TAMPA, Florida, CMC – Strikers Maalique Foster of Jamaica and Oalex Anderson of St Vincent & the Grenadines were on target for their clubs in the United Soccer League Championship this past weekend in the United States.
Foster was one of three players scoring braces in the match and enabled hosts Colorado Springs Switchbacks to dominate Orange County SC 4-2 in a Western Conference match-up on Saturday.
On the same day, Anderson, returning to club duty after playing for SVG in the Concacaf qualifiers for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, found the back of nets to spur hosts North Carolina FC to a 2-0 win against Monterey Bay FC.
AT WEIDNER FIELD: Foster led the fight-back for the Switchbacks with a pair of goals in the final half-hour after Bryce Jamison netted twice in 13 minutes early in the second half to put OC ahead in the American city of Colorado Springs in the state of Colorado.
The 27-year-old forward scored his first goal of the season to equalize for the Switchbacks when he carried the ball toward the OC box, weaved his way in and out through a cluster of opposing defenders into the middle of the box, and skipped the ball to the far-left side.
The home team closed the book on the match from there when Yosuke Hanya scored his second goal in the 82nd minute, corralling a botched clearance from Orange County and sending a shot into the top right corner.
Foster tacked on the insurance item for the Switchbacks four minutes later, beating OC goalkeeper Colin Shutler on a shot from beyond the 18-yard box, threading it between defenders.
The Switchbacks led 1-0 at half-time after Hanya scored a rocket into the bottom left corner of the net from about 25 yards in the 19th minute.
But Jamison found the left corner of the net from beyond the six-yard box to level the scores in the 48th minute, and he put the ball into the right bottom corner with a quick touch from the middle of the six-yard box in the 61st minute to give the visitors the lead before the Switchbacks responded emphatically.
The Switchbacks are now fourth, on 20 points, in the Western Conference. They have six wins, five losses, and two draws in their 13 matches, and they have been unbeaten in their last five games.
AT WAKEMED STADIUM: First-half goals from Anderson and Rafa Mentzingen, celebrating his first Father’s Day, enabled North Carolina FC to get past Monterey in the American town of Cary in North Carolina.
Anderson scored his third campaign goal to open the scoring for NCFC, firing home a hard-hit shot after a lay-off from Ezra Armstrong in the 28th minute.
Mentzingen doubled the lead six minutes later from the penalty spot after Anderson drove down the left wing and cut the ball back, causing chaos in the box and leading to a goal-line handball from Monterey central defender Carlos Guzman.
The referee quickly pointed to the penalty spot and showed Guzman a red card, and Mentzingen stepped up to blast home the penalty kick.
With the win, NCFC has now lost only once in the team’s last six league matches and picked up 11 points in that stretch. It moves to eighth, on 17 points, in the Eastern Conference standings.
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