Somewhere, Alanis Morissette is taking notes, because Tuesday night at Truist Field had “Ironic” written all over it — an outdoor skills showcase interrupted by a weather delay felt like a plot twist nobody ordered.

Give Charlotte credit, however: the fans stuck it out, the players kept giving it their all between downpours, and by the time it was over the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge still delivered a night full of celebrities, record-setting shooting, and a hometown champion. The Skills Challenge rolled through Truist Field with five events, a stacked LIGA MX contingent, and a couple of surprise names in the mix — soggy skies included.

Soccer Sheet spoke with one of the competitors, New York City FC goalkeeper and United States Men’s National Team star Matt Freese, after the competition.

“It was fun,” said Freese. “Super enjoyable experience to spend the time with these guys, out there doing the skills challenge, and then obviously the build up to the [All-Star] game tomorrow, the trainings and stuff like that has been great.”

FaZe Rug Crashes the Party before the Pros Take Over

Leave it to a YouTube legend to open the night with a flex.

FaZe Rug stepped up for the Shooting Challenge and dropped a 22-point round — respectable enough that, for about five minutes, it looked like it could hold up against actual professional soccer players.

It didn’t. Then things got serious.

Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Thomas Müller blitzed his way to 79 points, an all-time record for the event. LIGA MX All-Stars Juan Brunetta and José Paradela both put up real numbers (47 and 59, respectively) trying to chase him down, but it was FC Cincinnati’s Evander — the previous record holder — who had the answer. Needing a near-perfect final round to catch Müller, Evander delivered exactly that, nailing the moving target and matching the record at 79 with his very last shot.

Two record-setting rounds, same night, same number. You can’t script that.

Tim Ream Takes the Passing Challenge

Tim Ream — Charlotte FC defender and USMNT captain — won the Passing Challenge in front of his home crowd, defeating a stacked bracket that included the likes of Carles Gil and Son Heung-min.

Ream opened by knocking off LIGA MX’s Elías Montiel, then watched from the other side as LAFC’s Son held off actor Danny Ramirez — of Marvel fame — in the opening round. Charlotte had a real-life Avenger on the field Tuesday night, and he acquitted himself just fine against a genuine MLS (and Premier League) All-Star.

In the semis, Ream obliterated Son and set a new Passing Challenge record in the process, using only 7 touches to hit 5 targets. Meanwhile, New England Revolution captain Carles Gil beat LIGA MX’s Carlos Rodríguez to reach the final, setting up a Ream-Gil championship that Ream won to claim the title on home turf.

Not a bad souvenir from an All-Star week in your own city.

Crépeau and Ruiz add More Hardware

Orlando City and Canadian national team goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau took the Goalie Wars presented by Old Spice, beating World Cup veteran Matt Freese along the way before outlasting Houston Dynamo 2’s Pedro Cruz in the final, 3-1. Cruz’s run to get there wasn’t easy either — he needed a golden goal to get past Pachuca’s Carlos Moreno in the semis.

Over in the Crossbar Challenge presented by Gillette, Necaxa’s Javier Ruiz took the title, and the bracket had maybe the most random matchup of the night: Evander (fresh off his Shooting Challenge heroics) squaring off against NFL legend Chad Ochocinco. The former Bengals wideout gave it a real go, but Evander advanced and Ruiz eventually took the whole thing down, beating Real Salt Lake’s Zavier Gozo in the final.

LIGA MX Take the Inaugural Relay Challenge

The night wrapped with something brand new: the first-ever MLS vs. LIGA MX Relay Challenge.

LIGA MX’s squad — Fernando Gorriarán, Elías Montiel, Javier Ruiz, Federico Pereira, Carlos Moreno, Carlos Rodríguez, José Paradela, and Juan Brunetta — got the better of MLS’s team of Evander, Zavier Gozo, Matt Freese, Petar Musa, Thomas Müller, Carles Gil, and Tim Ream, crossing the line in 1:34 to claim bragging rights in the event’s debut.

The Wrap-Up

• Shooting Challenge: Evander (tied Thomas Müller’s record, 79 points)

• Passing Challenge: Tim Ream (Charlotte FC)

• Goalie Wars: Maxime Crépeau (Orlando City SC)

• Crossbar Challenge: Javier Ruiz (Necaxa)

• Relay Challenge: LIGA MX All-Stars

If anything, the weather made it clear how much Charlotte wanted to be there. Fans stayed in their seats, players kept competing between stoppages, and the city proved once again that a little rain isn’t enough to wash out a good soccer night.

A good reminder that All-Star Week is about more than goals and glory.

Skills Challenge Photo Gallery Part 1

Skills Challenge Photo Gallery Part 2

Sam Spencer contributed to this story.

If you were hoping for a nail-biter from the MLS NEXT All-Star Game at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex on Monday night, well ... we hope you at least enjoyed the red moon early.

The East All-Stars put on an absolute clinic in the fifth edition of the academy league’s All-Star Game, prevailing 6-1 over the West All-Stars, making it five All-Star wins in a row for the East side.

The East All-Stars were led by Charlotte FC Academy U18 head coach Jordan Melia, who guided the U18 squad to a runner-up finish in their conference during the 2025–26 regular season. As a bonus for the hometown fans, a Charlotte FC Academy kid — 15-year-old Daniel Brown — got to steal a little bit of the show with the only second half goal for the East.

Here’s how it went down.

East Come out Swinging

Essentially, the match was decided in the first 12 minutes.

D.C. United Academy homegrown forward Oscar Avilez opened things up in the 6th minute, and before the West could even catch its breath, Columbus Crew Academy’s Jamil Danjaji — also a U.S. Youth National Team regular — got in behind and slotted home a right-footed finish. Chicago Fire Academy’s Christopher Morales then picked out Nashville SC Academy’s Liam Stribling with a gorgeous long ball in the 12th minute, and just like that, it was 3-0 before many fans had found their seats.

The East kept its foot down the rest of the half. Metropolitan Oval Academy’s Marcus Singleton II made it four in the 30th minute, and the West’s goalkeeper had to make a genuinely impressive save in the 37th minute just to keep the score from getting even more embarrassing.

It didn’t matter much — Avilez struck again a minute later, his second of the night, for a 5-0 halftime lead that felt more like a final score.

Give the West some credit for a couple of moments, though: there was a scramble off a corner where the West keeper came flying all the way out of his box to clear the ball (offside no-call and all), and forward Danny Carmona rattled the post late in the half for arguably West’s best chance of the game.

A Moment Bigger than the Match

Before the second half kicked off, both sidelines paused for something that mattered more than the score — a halftime tribute honoring the recently deceased Dr. Victor D. Kidd. Kidd, a licensed psychotherapist and former senior advisor on player care and wellness in MLS, was represented by his family and children at the halftime event.

A good reminder that these All-Star showcases are about more than just goals.

Charlotte’s Moment, West Get on the Board

The West came out of the break with both more life and possession, and the affair got a bit chippier with yellow cards for both sides. The East weathered the attack and settled back into control of the ball as the half wore on.

The moment the home crowd came for arrived 33 minutes into the second half: Charlotte FC Academy product Daniel Brown, playing in front of his hometown fans, uncorked a rocket from outside the box to make it 6-0 and send the Sportsplex into a frenzy. You couldn’t have scripted it better for the kid.

Easton Wilson finally got the West on the board late, sneaking a near-post finish past the East keeper to make the final 6-1 — a respectable scoreline dressing up what was, by any measure, a one-sided night.

MVP honors go to Avilez

Oscar Avilez’s two-goal night earned him MLS NEXT All-Star Game MVP, becoming the first player in D.C. United’s history to win the award.

Not a bad line to add to the résumé.

Box Score

East 5 – 1 (6 Total) West 0 – 1 (1 Total)

• EAST — Oscar Avilez (D.C. United), 6’

• EAST — Jamil Danjaji (Columbus Crew), 8’

• EAST — Liam Stribling (Nashville SC), 12’

• EAST — Marcus Singleton II (Metropolitan Oval Academy), 30’

• EAST — Oscar Avilez (D.C. United), 38’

• EAST — Daniel Brown (Charlotte FC), 78’

• WEST — Easton Wilson (Real Salt Lake), 82’

MVP: Oscar Avilez (D.C. United)

Gallery: Daniel Brown

Tonight at 6:30 PM, Asheville City SC will face defending USL 2 champions Vermont Green FC in a rematch of sorts: both clubs’ women’s squads met in the semifinals of the USL W League playoffs, with Vermont victorious in the 1-0 win.

The Green Women lost in the final, however, so for both clubs this is a last chance for a trophy until the pre-professional leagues return next year.

When we asked Asheville City SC club director Tim Blekicki about playing the Green twice in one year, he had this to say:

“Maple syrup still isn’t a personality trait.”

Sounds like the start of a beautiful derby. You can stream tonight’s Eastern Conference championship for free at 6:30 PM ET.

Watch the Match

Asheville City SC is North Carolina’s Last Team Standing in the USL 2 Playoffs

Asheville City SC’s path to the Eastern Conference championship started in unfamiliar territory: USL 2’s South Atlantic Division. Asheville had previously played in the South Central Division, which they had won three years in a row, including in 2024, when they won the Eastern Conference and made it to the national semifinals.

Of course, another thing was different this year: Asheville SC finished the regular season in second place, as Charlotte Independence 2 won the division. Appalachian FC, the third place team, also qualified for the playoffs.

Though they finished second in a harder, new division, the Blues weren’t deterred.

“The players and staff have fully deserved this after all the effort and perseverance,” Asheville City SC Men’s head coach Carl Reynolds told Soccer Sheet. “We have had a tough schedule and managed to find results throughout them all whilst staying true to our identity.”

Because of the second place finish, Asheville had to win a qualifier against Virginia Beach United to make the tournament proper. Appalachian FC also won their play-in match, and drew Charlotte Independence 2 in the first round of the playoffs.

Asheville needed extra time to defeat Lionsbridge FC in the first round of the playoffs, 2-3 (a.e.t.), while Appalachian FC stunned Charlotte Independence 2 with a 0-2 win.

Charlotte Independence 2 head coach Nick Fusco talked to Soccer Sheet after the loss.

