LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Charlotte Independence had a chance to clinch fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a victory, but the win escaped the road team as the Independence and Louisville City FC played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday in front of a crowd of 8,301 at Slugger Field. Brian Brown tallied off of a David Estrada assist late in the first half for Charlotte, and Louisville was the beneficiary of a 73rd-minute own goal to split the points. Louisville won the season series, having previously earned a 1-0 win at Charlotte on March 26. With the win, Louisville finishes the regular season with a 17-4-9 record and 60 points, moving to 6-2-7 at home. Charlotte is 14-8-8 (50 points) overall and 5-3-7 on the road as the club has to go on the road to open the 2016 USL Cup Playoffs.

Scoring:
44’ – CLT – Brian Brown (David Estrada)
73’ – LOU – Henry Kalungi (own goal)

Three Things That Mattered:

• 1. Charlotte had been deserving of a goal for some stretch, with Patrick Slogic’s two-way play being a standout performance, especially in the final 10 minutes of the opening half. The Independence finally struck first, just before the halftime whistle, with Brian Brown tallying in the 44th minute. Charlotte’s buildup went through David Estrada who took a half shot/cross that was headed in the direction of the far left post. Brown slid in and redirected into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Brown notched his ninth goal of the season, which ties for the team lead with Enzo Martinez.

• 2. Louisville wouldn’t answer until the 73rd minute, with Chandler Hoffman fighting through traffic for a shot that was saved by John Berner. Unfortunately for the Independence, the ball bounced out, deflected off of Henry Kalungi and into the back of the net. Though it was an own goal, Hoffman’s efforts were a promising sign heading into the postseason. Hoffman nearly had a goal in the 89th minute, but he was ruled offside. Hoffman has been stuck on 14 goals since his brace against Wilmington Hammerheads FC on July 17.

• 3. Louisville Head Coach James O’Connor was certainly strategic with his personnel use heading into the USL Cup Playoffs, where the No. 2 seed will host the No. 7 seed Richmond Kickers on Sunday, Oct. 2. O’Connor made four subs at halftime to disperse the minutes for his roster. Starters Enrique Montano, Kadeem Dacres, Magnus Rasmussen and Cameron Lancaster were replaced by Ben Newnam, Andrew Lubahn, Ilija Ilic and Hoffman.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:
Greg Ranjitsingh, Louisville City FC - Ranjitsingh kept Louisville in the game, allowing the side to earn its equalizer to send the more than 8,000 fans in attendance home happy.

Upcoming Games:
Louisville City FC: Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, vs. No. 7 Richmond Kickers - Sunday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m. ET – Slugger Field
Charlotte Independence: Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, at No. 4 Rochester Rhinos - Saturday, Oct. 1, 6:05 p.m. ET – Rhinos Stadium