CARY, N.C. – North Carolina FC ended its four-game home stand with a convincing 4-2 win from Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park against an Ottawa Fury FC side that has started to simmer down following a red-hot month of May. Connor Tobin, Daniel Rios, Marios Lomis and Steven Miller all scored for the home side, with Lomis netting a jaw-dropping volley in the 43rd minute. Ottawa was able to put two past NCFC netminder Alex Tambakis but could not break down North Carolina enough times to push for the tie or win. Connor Tobin penciled in his name on the score sheet first with a clinical header via a Kyle Bekker corner kick in the third minute. Nearly half an hour later, Miller used a slide tackle to gain control of the ball against Ottawa defender Colin Falvey before passing to Daniel Rios, who finished with his right foot from the center of the penalty box to double the lead. Lomis’ impressive volley came in the 43rd minute, as he flicked a cross sent into the box by Austin da Luz by Fury FC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau. Miller topped off his strong outing with a right-footed blast into the bottom-left corner during the 57th minute. With the result, NCFC improves to 4-6-2, while Fury FC falls to 4-6-3 in 2018.

• #NCvOTT: Highlights and Opta Box Score

Scoring:

3’ – NC – Connor Tobin (Kyle Bekker)
30’ – NC – Daniel Rios (Steven Miller)
43’ – NC – Marios Lomis (Austin da Luz)
47’ – OTT – Kevin Oliveira (Onua Obasi)
57’ – NC – Steven Miller (Daniel Rios)
74’ – OTT – D.J. Taylor (Own Goal)

Three Things That Matter:

• 1. NCFC claims the second and final meeting between the two sides during the the 2018 USL regular season, as the teams played to a 1-1 tie on April 21 before Wednesday nights’ 4-2 result in favor of North Carolina. In both games, Daniel Rios proved to be the thorn in Ottawa’s side, scoring the only goal in the first encounter before recording one goal and one assist at WakeMed Soccer Park.

• 2. Ottawa has now lost two consecutive games after earning a 4-0-2 record throughout the month of May. Fury FC lost 1-0 to the Charlotte Independence on Saturday before falling 4-2 on Wednesday. Ottawa has one of the best defenses across the league thus far, but the loss against NCFC saw the team concede three or more goals for the first time since April 28.

• 3. There were many goals on the night and additional intriguing talking points, such as NCFC defender Peabo Doue forced out of the match due to a hamstring injury, but the key moment of the match came in the 43rd minute. Marios Lomis scored arguably the team’s best goal of the season, and it will surely be considered for the USL Goal of the Week.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match

Austin da Luz, North Carolina FC – The midfielder played an exceptional two-way game, providing an assist and completing 85.1 percent of his passes while also recording three tackles, once clearance and one interception.

Upcoming Games:

North Carolina FC at Nashville SC – June 16, 8:30 p.m. ET, First Tennessee Park

Ottawa Fury FC at ATL UTD 2 – June 16, 7 p.m. ET, Coolray Field