Union falls to Charlotte FC with young goalie, fans cascade with chants of ‘Sell the team!’ at Subaru Park

The Union lost to Charlotte FC, 2-0, on Saturday at Subaru Park, with choruses of boos and multiple “Sell the team!” chants during the second half.

Patrick Agyemang scored in the 56th and 63rd minutes, and the “Sell the team!” chants rose from the River End stands after the second one.

They marked the first major protest against the team’s ownership since May 2015, when the Sons of Ben carried a coffin toward the stadium bearing the name of then-CEO Nick Sakiewicz. He was dismissed in the last month of the season.

And there were signs that manager Jim Curtin might have waved the white flag on a team that is now 4-7-8 (20 points), and in 11th place out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference.

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin is feeling the pressure as the Union’s struggles continue

Union manager Jim Curtin benched goalkeeper Oliver Semmle for Saturday’s game against Charlotte FC after Semmle gave up four goals in Wednesday’s loss at FC Cincinnati. They included two especially bad ones, a misjudgment of a header and a chip from midfield.

Eighteen-year-old Union Academy product Andrew Rick started against Charlotte instead, making his first start at the top level.

Rick started the year on a reserve team contract but received a first-team contract earlier than expected because of injuries to Andre Blake and third-string goalkeeper Holden Trent. He is the second academy-bred goalkeeper to play for the first team after Matt Freese, and the first one to make his pro debut without going to college first. (Freese went to Harvard for two years, then left to turn pro here.)

Once a reserve-team player has been on a first-team bench four times in a year, he must be given a first-team contract before the fifth. Rick has been on the first team’s bench 13 times already this year and got his first-team deal on May 4. He is signed through 2028 with a team option for 2029.

Rick has continued to play for the reserve team along the way. He’s played 12 games at that level this year, including a 3-0 shutout of Charlotte’s reserves on June 13.

The Union also brought midfielder CJ Olney up from the reserves for the second straight game and had 18-year-old playmaker prospect David Vazquez on the bench for the third straight game.

» READ MORE: Kai Wagner calls out Union ownership as the season threatens to go off the rails

Rick only had to make two saves in the first half, and one was an easy shot right at him. His best moment came in just the second minute, when Charlotte’s Liel Abada got the ball in a wide-open spot, shot toward the roof of the net from close range, and Rick knocked it down and controlled it.

In the 39th, Patrick Agyemang headed a corner kick just over the bar from near the goal line, with Rick unable to do much about it.

At the other end, Tai Baribo was involved in the Union’s three best chances of the half.

In the fourth minute, Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina took his time on the ball atop his 18-yard box and Baribo pressed him into a turnover, but Baribo’s shot toward goal was intercepted just short of the line.

In the 34th, Baribo and Sullivan combined well in a sequence that led to Sullivan shooting low at Kahlina. At the start of stoppage time, Sullivan shot over the crossbar from 12 yards.

A slow second half was no surprise given it was 86 degrees just before 9 p.m. after being 92 at kickoff. (There was a hydration break in each half for player safety.)

But after the Union seemed to have more energy in the first half, Charlotte came out with far more of it in the second. That paid off when Nathan Harriel got caught with three Charlotte players, Jere Uronen made an overlapping run down the flank, and Agyemang dove in front of Jack Elliott to launch a header to the top corner.

Rick did not come for the cross and barely moved on his goal line as the ball went by.

» READ MORE: The Union might not have much of a season left, but they have a striker in Tai Baribo

Curtin already had a double-substitution lined up before the goal, and it happened right afterward: Jack McGlynn replaced Jeremy Rafanello and Chris Donovan replaced Mikael Uhre.

Agyemang’s second goal was even worse, and yet again Jakob Glesnes was the guiltiest party. A simple ball forward from Liel Abada sent Agyemang ahead on the right flank, he pulled a stepover on Glesnes as he cut in, and the shot was on its way before a racing-back Leon Flach could get there.

Rick didn’t look great on that play either, beaten low to his near post by the shot.

It might have been a desperate search for a spark, or it might have been waving the white flag on the night. Either way, it was significant that Curtin sent in Olney as a substitute for Leon Flach in the 72nd minute.

Olney, a 17-year-old midfielder, is one of the top prospects in the organization, But he doesn’t have a first-team contract yet. David Vazquez does, and the Union have not been willing to play the 18-year-old Los Angeles native yet.

The belief inside the organization is that Vazquez isn’t physically ready yet. But at this point, when the Union have so few attacking options on their bench, one can only wonder how much longer they can wait to give him a shot.