We’ll feel this one for a while.
We came out at Patriots Point and executed exactly how we wanted in the opening stretch. Sharp, aggressive, and clinical. Romario Williams opened the scoring in the 25th minute, and two minutes later Samuel Shashoua doubled the lead. At 2–0, we were in control and playing on our terms.
For that first half-hour, the performance had everything we’ve been building toward. Compact defensively, purposeful in transition, and decisive in front of goal.
But the game shifted, and we didn’t wrestle it back.
Charleston grew into it and began to control territory and tempo. Over the full 90 minutes, the numbers tell the story. They finished with 28 shots to our 11, created 4.40 expected goals to our 1.31, and had 52 touches in our box compared to our 16.
That kind of pressure builds, and eventually it breaks through.
They pulled one back in the 58th minute, and from there we spent too much time defending, too deep, without enough control of the ball to slow the game down. Charleston continued to deliver service into the box, finishing with 33 crosses and 173 passes in the final third.
The equalizer came in the 80th minute, and the winner followed in stoppage time.
“It’s a tough loss to take, really a tale of two halves,” said Head Coach Jay Heaps. “The injury to Bryce hurt us, and we didn’t deal well enough with their service into the box.”
There were still performances to build on. Shashoua was influential throughout, finishing with 92 touches and a goal, helping us connect play and move the ball forward with purpose.
Behind him, Jassem Koleilat did everything he could to keep us in it. He made 7 saves against 10 shots on target, while the group in front of him added 14 blocks as we fought to hold the line under sustained pressure.
We showed what we’re capable of in that opening stretch. That level is there. Now it’s about sustaining it, managing momentum, and handling key moments when the game turns.
“We need to build off that first half and improve our team defending in critical moments. That’s where games are won and lost.” – Jay Heaps closed out.
