Burlington United FC Falls 4-1 to Port City in Second Game of the 2025 NPSL Season

By Austin Leake/Burlington United FC

On Friday night, Burlington United FC took the field against Southeast Conference rival Port City FC, out of Wilmington, NC, for their second match of the season.  The result was a 4-1 loss to Port City.

Port City FC was coming off their season opener where they fell to Appalachian FC 4-1 last Saturday, while Burlington United was fresh off a 0-0 draw against Greenville United this past weekend. 

In the first half, Burlington United FC struck first in the 24th minute when midfielder Freddy Gomez took advantage of a well-placed pass from a fellow teammate, sliding past Port City goalkeeper Eli Mumford to kick in Burlington’s first goal of the season, igniting the home crowd. 

However, eight minutes later, their momentum and lead were short-lived when Port City FC center midfielder Alex Walker scored on a penalty kick in the 32nd minute as he made Burlington’s goalkeeper misstep off a perfectly executed head fake, which tied the game at 1-1. Walker’s goal was Port City’s second goal of the season. 

Burlington pressed late in the half with two high opportunity chances but couldn’t capitalize and put the ball in the net.  The first opening 45 minutes saw five shots from Burlington and four from Port City, with two saves being made by Mumford. 

The second half proved to be rather challenging for Burlington as Port City scored three unanswered goals. 

Burlington showed signs of resilience early in the second half when Arden Tobolski sent a shot toward the right side of the goal, but was blocked by a sharp save from Mumford.

Minutes later, Port City responded with their second goal of the game when Jackson Minneci scored in the 55th minute, sending a shot to the right side of the net to put Port City on top 2-1. 

Play was halted in the 62nd minute when Port City’s Max Mmeke suffered an apparent shoulder injury, but their dominance continued to show. 

Burlington had a prime opportunity to score in the 64th minute, but their chances were then ruined by an offsides call that wiped away a golden chance to score. 

Port City continued their momentum, as they scored in the 66th minute when Aidan Payne took the ball away from Burlington goalkeeper John Patnoe and finished the play, extending their lead to 3-1. 

For Burlington, Tyler Johnson almost cut the deficit, but the crossbar had other ideas as it ricocheted off in the 73rd minute.  

Port City put the finishing touches on the match when Aidan Payne scored his second goal on the night to extend their lead to 4-1 in the 81st minute. 

In extra time, Gomez kept playing hard as he attempted to score his second goal of the night in the 93rd minute but was denied as a Port City defender blocked it in front, which landed in the goalkeeper’s hands ending a disappointing loss for Burlington.

Burlington United FC, who’s still looking for their first win of the season, will travel to Charlotte NC to take on Charlottetowne Hops FC, next Friday on May 23rd at 7:00 pm. They will be back in action on Wednesday, May 28th at 7:00 pm at Bryan Park on the turf field behind their typical field at MacPherson Stadium in Greensboro, NC.  

Photos Courtesy of Burlington United FC