“We are definitely frustrated with the way our season ended, felt like we had potential to make a run with the group we had left this season but it just didn’t happen,” said Fusco. “At the end of the day, we have to finish our chances and just didn’t do that against a team that defended very well and put away the couple chances they had. I think overall this shows how strong our conference is as a whole, 3 teams from the same conference making up this round with 2 of them facing each other in the round of 16. We’ve had a great season and plan on taking another step forward next year with a lot of guys planning on returning.”

The upset set up a Sunday showdown between Asheville and the Boys from Boone. The Blues got off to a strong start, and led 3-0 at halftime, but App responded in the second half with quick goals in the 54th and 60th minutes.

Then, in the 69th minute, Mitch Picksley got his second goal of the match for the Blues, and his brace would be decisive in Asheville’s 4-2 victory.

“I’m personally delighted to have the opportunity to play in a second conference final in 2 years,” said Reynolds.

Appalachian FC head coach Tom Gillette praised Asheville’s performance when he spoke to Soccer Sheet after the match.

“Proud of the performance, we played with courage and aggression,” said Gillette. “Asheville were very efficient with their chances in the first half [and] that put us in a difficult position at half time but our response in the first fifteen in the second half was incredible, unfortunately we weren’t able to get back on level terms but it was a performance of a strong team.”

Blekicki was equally complementary towards App after the match.

“Great season by Appalachian FC and impressive they were able to succeed after making the jump from NPSL,” said Blekicki. “Not everyone does that. Proud of Carl and the boys but the job isn’t done yet.”

For Asheville, the job continues tonight.

Over 100 Men’s World Cup games have been played this summer — a new record for a single World Cup — and it all comes down to Spain and Argentina in the final. Spain is favored by oddsmakers, but many fans speculate Argentina is blessed by the “Hand of God,” a.k.a. FIFA.

An impossibly prescient photo of Argentina’s Lionel Messi bathing Spain’s Lamine Yamal as an infant seems to hint at a changing of the guard, but anything is possible. They’ll battle it out in New Jersey today.

However, speculation has already begun as to what’s next for domestic soccer in the wake of the biggest event in 32 years. The 1994 World Cup led to the creation of Major League Soccer, one of the few lasting experiments in over a century of American footy. Fans, players, pundits, and stakeholders alike are projecting their wishes onto the legacy of the 2026 Copa: a better academy system, the end of pay-to-play, an open pyramid with European-style promotion and relegation, and a U.S. Men’s National Team that can make it out of the Round of 16, to name a few.

Whatever form the legacy of 2026 takes, domestic soccer success will require more investment in the Beautiful Game at every level, including pre-professional …

After the World Cup: Asheville City SC vs. Appalachian FC at 7:30 PM

Watch the Match

When Soccer Sheet reached out to Appalachian FC coach Tom Gillette after his team’s 0-2 upset victory over Charlotte Independence 2 in the USL League Two playoffs on Friday, he gave us a taste of the chaos the team has experienced to make it to today’s playoff match.

“Very proud of the effort and grit playing 3 games in 6 days in 4 different locations without conceding a goal,” Gillette told Soccer Sheet via email. “Defensively our determination and bravery in defending our box has stood out.”

A recap of the chaotic travels: On Sunday, July 12, they bested SC United Bantams 1-0 at home in Boone, N.C. in the final game of the regular season to earn a place in the playoffs, slipping past 2025 NPSL champions Hickory FC who they had defeated the week before. Carver Tierney was the hero with a 90th minute goal.

On July 14, they traveled to Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., advancing 0-1 over LVU Rush with another 90th minute goal from Bennett Gerak. Then on Friday, they found a win 0-2 over the South Atlantic Division Champs, Charlotte Independence’s second team, with a 20th minute goal from Christopher Douglas, and an insurance goal from Mitchell Honcoop in the second half in Newport News, Va.

App FC are undefeated in their last 11 competitive starts, and the defense hasn’t conceded a goal in the last three matches, two of which were postseason contests.

Standing in their way are Asheville City SC, the 2024 Eastern Conference Champions. Asheville advanced with a 2-3 extra time win over Lionsbridge FC thanks to a 120th minute go-ahead goal from Tyler Trimnal. Jack McDaid and Mitch Picksley also contributed goals for Asheville.

App FC and Asheville City drew in both of their previous meetings this season. They meet tonight in Newport News at 7:30 PM; you can watch on NBC’s SportsEngine platform here.

The winner will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, facing the winner of today’s match between the Ocean City Nor'easters and defending USL 2 champions Vermont Green FC.

North Carolina Soccer News

• Mint Hill FC are hosting tryouts for the Fall NPSL Season on Saturday, July 25 at 12:30 PM in Mint Hill, and on Saturday, August 8 at 9:30 AM at OrthoCarolina Sportsplex in Pineville.

• Charlotte Independence’s 14-match winning streak across all competitions finally came to an end as the Chattanooga Red Wolves won 2-4 in USL League One play at American Legion Memorial Stadium on Saturday, July 18.

  • The Jacks almost equalized in the 90th minute, when the score was 2-3, but the goal was called offside. Then, the Independence took goalkeeper Matt Levy out of the net for a corner kick set piece play, only to concede a late open-net goal.

  • “It is really positive,” said Independence head coach Mike Jeffries. “It was great to do that, to come in every day and have the confidence and feel like we’re going to find a way to win, and guys believe that. Look, we’ll regroup pretty quickly and travel pretty far west and work to get a better result there.”

  • The Jacks travel to Spokane on Wednesday, then return to Charlotte to host the Richmond Kickers on Saturday, July 25 at 7:00 PM. Attendees can score a Clay Dimick bobblehead.

  • The Independence (9-3-3, 30 Points) remain in 3rd place in USL 1.

• The North Carolina Courage (6-5-3, 21 Points) are in 8th place in the NWSL after dropping two matches in a row. They start a two-match home stand on Saturday July 25 as they host the Utah Royals.

• Carolina Ascent FC have a new kit for the USL Super League’s Sprint Season.

• Crown Legacy FC (9-3-6-4, 37 Points) solidified their second-place standing in MLS NEXT Pro’s Eastern Conference with a 3-2 win over Chicago Fire FC II on Saturday, July 25.

• Carolina Core FC (3-9-7-2, 18 Points), currently 14th in the Eastern Conference, host Inter Miami CF II at Truist Point on Wednesday, July 22 at 6:30 PM.

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As Charlotte FC return to the pitch at the conclusion of the World Cup, we caught up with forward Rodolfo Aloko, the 19-year-old Benin international whose rise to Charlotte FC’s first team is one of the most compelling storylines of the Crown’s fifth season.

Aloko started the season with Crown Legacy FC, Charlotte FC’s second team, where he was the MLS NEXT Pro Player of the Month for March. While he only played 6 NEXT Pro matches before joining the first team on a regular basis, his 8 goals are still enough that he’s tied for 7th in goals scored this year, even as most NEXT Pro players have played 13-17 games at this point.

Now, as a regular in MLS, the competition is stiffer.

“[MLS is] a very high level,” Aloko told Soccer Sheet. “In Croatia, I played in Division 3, so it wasn’t the same level. MLS is the best. I have played several times, and I could feel that it’s very high level. I think in the next few years, it’s going to get even better, because the players that are coming to the league, and the players that are here, it’s a very high level.”

Soccer Sheet’s Adrian Singerman sat down with Aloko for a wide-ranging interview in about his story, the country of Benin, and what it’s been like to move to the highest level of domestic soccer. The full interview transcript, translated from French, and video are below.

Aloko and Charlotte FC return to Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday, July 22, facing I-85 rivals Atlanta United.

Rodolfo Aloko: The Soccer Sheet Interview

Editor’s Note: The below interview is translated from the original French, and edited for clarity.

Soccer Sheet: You were born and grew up in Bénin- what was it like growing up? What memories do you have of your childhood?

Rodolfo Aloko: I grew up in Benin, I did everything in Benin. I left Benin, not even 5 years ago, I think. In Benin, everything was good. I had a good childhood and everything. I was very very young, I would have been happy to be where I am today. It was a dream, a big dream. It’s a real pleasure. So I’m very happy about that.

SS: We don’t hear much about Benin in the media here in the U.S. What would you want people who don’t know much about Benin to know about your country? What can you tell us about your hometown Sô-Ava?

RA: First of all, Benin is a beautiful country. Nowadays, a lot of people go to Benin for the tourism and everything, because the culture is the most important thing in our culture. I think there are a lot of people in Europe, and especially France, who come to Benin to discover what the country is like. And that’s good. I feel like our culture is top notch.

I was born in Sô-Ava, but I’m from the North, actually. I’ve never been there, but my dad comes from there. People say our culture is similar to Nigeria. We speak a language that is similar to Yoruba. It’s a beautiful city.

SS: Have you visited the Royal Palaces of Abomey?

RA: Yes, I played in Abomey. Yes, I visited the Palace. It’s really magnificent. I did around two or three years in Abomey, where I started my life of soccer, I would say, at a high level. It was really impressive. I really loved it. The population, and everybody, I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed learning new things. Because before that, it wasn’t the same. Basically around the whole city, they talk about the Kings. There’s the Kingdom.

SS: How are the people connected to the historical Kingdom of Dahomey?

RA: Yeah, I think it’s stayed the same because, we want to support what is good. We have the King Béhanzin who has really done a lot for the country. I don’t know too much about the history, but I also like to do research on this information, because I am a son of the country. I really like information, finding out what happened in years past, I really enjoy that, and I think when I have some vacation, I will go back there again, to learn more about the history. I would really enjoy that.

SS: Do you have the chance to go back there (Bénin) regularly?

RA: I think during vacation, I think I can try.

SS: During the World Cup?

RA: I think I have to go to the national team then. So I’ll see if I can go after, or if I can’t go, then maybe next season, by the grace of God.

SS: When did you become interested in soccer? Who were your influences as a child?

Everything started when I was 7 years old, 6 years old. I already loved soccer. I don’t even know how I started thinking about it. I really loved soccer, because when you’re young, maybe you see your big brothers playing, and you say to yourself, ‘what are those guys doing?’ I asked myself a lot of questions.

