Oliver Semmle leads the Union to a scoreless tie at Charlotte FC

The Union played to a scoreless tie at Charlotte FC on Saturday, in a game where they had enough good chances but both teams played defense first.

It was the second straight shutout for the Union (4-4-6, 18 points) after last weekend’s win at New England, and the fifth straight shutout for Charlotte (6-5-4, 22 points). So don’t expect either side to complain too much about the lack of goals.

“Any time you can keep a clean sheet on the road, you’re usually pretty proud and happy with that,” Union manager Jim Curtin said. “To keep a clean sheet is something to build on after we’d given away, I’d say, a lot of easy, soft goals.”

The first half didn’t have any goals, but it had enough entertainment. The Union had the edge in shots, 6-2, including 3-1 in shots on target, despite having just 31% of the possession. That’s just how Curtin likes it, and some of those scoring chances were good looks.

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The Union’s best chance came in the 18th minute when Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina stoned Dániel Gazdag on the doorstep. The rebound bounced favorably, but Julián Carranza and other teammates in the area couldn’t turn it into a good shot.

Carranza came close in the 44th when a Quinn Sullivan cross went his way inside the 6-yard box, but Charlotte’s Andrew Privett and Adilson Malanda teamed up to stop the ball from getting to Carranza’s feet.

There wasn’t much to write home about in the first 20 minutes of the second half, but things finally sparked to life in the 67th minute, when Gazdag jumped on a poor Privett pass and sent Carranza off to the races.

The ball sped along Bank of America’s artificial turf, but Carranza was able to corral it and shoot toward the near post. Kahlina was well-positioned to knock it down — and not concede a corner kick.

Curtin made his first substitution in the 71st minute, sending in Alejandro Bedoya for Mikael Uhre. Quinn Sullivan moved up to the forward line, and Bedoya took his usual right midfield spot where Sullivan had been.

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Jakob Glesnes has had some bad moments this year, and this one threatened to go on the list: an obvious foul taking down Patrick Agyemang just outside the 18-yard box in the 82nd minute.

Referee Guido Gonzales Jr. didn’t hesitate to blow his whistle, and Charlotte’s Ashley Westwood and João Pedro stood over the ball when the time came. Westwood took the shot, and the Union’s defensive wall did its job with a mass block. The rebound was dealt with, too.

Right before the free kick was taken, Curtin sent Chris Donovan in for Sullivan. Donovan had a golden chance in the 86th from 10 yards but shot it right into Malanda instead of around him.

Union goalkeeper Oliver Semmle has had his ups and downs standing in for the injured Andre Blake, but he was great in this game: four saves, a punch-out, a high catch in the air, and confidence throughout the night.

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One save that stood out arrived in the 77th minute when Charlotte got its eighth corner kick of the game. It went to Privett, a Penn State product, and he put a firm header right toward Semmle. But he kept his composure, caught the ball, and laid on top of it.

The biggest stop of the night came on a three-on-three Charlotte counterattack in the 88th. The ball came to Liel Abada, Charlotte’s star attacker who had come off the bench, who shot from 17 yards. Semmle dove at full stretch to push it just beyond his far post.

He came through in one more nervous moment on the last play of the game. Nathan Harriel misplayed a clearance in the Union’s 18-yard box and gave it away to a wide-open Tyger Smalls. He squared to Scott Arfield for a shot that Semmle jumped to catch. Gonzales blew his whistle right after Semmle came back down to Earth.

Leon Flach also deserves credit for a big game at the defensive midfield spot: 34 touches, 5 interceptions, 4 defensive recoveries, 2 clearances, 1 block, and 1 tackle. He only completed 7 of 14 passes, but didn’t make any mistakes with the ones he didn’t complete.