After an early spell of solid possession, North Carolina FC got the wind knocked out of its sails by the opening goal and fell 2-0 to Greenville Triumph SC in its season finale. 

NCFC held 59.3% of the possession and completed 178 more passes than Greenville, but was unable to connect in dangerous areas. Across the 90, Greenville outshot North Carolina 19-7.

Greenville opened the scoring through former NCFC forward Marios Lomis in the 18th minute. Lachlan McLean was played into acres of space after making a curling run behind the NCFC defense before sliding it across to Lomis for the easy finish.

Allen Gavilanes doubled the visitor’s advantage in the 32nd minute after a perfectly hit pass from Abdi Mohamed swerved in midair and put Gavilanes one-on-one with NCFC goalkeeper Jake McGuire. McGuire did well to make himself big, but Gavilanes dinked the ball over him.

McGuire kept NCFC in the game during the second half with some stellar saves, making six in the game. The most impressive of his saves came just after the hour mark as he deflected a missile of a volley from the top of the box over the bar before it could find the top corner.

The goalkeeper’s heroics seemed to energize the NCFC attack, which pushed to get back in the game late. Despite some decent chances, NCFC still was not able to connect well on the dangerous passes.

After starting the game on the bench, Robby Kristo entered the match in the 81st minute to loud cheers from the supporters’ section as he played his final match for NCFC.

The forward announced his retirement on Oct. 27 after three seasons with the club. Kristo joined NCFC in early 2019 following a spell in Europe and will now return to his hometown, signing with the St. Louis Ambush of the Major Arena Soccer League.