When I started, it was a day, I think, there was a coach who was coaching us. He was new, and he came. He said he wanted to form a team of kids, of little kids to make them better. We were in the neighborhood, we just wanted to play. So, we started, and he was also a soccer player. He was already at a high level, he played at another center [for training]. He also sent us over to where he played. There were also kids over there, so they needed kids to play against. We weren’t ready to play against the big kids yet, you see, so he sent us over there for more training. When we got there, they took us in with open arms. That’s my training center.

They trained us even more when we were 8, 9 years old. We continued to improve. When I was 10, I was even playing with the big kids. We weren’t scared any more. They taught us how to play with the big kids, so we weren’t scared any more. We came to JSK, and everything started there. Then I left, because my coach brought me directly to Abomey.

SS: When did you become interested in pursuing soccer as a profession?

RA: First of all, I would say, I’ve always wanted to play at the highest level, because when you play and you watch TV, you tell yourself, I want to get to that level. In our country, when you look around yourself, there were no older players that had signed with a big club, but it was hard. But I had courage. We had plenty of young players. Of course we want to sign with a big club. But I would say it was when I was between the ages of 12, 13 years old, I told myself, year, I need to play pro. It was at that moment that I already felt like, I can do something. I felt like I was progressing more than the others at a young age.

SS: You started your professional career in Benin with Dynamo Abomey FC before moving on to a Croatian club, NK Kustosija. What were those experiences like for you? What was it like getting your first professional experience at such a young age?

RA: It was very hard. When I left Dynamo Abomey, I came to Croatia. That was a period where I spent basically a year and a half without playing. I just trained. There was a rule there, a protocol that said, when you’re young, and you come, you’re not 18 yet, you can’t play.

So it was a little hard, it was really hard, I did a year and a half without playing. But I stayed focused. I told myself, it will be ok. Then, I started to play. Charlotte had come to Croatia to play a tournament. Crown Legacy came to play a tournament. So I participated with them. And from there, they wanted me, so I came here. I’m very happy.

SS: In Zagreb, were you friends with Razack Rachidou, who is also from Benin?

RA: Yes, he’s a teammate on the national team. Yeah, we’re friends, we get along and everything. He’s a brother of mine, yeah.

Video: Rodolfo Aloko Speaks with Jorge Torres in a Post-Match Interview

SS: Over the last several months, you had five very productive games with Crown Legacy, scoring eight goals. How has your experience been with Crown Legacy?

RA: I would say this club has done a lot for me, they’ve helped me progress a lot. I’ve always wanted to continue learning and improving. To get to the highest level, you have to keep doing the same thing, keep giving your all. I have partners who are joining me in that effort. I’m very happy. I’m just continuing with my quality as a soccer player, and I think it’s been fruitful. I just have to keep going like this. Even with the first team, I need to keep working, and it will come.

SS: How would you evaluate first games with Charlotte FC?

RA: My first match was in the [Lamar Hunt U.S. Open] Cup, I think. I had two assists. It was good for me. It gave me a lot more confidence. Which allowed me, once I got to the top level, it was easier for me. I would just say that, may God be with me, that injuries stay far away. That’s the main problem for a soccer player. You just have to pray for that not to happen. We give grace to God, it’ll be ok.

SS: How much of a step up is the MLS compared to the other leagues you have played in?

RA: It’s a very high level. In Croatia, I played in D3, so it wasn’t the same level. MLS is the best. I have played several times, and I could feel that it’s very high level. I think in the next few years, it’s going to get even better, because the players that are coming to the league, and the players that are here, it’s a very high level.

SS: It’s been an up and down start to year for Charlotte FC. How has the mood been in the locker room?

RA: Indeed. There’s a lot of joy in the locker room. With Wilf, with Diani, everyone is always joyful. They give me advice. Almost everyone gives me advice. That allows me to be really connected to the group. I’m really thrilled to be here. For me, what counts is continuing to improve.

SS: You’ve also played for the Benin national team, both U-20 and the senior team. What has it meant to you to play for your national team?

RA: It’s a big joy, a big point of pride to wear the uniform of the country. It’s really significant. And it’s just a dream for me, because I always wanted to give my all, to give something more to my nation. At any time that my nation calls on me and I have the opportunity, I’ll be there. It’s a very big point of pride. Among so many young players, to be called upon, that’s what you do. It’s a good thing, and you have to keep doing it. Keep working, keep giving you all, and it’ll be ok.

SS: How have you been adapting to life in the U.S.? What things stand out to you about American culture?

RA: I adapt to each country. Everywhere I go. So I’ve never had a problem with that. I have the mentality for each challenge. Whatever is going on in the country, you have to adapt. It can take time, but you have to adapt. You have no choice but to stay alert, to stay focused. Because soccer is what brought me here. I don’t have too much time to go out. But sometimes I go out a little to see what daily life is like here. I’m not complaining.

SS: How are you enjoying life in Charlotte? How is Charlotte different from other places you have lived?

RA: It’s normal, it’s different. As far as the language. Because the language here is more English. In Croatia it was more Croatian and English. A lot of people don’t speak English over there. They have more of the culture [from there]. I already learned some English in Croatia, so that makes it a bit easier here.

SS: Have you had a chance to enjoy some of the local restaurants like Cookout and Bojangles? Have you had a chance to try NC barbecue?

RA: Barbecue, yes. It was good. It was new. With my teammates we had some. I’ve also had some African dishes in some restaurants. I enjoy going to restaurants to try African dishes, because it’s rare, they didn’t have that in Croatia, but here, they have specialties like that. I go there, and I enjoy it.

SS: What are your expectations for the rest of the season?

RA: Keep doing what I’m doing, keep scoring, keep helping the team, keep passing and everything. That will allow me to stay at the top level, to stay on the same path, to be more in the game. Because that’s what’s most important. When people watch the team, they are watching the players.

Yara al Bayyari, Seth Koch, Jake Sokol, Sam Spencer, and Jorge Torres contributed to this story.

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The Charlotte Independence may be the best professional team in Charlotte right now — in any sport — and with a win in the USL Cup Saturday night, they could still bring two titles home to Charlotte this year.

Sure, Charlotte FC is still the better soccer team. The Jacks lost 6-0 to the Crown’s rotation squad in April, and even the in-form Independence aren’t a match for the average MLS squad. Within the United Soccer League, however, the Independence are well-positioned to compete for their first-ever title.

The Jacks are undefeated in their last 14 matches across all competitions, including a club-record 8-match winning streak. The team’s last loss was on April 18 in Knoxville.

Now, thanks to the 2-2, (2-4) penalty shootout win over USL Championship side Charleston Battery on Saturday, the Jacks advance to the quarterfinals of the competition. Their next match is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 12, and their opponent will be drawn later today.

Should the Independence advance, the USL Cup semifinals will be held on Wednesday, September 9 before the final on the weekend of October 2-4, 2026.

”Obviously, we have quality. Obviously, we have really good players,” said Independence captain Clay Dimick. “But what separates this group from other teams around the league and in the USL is the mentality we have—the collective mentality, from the top down, to fight for everything. Nothing has been given to us. We’ve been ready to fight in every environment, every game, and that wasn’t any different tonight. That’s what took us over the finish line. I’m just incredibly proud of this group and of showing that we have the mentality and the quality to hang with anybody on any given day.”

The Independence are currently second in the USL League One standings with 30 points from 9 wins, 2 losses, and 3 draws. League leaders Union Omaha are only one point ahead, but have played 16 matches to the Independence’s 14.

The Jacks still have half the season ahead of them, but things are going in the right direction — and that’s before factoring in their USL Cup run.

In this year’s edition of the USL Cup, also known as the Prinx Tires USL Cup for sponsorship reasons, the Independence won Group 6 last night with their victory over Charleston. It’s their second shootout win of the competition against a USLC squad — they beat the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on May 15 — and it will be the club’s second appearance in the knockout rounds of the competition, which is in its third year.

The Independence went undefeated in the group stage.

Asheville City SC Women Fall 1-0 to Vermont Green FC in National Semifinal

An exciting postseason run for Asheville City SC’s Women came to an end Saturday night as the back-to-back Southern Conference champions fell 1-0 to Vermont Green FC in the USL W League national semifinals.

2,500 fans were in attendance at Virtue Field in Burlington, Vt. as the undefeated Vermont Green continued their exceptional inaugural season, winning a spot in the 2026 final in Seattle, Wash.

“We are so proud of this group, to repeat as National Semi-Finalists is such a testament to the players and the coaching staff,” Mathes Mennell, Asheville City SC COO, Sporting and Club Operations, told Soccer Sheet. “The USLW is such a competitive league and our ability to maintain a very high competitive excellence is something we are very proud of. Certainly, we are gutted by the result but this teams willingness to thrive in tough moments is the epitome of both Asheville and Asheville City Soccer Club.”

Asheville City head coach Maxi Viera’s side fought hard and created chances. The match was tight throughout the 90, with neither team able to break through in the first half. Then, at the 55 minute mark, the Green’s Emily Mara — who plays both soccer and hockey for Boston College — scored her third goal of the postseason.

Mara dribbled the ball into the penalty box from the left side, avoiding multiple Asheville defenders. Shooting from the area left of the goal box, her right foot sent the ball into the upper right corner of Asheville’s net, out of reach for goalkeeper Lilly Heaslet.

It was the only goal the Green would need.

Asheville responded by dominating possession for the next 20 minutes before Vermont responded with two shots on frame, forcing a pair of saves from Heaslet.

The Blues fought until the very end, but yet again, but for the second year in a row the women of Asheville City fell in the national semifinal: the Achilles Heel of the Boys in Blue as well.

The Green face off against Salmon Bay FC in the National Championship at 8 PM ET on Saturday, July 18.

Charlotte Independence II, Asheville City SC Men and Appalachian FC Advance to USL 2 Playoffs

The Charlotte Independence’s first team weren’t the only squad of Jacks to punch their ticket: the Independence II finished in first place in USL League Two’s South Atlantic Division, guaranteeing the squad a spot in the national playoffs.

The Independence II are the pre-professional affiliate of the Charlotte Independence men’s professional soccer team.

