Good Times, Bad Times, You Know I've Had My Share

It was the best of times. It was not really the worst of times, but it wasn't a good time.

Let's start with the good because it's a Monday morning and if I start with the bad news then we're in a bad mood to start our week and no one needs that. 

Like death and taxes, in this life you can count on Tormenta and Charlotte playing to a 1-1 draw when these two teams meet. On Saturday, it played out very similarly to the other two meetings this year that ended that way with Charlotte going ahead early and Tormenta rallying very, very late to equalize. And since this was Jagermesiter Cup action, we got to go to a shootout (which I think the ESPN+ announcer forgot about at the end of regulation when throwing the broadcast to a commercial) that Tormenta came away with a 3-2 win and the extra point in the standings.

Callum Stretch's goal in the sixth minute of second half stoppage time got Tormenta to penalties as he was able to corral a loose ball in the box and fire a shot through traffic and find the back of the net to stun a Charlotte team that had been holding on through much of the match. 

South Georgia had the better of play for much of the match, creating multiple chances after the first 10 minutes but never quite finding the final touch needed to bury a shot in the net. Pedro Fonseca and Sebastian Vivas both had multiple chances early, but either through solid defense, deflections or goalkeeper saves from Austin Pack, Tormenta couldn't break through. 

Charlotte, meanwhile, relied on quick counterattacks to create opportunities, including one shortly before the water break that defender Preston Kilwien was able to block as Charlotte got behind the Tormenta defense.

Just after the water break, Charlotte would capitalize on a Tormenta miscue as Alsadiq Hasan misjudged a long ball played from the Charlotte back line. Charlotte's Luis Alvarez was able to slide his shot past Tormenta goalkeeper Drew Romig as the Independence took an early 1-0 lead. The ESPN+ announcer (and apologies, I don't have his name) pointed out something that I'd kind of felt, but didn't actually know. Tormenta, this season, has only scored first in three of their games (I believe this is only League One and Jagermeister Cup games). If it seems like Tormenta has been playing from behind a lot this year, it's because they have.

Early in the second half Fonseca and Pack were both chasing after a loose ball in the box. The two collided and what appeared to be a foul on the Charlotte goalkeeper was, instead, whistled against Fonseca, much to the consternation of the Tormenta bench.

Romig would continue to step up big, making a huge save in the 59th minute on a Charlotte shot to keep the deficit at one, but Kilwien would go down on injuried on the play and would end up being replaced by Stretch.

Early in stoppage time, it appeared Tormenta might tie it up when Mason Tunbridge's nifty footwork got him open for a shot that Pack could only deflect. The rebound fell to Jackson Khoury, but his shot sailed high.

Minutes later, Stretch would score his goal to give us what we all expected, a 1-1 draw between these two. 

It's the fourth straight match, dating back to last year, that these two teams have finished 90 minutes at 1-1.

In penalties, Tormenta would miss the first two, but rallied to make their final three kicks with Fonseca's shot in the fifth round giving Tormenta the 3-2 win and the extra point in the Jagermeister Cup standings.

That was the good news.

The bad news is that by virtue of Greenville's win over Richmond, Tormenta is mathematically eliminated from Group 1 contention as the Triumph have 12 points and Tormenta only five with just two matches remaining in group play. There's still a path to the knockout round, but it would require Tormenta to score a lot, like a lot a lot, of goals over their final two Jagermeister Cup matches as the final playoff spot goes to the team with the most goals, regardless of record. Currently Tormenta has seven goals in the competition, while Omaha, which is currently in second place in their group, has 12.

The draw and penalty loss for Charlotte was tough for them as the late Tormenta goal and then the Independence loss in penalties drop them to four points behind Greenville in the Group 1 Standings. A regulation win would have kept them just two points back with two games to play. Charlotte and Greenville have yet to play in the Jagermeister Cup and will face each other in the final two games, likely to decide the group winner. Richmond still has a chance, but they need a lot to break right for them over the final two games for the Kickers to advance. 

(With two Cup wins, Richmond can get to 13 points. A Greenville loss and then a draw with a penalty kick defeat gets them to 13 points, which would mean Charlotte had a win and a penalty shootout win, which would also get them to 13 points. We then go to tiebreakers and, friends, I can't tell you what happens in that scenario.)

Tormenta returns to League One action on Saturday with some League One After Dark as they travel to face the Jermaine Jones-led Central Valley at 11 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time) kickoff. Their next Jagermeister Cup match will be on August 10 when they face Richmond.