CARY, N.C. – South Georgia Tormenta FC never quit against North Carolina FC from WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, on Saturday evening, earning a 3-2 comeback victory in the USL League One regular season contest. Kingsford Adjei scored the game-winning goal, assisted by Kazaiah Sterling, in the 95th minute of the match to hand all three points to the visiting side.
Goalkeeper Pablo Jara was called into action early in the first half, and the veteran made numerous impressive saves to keep the score line even.
After weathering the storm early, Tormenta FC punched through on the offensive end in the 21st minute. Tobias Otieno dribbled through the midfield before finding Nick Akoto on the right wing, where Akoto beat a man with his pace before sending a great cross into the box. Fonseca headed the cross back across goal, and Akale connected via a scissor kick to beat the NCFC goalkeeper.
North Carolina, though, came out in the second half looking to make a statement, and it did.
Former Tormenta FC midfielder Raheem Somersall scored a goal from distance to even the score at 1-1 in the 49th minute, and the home side took the 2-1 advantage with another goal in the 60th minute.
With its League One Playoff hopes on the line, Head Coach Ian Cameron pulled his team together with a team talk immediately after conceding the second goal and made substitutions to give the visiting side a spark.
One of those substitutions, Jackson Khoury, scored a brilliant strike from outside the box in the 82nd minute. The goal leveled the match once again, but Tormenta FC needed all three points to keep its hopes for postseason alive.
With time winding down in stoppage time, TFC created one more chance. Khoury intercepted a pass, and Chris Heckenberg collected the ball before playing it into the box for Sterling, who chested it into the path of substitute Adjei. The Ghanaian attacker gathered the ball and fired it into the back of the net to steal improbable points away from North Carolina.
Tormenta FC now turns its attention to an important match against One Knoxville SC at 7:30 p.m. ET from Optim Sports Medicine Field at Tormenta Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 23 (ESPN+). Fans can purchase tickets to the match in Statesboro, Georgia, here.