“It’s been a fantastic season this year thanks to a great group of committed players with the core of that group being club alumni that played here as youth players,” Independence II head coach Nick Fusco told Soccer Sheet. “The club has put more and more resources behind the program which has allowed us to host some top players from around college soccer which has taken us to another level as well. Overall, we are excited to see what this group can do in the playoffs coming off a historic season in USL 2 for our club.”

While the Independence II went into the weekend having clinched a playoff spot, their 3-1 win over North Carolina FC U23 secured a first place finish. This is the second time the Jacks’ second team has made the USL 2 playoffs; they lost in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs last year after finishing second in the division.

It’s a complete turnaround from 2024, when they finished at the bottom of the table in 8th place.

The Jacks overcame a complete overhaul of the division to finish the season with an 11-1-2 record, and an average of 2.5 points per match. Their sole loss came on June 29 to Asheville City SC, the USL 2 powerhouse joined the division after going undefeated in the South Central Division of the Southern Conference two years in a row, and winning the conference playoff in 2024.

Also joining the stacked division this year were Hickory FC, the reigning NPSL National Champions, and Appalachian FC of Boone, N.C. for a total of 11 teams.

Asheville secured second place in the division with a Saturday evening draw against Hickory FC, earning a critical away point.

“It has been an interesting year for the USL-2 team,” Mennell told Soccer Sheet. “Changing conferences and divisions was always going to be challenging but we are very pleased with how the players and staff managed this transition. Obviously, we were disappointed not to finish first but when we consider that we only lost one game of fourteen, it just speaks to the depth and competitiveness of the South Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. We started a bit slow, especially by our standards, but the team is playing its most effective football at the moment, which is exactly what you want come playoff time.”

Asheville City SC will host Virginia Beach United in the first round of the USL2 Playoffs at Greenwood Field in Asheville on Tuesday, July 14th at 7:00 PM.

While the Blues are playing their best soccer entering the playoffs, Hickory FC will miss out on postseason play after dropping points down the home stretch. Though they started the season with a win over Asheville, the team lost twice to Appalachian FC, making Saturday night’s contest a must-win.

Hickory FC still had a chance at making the playoffs, but needed Appalachian FC to falter in the final match of the season Sunday night. Instead, App won 1-0 at home over SC United Bantams, leapfrogging Hickory in the standings and earning the equivalent of a wild card berth in the USL 2 playoffs.

“Thank you to everyone who stood with Hickory FC throughout our first USL2 season,” read a statement posted to Hickory FC’s Instagram account. “It did not end the way we hoped, but your support never wavered. You packed Moretz Stadium, brought the energy, and reminded us what makes this community so special. This is only the beginning. We will learn, grow, and return stronger next summer.”

Appalachian FC will travel to Allentown, Penn. on Tuesday, July 14th at 7:00 PM to face the Lehigh Valley United Rush. Both teams are making their first USL 2 postseason appearance.

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On March 31, 2016, Bosnia and Herzegovina were trailing Italy in the final round of UEFA Men’s World Cup qualifying. Winner punches their ticket to the World Cup, loser stays home for another grueling four years.

With 11 minutes to go in regulation, Swiss-born Haris Tabaković found the equalizer for Bosnia, eventually sending the match to penalties. Bosnia made every shot as Italy faltered, advancing to the World Cup with a final score of 1-1, (4-1).

It was an improbable run for the Bosnian men, a team that started the year ranked 71st of 210 in FIFA’s international rankings. Italy was ranked 13th before their loss to Bosnia. In the semifinal against 35th-ranked Wales, it was the same story: a late equalizer, and four made penalties.

The victories led to Bosnia’s second-ever World Cup appearance. Now, thanks to a win against Qatar and a quality draw against Canada, Bosnia have advanced to the knockout stage for the first time.

Yesterday, Soccer Sheet spoke with Bosnian Women’s National Team member Emina Ekić, who joined us from Houston to talk about what this World Cup run means for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country that has endured both civil war and genocide in our lifetimes.

Ekić’s parents fled the country as refugees in the 90s, and she was born in Louisville, Kentucky.

Ekić gave Soccer Sheet a score prediction of 1-1 in regulation, with her national team winning in penalties - reflecting the two underdog victories that propelled them through European qualification and united the country.

You can watch the entire interview above, or listen to it below. The United States play Bosnia at 8:00 PM in the Men’s World Cup Round of 32; tickets are still available for the Charlotte Independence/Soccer Sheet watch party at Memorial Stadium.

This Wednesday, July 1, the Charlotte Independence and Soccer Sheet are hosting a World Cup Watch Party at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, and you’re invited.

RSVP for Free

The United States Men’s National Team will take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in the FIFA World Cup Round of 32 at 8:00 PM in a winner-take-all knockout match.

Doors open at 7:00 PM, and concessions will be available throughout the match. The event is free and open to the public, but you must RSVP to reserve your tickets.

Additionally, if you want the best seats in the house for the match, join us at 5:30 PM to watch the Charlotte Independence take on Corpus Christi FC. Tickets start at just $10, and include first dibs on your seat at the watch party.

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Please forward this email to your friends — they’re invited too! — and don’t miss out on updates about the event: make sure you’re subscribed to Soccer Sheet.

The 2026 Men’s World Cup is finally here.

The competition officially kicked off in Mexico yesterday with two matches. El Tri (Mexico) easily handled South Africa 2-0 in a match that started with an opening ceremony and Shakira, and ended with more red cards than goals. Later, in Guadalajara, Korea Republic started strong against Czechia, but had to battle back after the European side scored first.

Today, the other two host nations — Canada and the United States — will begin their competitions. The Canucks will host a Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, while the United States will host Paraguay in Los Angeles.

While Canada and Bosnia are meeting for the first time, the Stars and Stripes have won five of their nine matches against Paraguay, the most recent being a 2-1 win in a November 2025 friendly.

Throughout this World Cup, Soccer Sheet will be reporting on all the matches - including the ones you’ve missed. Subscribe below to get the Copacetic Cupdate everyday during the tournament.

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Yesterday’s Results

Group A: Mexico 2 - 0 South Africa

In 2010’s World Cup, it was South Africa hosting Mexico in the first match of the tournament, vuvuzelas and all. While that match ended 1-1, this Mexican squad was the superior side.

While El Tri dominated possession and the scoreline, the match was defined by disciplinary chaos, featuring three red cards and a flurry of historical milestones.

Mexico took immediate control, fueled by an electric home atmosphere. Julián Quiñones capitalized on a heavy touch by South Africa’s Sithole in the 9th minute, slotting the ball through Ronwen Williams’ legs. Mexico nearly doubled the lead before the break when Quiñones hit the post in the 42nd minute. South Africa struggled to progress the ball, recording only one shot on target in the first 45 minutes.

The second half saw South Africa’s hopes evaporate through cards rather than goals. Sphephelo Sithole was sent off early (49’) for clipping Gutierrez’s heels on a breakaway. Later, substitute Themba Zwane was dismissed for violent conduct (84’) after a VAR review showed him catching Alvarado in the face. Mexico’s César Montes was also shown a straight red in stoppage time (90+2’) for a tactical foul to stop a rare South African counter-attack.

Group A: Korea Republic 2 - 1 Czechia

The second match of the World Cup, at Estadio Guadalajara, featured the first competitive meeting between Korea Republic and Czechia.

The last time American audiences saw the Korean side, they beat the United States 0-2 in a 2025 friendly that featured a goal and an assist from newly-minted MLS player Son Heung-min.

Korea dominated the first half, with 8 shots to 3 for Czechia. Despite the barrage, Korea could only muster an xG (expected goals) of 0.52 — to 0.29 for Czechia — with 80% of the expected goals coming from Son.

The second half began with "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters playing throughout the stadium, and Korea immediately got to work trying to find the winner, with two shots in the first five minutes.

In the 55th minute Son looked like he may have finally broken through, but yet again Kovár was there to cut the Korean captain’s angle and block the shot. Before leaving the pitch in the

Then, against the run of play, Czechia opened the scoring off of a set piece — and like half of the squad’s World Cup goals since the fall of the Iron Curtain, it was a header.

Vladimír Coufal found the head of jumping Czech captain Ladislav Krejčí, who slotted the ball straight in goal in the 59th minute.

Korea were quick to respond. Continuing to attack the top left corner of the goal box, Hwang In-beom beat two Czech defenders and their keeper, cut to the right, then proceeded to lob the ball into the right corner of the goal in the the 67th minute.

Then, in the 78th minute, it looked as if Czechia would land their 8th header in 15 World Cup goals, but the go-ahead winner from Soucek was called off.

The next big strike, in the 80th minute, would count — for Korea.

Hwang got his second goal contribution of the match, assisting Oh Hyeon-Gyu's sliding strike. Oh’s goal would be decisive.

Today’s Schedule:

3:00 PM - Group B - Canada vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina

As a host nation, Canada (along with the U.S. and Mexico) qualified for the competition automatically, their second in a row after Qatar 2022.

Bosnia’s battle was much harder, making it out of stiff UEFA competition. Earlier this year, Soccer Sheet spoke with Bosnian women’s international Emina Ekić about what it meant to see Bosnia and Herzegovina make it to the World Cup:

We’re hoping to see Bosnia’s world-record holding džezva coffee pot make its way to Canada as well.

9:00 PM - Group D - USA vs. Paraguay

If there was any question the fans would show up for the United States, their friendly against Germany in Chicago last week put those fears to rest.

The USMNT enter today’s match on a strong group stage streak: they’ve lost just once in their last nine group-stage outings, 1-0 to Germany in 2014. However, they’re 2-3 against South American opponents in the World Cup, and historically, CONMEBOL (South America) has dominated Concacaf (North America) opponents, going 11-1-1 in their last 13 World Cup meetings.

Paraguay have had strong runs in recent competitions, including a 2010 quarterfinal run. However, their last win in an opener was in 1986, against Iraq.

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The Senegalese men’s national football team are known as the Lions of Teranga. “Teranga” — considered to be the core cultural value of Senegal — is a term that comes from the Wolof language, and roughly translates to “hospitality.”

However, despite large crowds for the Lions, there was no hospitality to be found at Bank of America Stadium from the United States Men’s National Team.

