corner kick that deflected into the net off of a group of players leaping for the ball, giving Independence a 2-1 lead going into the break.
The Blues seemed to find the equalizer in the 60th minute when Bryce Swinehart jumped on a rebound and fired it home, but the play was whistled dead before the shot for an Asheville foul.
The Blues actually found their equalizer three minutes later, when they were awarded a free kick in the right half space. Mitch Picksley received a short pass and sent it into the box where Dante Huckaby was able to deflect it past Baerwalde to knot things back up at 2-2, and earn a point on the road.
Bryce Swinehart was named the Wicked Pie Player of the Match for his efforts on the night.
The Blues return home on Sunday, May 7th, when they host Wake FC at Greenwood Field at 6:30 PM. You can buy your tickets here.
