Charlotte Independence staged a dramatic late comeback to beat Sarasota Paradise 3–2 on the road Saturday, with Souaibou Marou scoring twice and Stéfano Pinho netting a stoppage-time winner to complete the turnaround.

Charlotte struck first in the 17th minute when Marou finished from a Jon Bakero feed to put the visitors ahead. Sarasota responded seven minutes later through Sander Røed, who converted off an Ethan Bryant assist to level the score at 1–1. Røed's afternoon grew complicated when he picked up a yellow card in the 42nd minute, one of seven bookings dished out across both sides in a fractious contest.

The hosts took the lead shortly after the hour mark. Jonathan Bolanos put Sarasota ahead 2–1 in the 65th minute, finishing a move started by Emiliano Terzaghi. Paradise looked set to hold on as the clock wound down, but Charlotte had other ideas.

Marou grabbed his second of the night in the 89th minute, set up by Viggo Ortiz — who had been cautioned just 11 minutes earlier — to drag the Independence level at 2–2. Then, deep into stoppage time, Pinho completed the comeback in the 90th-plus-four minute, collecting a pass from Joseph Skinner and finding the net to send the away side into euphoria. Pinho picked up a booking moments later, as did Charlotte's Matt Levy as emotions boiled over in the dying seconds.

The result hands Charlotte three crucial points on the road and will leave Sarasota questioning how a match they controlled for long stretches slipped away in the final minutes.