Christian Pulisic contributed an assist and a goal in the first 20 minutes of action, ending his national team goal drought as he powered the Stars and Stripes to an impressive 3-2 win, defeating a 14th-ranked Senegalese squad that had won 8 of their last 10 matches, and ending a two-match losing streak in the process.

In the first ever meeting between the two teams, and in the USMNT’s second game ever at Bank of American Stadium, the United States dominated proceedings for the for the first third of the game, routinely pressing a discombobulated Senegalese side into giveaways deep in their territory, and capitalizing with an opportunistic offensive attack.

“I think we played really well,” United States winger Alejandro Zendejas told Soccer Sheet in a post-match interview. “The team was intense, we played out the back as we should, and I think we created good opportunities that ended up [as goals].”

Pulisic set up Sergiño Dest for the first goal of the game 7 minutes in before opening his own 2026 international account in the 20th minute, scoring his first international goal since November 2024 and ending a 5-month scoring drought overall across club and country play.

In an interview with Soccer Sheet, Pulisic refused to consider the drought a “curse.”

“It’s just a friendly,” said Pulisic. “I’m really happy, [scoring] felt great, but we’ve got some big games ahead.

The U.S. went through their first period of patchy play towards the end of the first half and paid the price, as a sloppy giveaway near midfield from defender Antonee Robinson quickly resulted in a Senegal counter that resulted in a close-range goal for captain Sadio Mané that brought the numerous Senegalese fans to their feet shortly before the teams went to the locker rooms for the halftime break.

U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino opted for massive subs at halftime, replacing everyone in the lineup except for midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, who he referred to as a ‘beast’ in the post-match presser. The move appeared to be effective as the U.S. offense continued to heap pressure on their opponents’ defense, with two apparent goals that were nullified in the first quarter hour of the second half, one for offsides and one for a questionable foul call in the box.

In between, disaster struck as a Miles Robinson intended pass back to goalie Chris Brady was deflected before being tipped into the back of the net by Mane from point-blank range in the 53rd minute. Not to be deterred, the U.S. kept their foot on the gas pedal, as forward Folarin Balogun scored from close-range in the 63rd minute to account for the final score.

Playing in his club team’s home stadium, Charlotte FC defender Tim Ream looked comfortable in his 28th match as U.S. captain, masterfully distributing the ball and providing his usual stalwart defensive effort in the back.

Earlier in the week, Ream spoke with Soccer Sheet about what the leadership role meant after he was announced as team captain for the World Cup.

“Obviously it’s an honor,” said Ream. “It’s not something that I ever thought of, or dreamed of, or even envisioned. It’s an honor, it’s a privilege, it’s something that, as I said earlier, don’t take for granted and don’t take lightly. I’m really proud to be sitting here and be given that honor by the coaches.”

When asked by Soccer Sheet what the difference in the match was, Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw pointed to the talent on the U.S. squad, as well as their ability to win 50-50 balls:

“They’re a good team who put us in tough situations,” said Thiaw. “We did not win a lot of 50-50 balls, and also, we are a team who like to have the ball, and in certain moments, we didn’t have it a lot, we didn’t have our feet on the ball. I think their game plan was good. They created problems for us. There were times when we solved them, when we came back to tie the game and things were going better, but we conceded another goal, it wasn’t easy. But like I said, it’s one match. They were good, they won the match, so congratulations to them. As for us, we are going to continue our preparations.”

The U.S. will play one more friendly — this Saturday, June 6th against 10th-ranked Germany at Soldier Field in Chicago — before starting World Cup group play June 12th against Paraguay.

Ream told Soccer Sheet he’s looking forward to the World Cup starting.

“The group’s been working hard. We’ve had four really good training sessions [as of May 30], said Ream. “Intensity’s been high, focus has been really good. The guys are hungry and the guys are ready to go.”

Sam Spencer and Yara Al Bayyari contributed to this story.

Photo Gallery: U.S. and Senegal Fans Bring Color to the Bank

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

Almost 45 years ago, on September 18, 1981, the Carolina Lightnin’ won Charlotte’s first professional sports championship at American Legion Memorial Stadium. After a 1-1 result in regulation, Lightnin' forward Hugh O'Neill scored a golden goal against the New York United in the second extra time period to win the title.

Tonight in Kentucky, history didn’t quite repeat itself, but it rhymed for another soccer team that calls Memorial Stadium home.

Like the ‘81 Lightnin’, Carolina Ascent FC scored first in the final. Last season’s Soccer Sheet Player of the Year for the Ascent, Mia Corbin, put Carolina ahead going into the locker room.

Then, like the Lightnin’, they conceded an equalizer that sent the match into extra time.

However, unlike their professional predecessors, the Ascent couldn’t find a winner, falling to 2026 Players’ Shield winners Lexington SC 3-1 after the home team scored twice in the first period of extra time.

Mia Corbin Puts Ascent Ahead as Supporters Struggle to Make the Match on Time

A sellout crowd of 7,715 fans watched the match at Lexington SC Stadium, but some of Carolina’s die-hards — including the Carolina Reaper — almost missed the match.

The team had chartered a fan bus to Lexington that was supposed to leave with Ascent fans early in the morning. The driver didn’t show, and after a couple hours of waiting the fans put together a makeshift caravan to make the trip to Kentucky on their own.

The Carolina supporters made it in time for the 7:00 PM ET start, but from the get-go they were watching a match dominated by the home side.

Carolina goalkeeper Sydney Martínez was called into action early and often, facing 22 total shots and 8 shots on target over the course of the match. Lexington’s McKenzie Weinert had three early strikes, with one in the 17th minute almost making it through after Lexington dismantled Carolina’s defense, putting Martínez out of position and leaving the net vulnerable.

After a first half that featured constant pressure from the home side, the Ascent were the ones to break through in stoppage time. Carolina’s Mia Corbin got the ball outside of the box on the left side of the goal, struck the ball firmly, and sent it into the right corner of the net past a diving Katherine Asman.

Lexington led the first half with 8 shots to 6 for the Ascent, but it was the Ascent’s lone shot on target - Corbin’s goal - that mattered.

“I just saw space, and I was like, I get this touch right and just take a whack at it low and I’m happy it went in,” Corbin said during a halftime interview. “Another half to play, but it's nice to get that [goal] at the end.”

Lexington Equalizer Equals Extra Time

In the second half, the teams came out ready to play ping-pong style across the pitch. Both sides had significant opportunities in the first 3 minutes of the second half and kept up an urgent, breakneck pace for the first 10 minutes of the half.

In the 52nd minute, Lexington’s Alyssa Bourgeois picked up a yellow card for a hard foul on George at the top of the penalty box. Ascent captain Jill Aguilera took the free kick for the Ascent and got the ball through the wall, forcing a save from Lexington’s Asman.

In the 61st minute, Weinert found a fast break. Carolina’s Jenna Butler put her shoulder into her opponent, sending Weinert to the ground, earning a yellow card, and conceding a set piece to the home side right on the edge of the box. Sarah Griffith sent a rocket towards Martínez, who saved the goal but failed to hold onto the strike, conceding the corner.

Lexington won an additional corner and kept up the pressure into the 64th minute, when Carolina’s defense was finally relieved with a goal kick.

Over the course of the half, the Ascent’s Addisyn Merrick put her body on the line again and again, blocking multiple Lexington shots before they could reach Martínez. Though the Ascent tried to create in transition, Lexington’s pressure was non-stop.

Inevitably, they broke through.

In the 72nd minute, USL Super League Golden Boot winner Catherine Barry sent McKenzie Weinert a perfect pass for an easy goal at point-blank range. Martínez had no chance of stopping the goal as both Weinert and Carolina’s Tyler Lussi barreled towards the Carolina keeper.

Lussi was injured on the play, with her legs landing awkwardly on both the ground and Martínez. Lussi came off on a stretcher to sportsmanlike applause from Lexington’s sellout crowd, but luckily avoided a more severe injury.

Poole responded with three changes, the first substitutions for either side. Taylor Porter came in for Corbin, Emily Morris replaced Lily Nabet, and Audrey Coleman took over for the injured Lussi.

Despite the substitutions, Lexington maintained the pressure. With just over 10 minutes left in the second half, it seemed as if the battered Ascent just wanted to make it to extra time, holding back the ball at midfield for a minute before deciding to strike.

The attack yielded a corner for Aguilera, who just two weeks earlier had scored an Olimpico from a corner. Two successive corners bounced around inside the goal box, with the Ascent yielding possession on the third.

In the 86th minute, Aguilera took another corner from the right side, which led to yet another corner. Both Corbin and Aguilera sent well-struck corners into the area throughout the match, but Carolina was unable to take advantage of the set pieces in front of gaol.

In the seven minutes of stoppage time, Carolina brought more offensive pressure than they had for most of the half. A set piece play ended with Morris, the substitute, earning a yellow card for a rough foul on Amber Nguyen, who had just subbed on for Weinert.

Though Carolina dominated second half stoppage, their poor finishing on final touches — in no doubt due in part to Super League Defensive Player of the Year Allison Pantuso and Lexington’s stalwart defense —

In the 9th minute of stoppage time, Mackenzie George tried to win the game with a last-ditch run, but Lexington blocked her attempt, sending the match to extra time. George was especially frustrated by Lexington’s defense, and had trouble demonstrating her quality in the face of the opposition.

Then came the whistle. The nail-biter was now in overtime.

Lexington Lift the Trophy after Three Unanswered Goals

In the first extra time period, Lexington got to work early, taking the fight inside Carolina’s goal box in the first three minutes.

In the 96th minute, Lexington’s dangerous corners gave the home team an early extra time advantage. Perfect delivery on the corner from Bourgeois and a great header from Regan Steigleder, her first goal of the season, put Lexington ahead for the first time all night.

“My team was joking that it would come at some point, so I’m really happy it came today,” said Steigleder in a post-match interview.

Immediately after, Porter picked up a yellow card for Carolina with a bad tackle from behind, and in the 101st minute Shea Groom made way for Ava Cook — who immediately added energy to the Ascent attack — and Emily Moxley replaced Merrick, Carolina’s defensive shield.

For Lexington, Griffith came off for Nicole Vernis.

