Two teams coming off wins will clash in Charlotte on Saturday afternoon. Anthem scored their second victory as a franchise at home against Seattle, but it’s a refreshed lineup this week on a short turnaround. Old Glory held on to again beat the Free Jacks on their home turf. They have also made changes to work around some sore bodies.
 |
IN |
OUT |
| 5 |
Will Sherman |
James Scott |
| 8 |
Baden Godfrey |
Makeen Alikhan |
| 11 |
Will Leonard |
Malacchi Esdale |
| 12 |
Dom Akina |
Tom Pittman |
| 15 |
Erich Storti |
Jordan Trainor |
 |
IN |
OUT |
| 1 |
Bart Vermeulen |
Cali Martinez |
| 11 |
John Rizzo |
Owen Sheehy |
| 12 |
Jordan Jackson-Hope |
Jason Emery |
| 15 |
Max Schumacher |
Damien Hoyland |
|
PLAYER |
PREVIOUS CLUB |
| 17 |
Elias Garza |
Life University |
|
PLAYER |
PREVIOUS CLUB |
| 21 |
Aidan Ridgway |
Washington Irish |
- Injured / unavailable – (Anthem) Junior Gafa; (Old Glory) Cali Martinez, Jay Renton, Jason Emery, Damien Hoyland
- it’s a first MLR start for Baden Godfrey, who packs down at the back of the Anthem scrum in place of Makeen Alikhan… Dom Akina will make his club debut in a dynamic midfield pairing with Julian Roberts… Akina was a standout with Houston last season and recently arrived in Charlotte
- Erich Storti will wear the No15 shirt for just the second time in MLR… while he played fullback for the Eagles in 2025, Storti has been used almost exclusively in the midfield with Anthem
- Elias Garza is set to make his pro debut as a replacement… the loosehead prop toured with the USA u23 side to South Africa last year and joined Anthem on loan from Chicago
- Aidan Ridgway gets a second crack at his first MLR cap after being an unused replacement against New England last week… first choice DC scrumhalf Jay Renton remains sidelined with injury
- Bart Vermeulen, Liam Fletcher, and Semi Kunatani are in line for their Old Glory debuts… Vermeulen joined from NOLA in the offseason, Fletcher from Chicago, and Kunatani from LA
- Shanda Assmus will make her full MLR refereeing debut on Saturday… the Canadian has acted as an assistant on multiple occasions… husband Chris Assmus is also a frequent MLR match official
Hot and slightly breezy conditions are on the forecast. That should see tiring legs among the forwards in the second half, with DC opting for the 6/2 split. Both sides are missing some prominent names, but on form it’s the blossoming Carolina franchise that have looked more convincing to date. On paper this is a very close call, but Akina and Roberts loom as danger men in the midfield for the home side. Anthem are slight favorites in Charlotte.
ANTHEM RC
1 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 2 Campbell Robb, 3 Alex Maughan, 4 Johan Momsen (capt.), 5 Will Sherman, 6 Sam Golla, 7 Moni Tonga’uiha, 8 Baden Godfrey, 9 Zion Going, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Will Leonard, 12 Dom Akina, 13 Julian Roberts, 14 Conner Mooneyham, 15 Erich Storti
Replacements: 16 Ramiro Gurovich, 17 Elias Garza, 18 Oliver Kane, 19 Alejandro Martinez Tapia, 20 Marques Fuala’au, 21 Karl Keane, 22 Tom Pittman, 23 Jordan Trainor
OLD GLORY DC
1 Bart Vermeulen, 2 Kirby Myhill, 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Rob Harley (capt.), 5 Rick Rose, 6 Cory Daniel, 7 Aidan King, 8 Benjamín Bonasso, 9 John LeFevre, 10 Jason Robertson, 11 John Rizzo, 12 Jordan Jackson-Hope, 13 Ross Depperschmidt, 14 Perry Humphreys, 15 Max Schumacher
Replacements: 16 Connor Robinson, 17 Liam Fletcher, 18 Connor Devos, 19 Tevita Naqali, 20 Collin Grosse, 21 Aidan Ridgway, 22 John Powers, 13 Semi Kunatani
Date: Saturday, April 18
Venue: American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte
Kickoff: 16:00 local (13:00 Pacific)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 90°F (32°C), wind SW 10-15 mph (16-24 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International), WCCB Charlotte (Local), Monumental Sports (Local)
Referee: Shanda Assmus (Canada)
Assistants: Luke Rogan (USA) & Alex Hedquist (USA)
TMO: n/a
HEAD-TO-HEAD (4) – Old Glory 4, Anthem 0
2025-05-18 – Anthem RC 19, Old Glory DC 41 (American Legion Memorial Stadium)
2025-03-08 – Old Glory DC 26, Anthem RC 22 (Maryland SoccerPlex)
2024-06-01 – Old Glory DC 47, Anthem RC 29 (Maryland SoccerPlex)
2024-03-30 – Anthem RC 32, Old Glory DC 46 (American Legion Memorial Stadium)
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