Then in the 104th minute, Lexington put the nail in the coffin. Another breakaway play for Lexington saw Hannah White’s pass give Addie McCain an open shot in front of goal. Martínez successfully blocked the attempt, but it bounced back towards McCain, and then off McCain and into the net for the final goal of the match.

“It dinged off both of us, and it happened to work out,” McCain said in a post-match interview.

In the second extra time period, Carolina pressed, creating ample opportunities in the area but never finding the final touch they needed to score.

In the 116th minute, Cook, the substitute, struggled to walk after taking a bad foul that earned Lexington’s Nicole Vernis a yellow card.

Carolina tried again and again to find the goal, including during the two minutes of stoppage time, but Asman and Lexington’s defense proved impenetrable.

Within minutes of the final whistle, Lexington fans started singing along to Queen’s “We Are the Champions” as Lexington SC became the first team to win both the USL Super League Players' Shield and the league’s championship final.

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Tonight at 7:00 PM ET, #1 Lexington SC will host #3 Carolina Ascent FC in the championship final for the United Soccer League (USL) Super League (also known as the Gainbridge Super League for sponsorship purposes). It should be a night of celebration on the eve of an important moment for soccer in the United States: the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

However, the second-ever Super League final is being played in the shadow of a lamentable first for the USL: a Division I women’s professional club closing up shop.

Less than 48 hours after playing their final match of the season, Spokane Zephyr co-owner Ryan Harnetiaux told players the club was suspending operations, and wouldn’t compete in the Super League’s next season. The Super League — which expanded to 9 clubs in its second season with the addition of Sporting Club Jacksonville — was back down to 8.

“It’s sad. It’s definitely sad,” Spokane forward Maddi Desiano told Soccer Sheet earlier this week. “I’m from Southern California, and there was no professional women’s soccer team for me to go to, [but] by 2022, there’s teams in LA and San Diego, and so the game has definitely grown. And so when I think of Spokane, they’ve never had that and they finally got this team and organization that they really cared about. So I feel for the little kids because they had inspirational people in their backyard that they could go watch every weekend. So it’s definitely devastating for the community, and I feel for them.”

The Zephyr’s ownership, which also owns the Spokane Velocity in USL League One, a Division III men’s professional league, released a short statement on Wednesday, May 20 announcing the decision, one day after players were informed.

For the past two weeks, Soccer Sheet has investigated what the end of the Zephyr means for the players and staff, the Spokane community, and the USL Super League. Unfortunately for fans, staff, and players, the reality of a club folding is more complicated than putting up the chairs, turning out the lights, and locking the doors. The women of Spokane Zephyr FC are unemployed, and are behind schedule to find new teams before matches start back up after the World Cup.

In conversations with multiple sources close to the Zephyr, including some granted anonymity so they could speak candidly and without fear of retribution, Soccer Sheet discovered that while the end of the club was likely unavoidable, the way the situation was handled has harmed players and potentially undermined the credibility of the USL.

“The USL look like they’re cosplaying with supporting women’s soccer,” said Spokane Soccer Show host Benji Wade on a podcast.

During the course of Soccer Sheet’s investigation, multiple sources alleged that the Zephyr’s ownership, Katie and Ryan Harnetiaux, were in breach of their duty of care to players and staff, with now-former Spokane players being left to pick up the pieces.

Specifically, multiple sources allege the club knew about their decision to suspend operations for at least 6-8 weeks prior to the end of the season, with warning signs evident for the better part of a year. Additionally, multiple sources alleged potential violations of Washington State labor law.

The Harnetiauxs and the club, through a spokesperson, declined to comment for this story, and declined to comment on a follow-up request outlining some of these allegations. Additionally, neither the league nor USL Super League president Amanda Vandervort responded to multiple emails and messages from Soccer Sheet requesting comment on this story, though Vandervort read at least one of the requests based on a read receipt.

Warning Signs for Spokane

The Spokane Zephyr brand was first announced in November 2023 to much fanfare. USL Super League president Amanda Vandervort joined team president Katie Harnetiaux and 2,000 fans for the announcement.

“This is a historic day for Spokane and soccer in America. I’m proud to be from Spokane, invested in Spokane and helping to lead transformation,” said Harnetiaux. “This is about expanding opportunities for women in professional soccer. Our mission is to deliver the highest level of professional soccer plus increase access, elevate diversity and inclusion and bolster economic vitality of the region.”

Vandervort pointed out Harnetiaux’s unique position as a president of both a men’s and women’s professional soccer team.

“Katie is not only one of few women CEOs or Presidents in America to lead a men’s professional team but may be the only one in the world to also lead a women’s professional team,” said Vandervort.

Like the other clubs in the USL Super League, Spokane Zephyr FC first took the pitch in the fall of 2024 in what was a strong debut season for the league. Despite finishing fifth in the league, the team’s prospects for their second season were strong, and Spokane standout Emina Ekić won Super League Player of the Year from both this publication and the league.

However, warning signs began to appear between the team’s first and second seasons. Multiple players, including Ekić, departed for Lexington SC. Multiple sources allege that Spokane’s ownership asked for Lexington to pay all of the transfer fees up front, a possible harbinger of financial problems to come.

After head coach Jo Johnson stepped down after the first season, Spokane did not prioritize finding a replacement, and began the season with interim head coach Josh McCallister wearing multiple hats, including as a recruiter and as a strength coach. They finally added Nicole Lukic as a permanent head coach in October.

Near the end of the second season, players grew suspicious as the club refused to renew contracts, and seemed to ignore calls from player agents to finalize contract details, or allow them to talk to new clubs.

A Spokane paper, The Spokesman-Review, went into more detail about the economics behind the decision, noting that the Harnetiauxes’ ownership group has missed multiple payments to the Spokane Public Facilities District, a municipal corporation that manages sports, entertainment, and stadium facilities in Spokane.

When Missing the Playoffs has a “Silver Lining”

For two years in a row, the Zephyr’s season ended in heartbreak, with the team missing the playoffs by the slimmest of margins on the final day of competition.

Last year, Spokane tied Fort Lauderdale United for 4th place in points — and had a superior goal differential — but lost the final playoff spot due to the league’s head-to-head tiebreaker. This year, Spokane needed Fort Lauderdale to defeat or draw Dallas Trinity in their final match, but a 4-0 Dallas win put the Texan Trinity one point ahead of the Zephyr on the table.

This year, the missed playoffs weren’t the worst thing that would happen. After the Zephyr won their match but lost the playoffs on Saturday, May 16, players were told the next day there would be a team meeting at 9:00 AM on Monday.

At that meeting, Ryan Harnetiaux gave a short, scripted speech to players and staff and informed them that the Zephyr were “pausing participation” in the Super League. Every player was now a free agent, and out of a job.

According to the USL Players Association, which represents Super League players, other statements from Harnetiaux included, “The economics of this type of club just aren’t fitting with this community;” “Ownership has realized that Spokane is a difficult market for D1 women’s soccer;” and “At the end of June, everyone is free to go.”

He ended the three minute speech with “good luck,” declined to take questions, and proceeded to walk over to a catered breakfast for the organization’s men’s squad, the Spokane Velocity, where he informed the Division III team that their jobs weren’t in jeopardy. According to a source, Harnetiaux told the Velocity “we’re fully investing in you guys,” and told the men all of the ownership’s proverbial eggs were in the USL’s upcoming move to a three-tier soccer pyramid with European-style promotion and relegation, as well as a Division I league to compete with Major League Soccer.

“There was no time to ask questions or comments, and anything like that was fielded by [vice president of operations Carrie Taylor],” said Desiano. “For the next hour or so, there was a lot of group discussion, a lot of anger, and sadness, and disappointment, and then we hopped on a call with our [players association], and they talked us through some scenarios.”

The Zephyr players were not fed, nor were they recognized by the ownership for their contributions - adding insult to the injury of missing the playoffs. However, had the Zephyr made the playoffs this year, players could have lost additional weeks to find new employment.

“The whole thing is bittersweet. Before we knew [the club was folding], bitter because we were so close.” Desiano told Soccer Sheet. “But we all have to ask the question, if we would have made [the] playoffs, if we [had gone] all the way, would we have been withheld this information for another two weeks? And that’s another two weeks of players not being able to find teams, talk to agents, all that … the whole thing was just crazy because the sliver lining of it was that we found this information out earlier than maybe we could of. And for a lot of players, they were able to act on it.”

Due to the World Cup, league schedules, and international play, most women’s soccer leagues are on break for most of the next two months, giving Spokane players some time to find new employment.

Sources told us, however, that the players are frustrated at the situation given how long the club knew the team was suspending operations. For contractual reasons, and because they didn’t know about the club’s plans, players were unable to talk to other clubs. Young players on multi-year contracts may have thought they had job security and housing.

According to multiple sources, Zephyr players will be paid through June, receiving their last paycheck from the club on July 10; however, players who were under contract past June 30 will not receive any additional compensation. The USL Players Association stressed in a statement that contractual protections would be stronger if the league had a collective bargaining agreement or CBA.

“What makes this situation especially concerning is that players in the USL Super League do not yet have the protections of a collective bargaining agreement,” read the USLPA statement. “Players who signed multi-year contracts are now facing the reality that those agreements will be cut short without compensation or any protections.”

The CBA is also a priority for players like Desiano.

“I think the biggest thing that we’re all pushing right now is for the CBA to get finalized, so players have more rights,” Desiano told Soccer Sheet. “For me, who was signed for two years, and some of the other players, we don’t get anything from that second [year in the] contract. They’re unilateral contracts. We’re done getting paid at the end of this year’s contract. So I think that’s one thing we’re trying to get people more aware of, and just pushing towards.”

Superlative Spokane Players

Despite the team’s short history, the Spokane Zephyr produced a player of the year during its first season in Emina Ekić, and a two-time goalkeeper of the year in Hope Hisey, who ends her tenure with the Zephyr holding multiple Super League goalkeeping records.

Hisey responded to the end of the Zephyr with a public social media post thanking the fans and combatting the narrative that they had anything to do with the end of women’s soccer in Spokane.

Ekić responded to the post on Instagram, writing, “You’re truly the best ❤️ so happy Spokane brought us together.”

Your Soccer Sheet Cheat Sheet

• TST (The Soccer Tournament) kicks off at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary this week with $3 million in prize money - a record for the competition. Soccer Sheet will be providing coverage here and on social media.

  • In Depth: We caught up with former Carolina Ascent star Vicky Bruce, who will take the pitch for Hope Solo’s Solo FC in both the Women’s and Mixed competitions. Learn more about what she’s been up to below.

  • The full match schedule (with streaming links) is here.

• The Zaha Era is over. Both Wilfried Zaha and Charlotte FC announced Sunday morning that the former Premier League star will be leaving the club after his loan ends during the World Cup break.

  • Per Charlotte FC: “Zaha featured 46 times for the Club across MLS league matches and playoffs. The winger scored 13 goals and added 14 assists during his loan spell leaving him 5th all-time in Charlotte FC history with 27 goal contributions.”

  • Zaha also missed out on making Côte d’Ivoire’s World Cup roster. Interestingly, Zaha was the only Charlotte FC player not to wear a national flag on his kit during Charlotte’s last match.

• With Saturday night’s 0-1 victory over #2 Sporting JAX, #3 Carolina Ascent FC are heading to the USL Super League final for the first time in club history.

  • Mackenzie George, who had three goals for Carolina during the regular season, scored off a give and go play with Riley Parker, who was credited with the assist. Read more about the match here.

  • The Ascent will face #1 Lexington SC in Kentucky at 7:00 PM on Saturday, May 30 for all the marbles.

• The North Carolina Courage (4-3-3, 15 pts) defeated Racing Louisville (2-7-1, 7 pts) 1-2 for both their second away win of the year, and their second win against last place Louisville.

  • Evelyn Ijeh and Ashley Sanchez both scored for the second time in as many matches.

  • The Courage improved to 7th place in the NWSL. They have one last match before the World Cup against Angel City FC on Sunday, May 31 at 7:30 PM ET. Then, the Courage are on break until a July 4 home match against Seattle Reign.

• After a challenging start to the season, Charlotte FC (6-6-3, 21 pts) beat the 4th place New England Revolution (8-4-1, 25 pts) 1-0 on Saturday, May 23 in the Crown’s final MLS fixture before the World Cup break.

  • Idan Toklomati scored early off of an assist from Will Cleary, who was making his first start for Charlotte, replacing an injured Nathan Byrne. Cleary also won Man of the Match honors from the club.

  • The Crown would hold on to their lead for the next 74 minutes despite going down a player. David Schnegg picked up Charlotte’s first (double yellow) red card of the season in the 58th minute, but Charlotte was able to hold on.

• The Charlotte Independence (4-2-2, 14 pts) won their third league match in a row, defeating Forward Madison (3-3-1, 10 pts) 3-1 at home at the Matthews Sportsplex. With the win, the Jacks improve to 6th place in League One.

  • Next week, the Jacks play two away matches - first against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC at 7:00 PM ET on Saturday, May 30; and then against FC Naples at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, June 3.

  • Their next Cup fixture is at home on June 24 against Greenville Triumph SC.

• Crown Legacy FC (7-1-4-2, 27 pts) remained atop MLS NEXT Pro’s Eastern Conference with a shootout loss against New England Revolution II (5-2-4-3, 22 pts). The final score was 2-2, (3-4); Ashton Kamdem and Andrew Johnson (assisted by Nathan Richmond) scored for Legacy.

  • Here’s how the Penalty Shootout sorted out:

    • New England (Goalkeeper: Donovan Parisian)

      • ✅ Jacob Shannon

      • ✅ Aarin Prajapati

      • ✅ Javaun Mussenden

      • ✅ Sharod George

      • ❌ Myles Morgan

    • Crown Legacy (Goalkeeper: Isaac Walker)

      • ✅ Erik Peña

      • ✅ Andrew Johnson

      • ✅ Nathan Richmond

      • ❌ Adrian Mendoza

      • ❌ Daniel Longo

  • The Legacy are back home on Friday, June 5 at 7:00 PM, when they’ll host 8th place Philadelphia Union II (5-4-2-1, 18 pts) at the Sportsplex.

• Carolina Core FC (1-6-4-1, 8 pts) fell to 6th place Chattanooga FC (6-4-1-0, 19 pts) with a 1-0 loss on Sunday, May 24. They host 2nd place Red Bull New York II (7-2-2-0, 23 pts) at 6:00 PM on Saturday, May 30 in High Point.

  • Speaking of the Core, the Carolina Core FC academy U15 squad made it to the Round of 16 in the MLS NEXT Cup, but fell to FC Delco 3-1 yesterday.

In Depth: Catching Up With Vicky Bruce

As co-captain for the Carolina Ascent in the team’s inaugural year, Vicky Bruce scored the first goal in USL Super League history and was named to the league’s Team of the Month twice. However, she picked up an injury that kept her on the bench for most of the second half of the season, and decided to step away from professional soccer to focus on her health.

This week, Bruce is back and playing for a total of $2 million at TST (The Soccer Tournament) in Cary, NC. She’ll join Hope Solo’s Solo FC in both the Women’s and Mixed competitions. She’ll take the pitch for the first time in the Women’s competition on Thursday, May 28 at 6:30 PM; all matches will be streamed on TST’s YouTube channel.

• The full match schedule for TST is here.

Audio of our interview with Bruce and a complete transcript are below.

Soccer Sheet’s Interview with Vicky Bruce

The below transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and readability.

Soccer Sheet: Hey, everybody, this is Sam Spencer with Soccer Sheet, and we’re talking today with Vicky Bruce, who will forever be known as the first player to score a goal in the USL Super League, as well as being one of the co-captains last year for the Carolina Ascent. And now, joining Solo FC and former US Women’s National Team goalkeeper Hope Solo at the TST Tournament in Cary this week. Vicky, how are you doing?

Vicky Bruce: Hey Sam, I’m good. Thanks for having me.

SS: Thank you so much for talking with us today. So, first up, how did, how have things been going after taking a break from soccer?

VB: Things have been good. Initially, I had a bit of a stress fracture on my foot, so I was just healing that and spending time with family and friends, and getting back into a good headspace, and I actually proposed to my fiancée, so not some exciting things in the fall, and then I started playing soccer again, because how can you not?

I’m obsessed with it and ever since then, I’ve been doing some part time work, some one on one training, some coaching, and I’ve actually been playing 11v11, every Sunday for a while, and I’ve also been doing 7v7 on 3 different teams, 3 different nights of the week, so staying extra busy, but loving getting to play for fun and not necessarily being a defender anymore. I’m a defender forward just helping out and playing co-ed and making all these new friends in my new home. It’s awesome.

SS: Congratulations on the engagement. Was it a post engagement trip you were on when you got stuck in the Middle East earlier this year?

VB: No, it was not, we went on a post engagement trip to Disney World, and then she ended up proposing to me like a month or so after that, and then it was kind of the holidays, so just hectic, and then in the new year is when I decided to go on a trip to the Middle East to visit my buddy Lindsey Harris, who I played with at Chapel Hill, and she’s actually the goalie on the [US Women] at TST and they’ve won the last two years. She’s one of my best friends and she’s actually how I got connected to get into TST.

SS: So how did how did it come together, you being on Solo FC?

VB: I visited this friend Lindsey. She’s playing in Saudi Arabia professionally, and I figured, when am I ever gonna have a place to stay for free in the Middle East? And she was one of my good friends, so she had a international break coming up in her schedule, and we organized it to where I could go visit, and we could see a couple countries while you’re there, because it’s such a far trip. You wanna explore and do as much as you can. And she’s now been there for a few years, so she knows the ins and outs of what’s good to see, what’s good to visit. The tourist stuff.

So we plan this whole trip and I got there and had a blast and the whole time, as we’re sightseeing, I was picking her brain about how to get included in TST and some things just ended up working out great. She had a friend that she connected me to, and that person knew Hope. So it’s all through friends or friends. And then someone else had actually reached out wanting me to be on their mixed team. So it’s kind of like, you have nothing and you’re hoping all these months, it was my dream to get in the tournament and then all of a sudden I had like multiple potential avenues and it was freaking amazing. I was like, “Oh my god!” … but then of course I got stuck in Dubai.

The war broke out the day I was trying to leave to get back home, so that was not ideal. But when eventually I did get home, several weeks later, I got the call from Hope and she said she’s heard about me and and would love to have me join the team and I was honored to speak to her and then I ended up actually joining both her women’s team and her mixed team. So very excited.

SS: Hope is also calling North Carolina home now.

VB: Yeah. I don’t know where she lives exactly, but I think she’s been here for a while and and hopefully she loves it as much as I do.

SS: So when you were stuck in the Middle East, how did you make do? Were you scared at all? What was going on in your head?

VB: Yeah, it was it was definitely more mentally confusing and frustrating than it was necessarily physically. So out of the three countries I went to — I went to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and spent some time in Dubai — and Dubai of those three places was actually really, really safe.

The UAE has very good missile protections and they take care of their citizens really well and they weren’t necessarily actively exercising Ramadan, which the other countries were. So it was on top of that, during Ramadan, you can’t really eat in public, and you’re supposed to be more covered up. So it was nice that by the time this happened, I was in Dubai, so I was able to go out, grab food, do more normal stuff.

But yeah, it was definitely … disheartening, I would say is the word. Cause every single day I got my hopes up of, “maybe I can get out,” and then I was staying right at the airport with my, my friend. She was trying to get back to Saudi Arabia. She ended up getting back a few days before I did, but luckily we had each other. We didn’t really feel super unsafe in the sense of, you know, we weren’t worried like our building was gonna get bombed, but it was definitely alarming to wake up to sounds in the middle of the night. You know, your alarm going off on your phone saying take cover, seek shelter, and it’s like a piercing scream that kind of makes your heart race for a while, and every day we’d wake up and look at the airport, and we’d see ambulance cars — like 30 or 40 of them — wondering what’s going on.

And we have to rely on the news to get our information and then the local news was telling us different stuff than the US news and social media. So it was so confusing, and you didn’t really know what to believe. Some people are saying, “oh, it’s just a few hours. The airlines are going to open up tomorrow,” this or that. So every day you’re waiting and then you’re just let down again. Then the US, they were showing places getting bombed all the time, and while that did happen, it wasn’t necessarily near where I was. So, ultimately, I really struggled. My buddy was okay because she’d been there for a while and was like, “look, I trust them. They’re safe and don’t worry too much.” And I just didn’t know. I didn’t like the unknown and I didn’t know when I was going to get back to my family and friends, and I had trips planned and all these things to look forward to.

So I was a little bit more scared and the only way I stayed sane was working out just like a ton. I didn’t really want to leave the hotel much, so I just went to the gym upstairs a lot.

SS: I’m glad you made it home in one piece because that definitely sounds like a harrowing experience, but now you get to play soccer again. So what are you looking forward to at TST?

VB: I’m looking forward to everything. I mean, obviously the $1 million prize would be amazing if we could come away with that, but also just to be in that professional environment again. I’ve been playing for fun now for quite a while, and I love it, and I love the friends I’ve made, but you know, it’s gonna be a little bit different when you’re fighting for something super important, as well as with all these people that are other professionals, very good college players. It’s just gonna be such intense high tempo soccer again, and really looking forward to putting on a jersey again that says my name, and little things like that, my little pregame routines, stuff that I haven’t really gotten to do in the last year or so.

And connections and making new friends. I mean soccer just brings everyone together.

SS: Are there any superstitions in those pregame routines, like anything you’re willing to share?

VB: Well, I used to have a ton of superstitions, but the thing is, now that these are 7v7 games, they’re a little bit shorter, and I’m gonna have so many in a day, it’s gonna be more of like, how to just find that perfect balance. My prep is crazy.

I brought my Normatecs [for compression therapy]. I brought my massage gun. I bought a bunch of recovery drinks, protein shakes, anything you could think of. My fiancée actually made me a crumb cake, my aunt’s homemade crumb cake, because that is what she made for me the night before the first USL Super League game, and obviously I had the best night of my life in that game. So we are hoping it’s gonna bring me good luck. So I’m gonna have a piece of that every single night before the next morning as my superstition. Other than that, I’m pretty much just gonna stay hydrated and take care of my body as good as I possibly can.

SS: I know you and your family are still very connected to the Ascent. The Ascent are, of course, in the USL Super League final for the first time. What’s the feeling there? Have you have you gotten to talk to any of your old teammates? Are they excited?

VB: Yeah, they’re definitely very excited, I believe they ended in third, and obviously, that’s still very good, but I think they want more out of it, so they’re really excited to have this second chance to win the tournament, and to show that they really have been dominating.

SS: With TST going to a women’s league and a mixed league, and with the Ascent regularly getting some of some of the highest soccer attendances in the state, what do you think of the state of women’s soccer in the United States and across the world right now?

VB: Oh, it’s incredible. I’m also dabbling, some of my part-time work is commentating, and it’s been so great when I’ve done a few women’s games, a Super League or NWSL to just see the fans, and how much support women’s sports are getting all together, basketball, lacrosse, like any any sport, but especially soccer, they’ve really stepped up. There’s expansion sides all around, and it’s just so nice that we’re finally getting the attention that we deserve and respect.

SS: Anything else fans should know is they look forward to seeing you play at TST?

VB: Just to cheer us on and tell them that they’re free to send me messages or words of encouragement. I’ll do my best to reply because at this point I’m just so nervous and excited. It’ll be good to just know that even if it’s one person cheering me on, it’ll really help me get through.

SS: And for our fellow Davidson alums out there, you’ve got to send those messages, support a fellow Wildcat. Come on!

VB: Oh yeah, come on Wildcats, it’s a great day to be Wildcat all the time and my ten year reunion actually is this summer, right when I get back. It’s the week I get back, so hopefully, some of the Wildcats will get together and and cheer on a fellow Davidsonian.

SS: Oh God, my 20th is next year. Don’t remind me.

VB: I know I was like 10. Oh my God, how old am I?

SS: Vicky, thank you so much for the time today, wishing you the best of luck at TST and hope to see you and Hope bring home some gold and maybe a million dollars.

VB: Thank you so much. I hope so too.

This story was last updated at 10:00 PM ET with post-match responses from Ascent head coach Philip Poole to questions from Soccer Sheet.

The Carolina Ascent are going to their first-ever USL Super League Finals.

Just now, #3 Carolina Ascent FC (15-7-6, 51 pts) upset #2 Sporting Club Jacksonville (16-7-5, 53 pts) 0-1 to secure their spot in the final in Lexington.

“We’ve had ups and downs, we’ve found different ways to win and grinded through a lot of really really tough games, and this was one of them,” Ascent captain Jill Aguilera said in a post-match interview. “One more win to go.”

Ascent head coach Philip Poole had nothing but respect for his vanquished opponent, referencing a controversial call that helped Lexington SC overtake Jacksonville on the final day of the regular season.

“The last 2 weekends we played against Jacksonville and [they are a] great team, well coached, great organization, and we managed to come out on top,” said Poole in response to questions from Soccer Sheet. “I feel for Jacksonville. [With] the penalty that was awarded to Lexington last week, Jacksonville should be the Players’ Shield champions and should have some silverware. So I feel for them and I feel for the organization.”

The Ascent went into the match in front of 3,854 fans at Hodges Stadium knowing the winner would travel to face #1 Lexington SC in the final on Saturday, May 30. Lexington defeated #4 Dallas Trinity FC 2-0 in the first semifinal match on May 23.

Poole is ready for the challenge.

“You know, there’s a narrative of Worst to First,” said Poole. “It’s a completely different team. I think Lexington built a really great team this year, so it’s not the same team as last year, we all know that. Good club, well-coached, great coach, great players. It’s going to be another tough test.”

As the only squad to make the Super League playoffs in both years, and as last year’s Players’ Shield winner (for the best record in the league), the Ascent have solidified their standing as the cornerstone of the Super League, despite losing to Fort Lauderdale United FC at home in last year’s semifinals.

But first, the Ascent had to conquer Jacksonville.

Last week, Carolina dashed Sporting JAX’s regular season championship hopes at American Legion Memorial Stadium. Despite Jacksonville’s Abby Boyan scoring early, the Ascent prevailed with a 3-1 win that took them into the playoffs on an 11-match unbeaten streak (10 wins, 1 draw), ensuring they would face #2 Jacksonville in the playoff semifinal.

Sporting JAX 0, Carolina Ascent 1

Despite missing their top scorer - the injured Rylee Baisden - the Ascent prevailed in a hard-fought match against the team that led the league for most of the season.

The attack started in the second minute with a Mia Corbin corner kick and a dangerous attack in the box that forced an save from Jacksonville goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks.

The Ascent wouldn’t have to wait long for another chance, and broke through with some great teamwork to overwhelm Jacksonville’s defense.

Mackenzie George, who had three goals for Carolina during the regular season, made a run towards the box on the right side, with lots of space and Jacksonville center back Georgie Brown defending. George made a give-and-go pass to Riley Parker, who passed it back quickly, and took her shot from 6 yards out. The ball made it through traffic to find the net, and Carolina went ahead early just as Jacksonville had the week before.

“I had [Riley Parker] on the side, so I was like, ‘Go!’ And she was going, and she’s fast as heck, man,” said George during a halftime interview. “So I was like, ‘Oh, it’s us against the world.’ And then she did exactly what we planned, and the rest was a goal.”

Jacksonville responded with pressure. Minutes later, 19-year-old Jacksonville star Ashlyn Puerta forced the first save of the match from Carolina goalkeeper Sydney Martinez. Over the course of the half, Jacksonville would take 8 shots (4 on target) to 4 total shots (1 on target) for Carolina.

Between the 24th and 26th minute, Carolina kept up the pressure with a pair of corner kicks from Corbin, forcing another save from Jacksonville’s Parks.

In the 45th minute, Corbin picked up the first yellow card of the game when she committed a professional foul at midfield to keep Puerta from advancing in the final seconds of the half.

George made it clear at the half how much the game meant to her side.

“We want it,” said George. “We want it a lot, we have a lot of grit, and we didn't get the chance to fight for the Shield. So we want this bad and we want it more than anyone.”

Their opponents, however, still wanted it as well.

In the second half, Jacksonville came out hot, with three shots in the first three minutes.

In the 48th minute, forward Baylee DeSmit had a point-blank opportunity. DeSmit took a late tackle but was able to get off the shot, sending the ball over the goal.

After 62 minutes, Poole made his first substitutes, with Audrey Coleman replacing Riley Parker and Taylor Porter replacing Mia Corbin, shifting Carolina into a more defensive stance.

“It’s a hot day. It’s a stuffy, humid climate,” Poole told Soccer Sheet when asked about the substitutes. “Corbin on a yellow card, and I trust her, but we don’t want to let the referee dictate the game. We want to make sure that we look after that yellow card.”

The tempo of the match went back and forth during the second half, with Jacksonville creating multiple opportunities between the 70th and 80th minutes. In one sequence, Jacksonville’s Grace Phillpotts found her captain, Sophie Jones, with a lot of room on the left side, creating a dangerous situation and forcing the Ascent’s Jenna Butler to concede a corner.

In the 88th minute, Coleman launched a wide open shot into Parks’ goal in an attempt to double Carolina’s lead and add some insurance, but Parks

As the game approached stoppage time, Martinez was forced to punch another shot out of the box, but despite 17 shots with 7 on target - including 13 shots inside the box - Jacksonville were unable to break through.

George’s goal was all the Ascent needed.

“It was great to see a really quick attacking transition, and a great cross and a great goal for Mackenzie,” said Poole. “But I thought, you know, we hit the bar twice in the first half; [goalkeeper Kaitlyn] Parks for Jacksonville made a great save from a set piece, and we went back and forth. We had a lot of great chances.”

The Ascent will travel to Kentucky to face Lexington SC in the final at 7:00 PM on Saturday May 30. The game will be streamed live on Peacock.

Your Soccer Sheet Cheat Sheet

• With Saturday night’s 3-1 victory over Sporting JAX, Carolina Ascent FC end the regular season undefeated in 11 matches (winning 10). #3 Carolina will head to #2 Jacksonville on Sunday, May 24 at 5:00 PM for the USL Super League Playoff Semifinal.

  • More on what this means for the Ascent in our In Depth feature below.

• The North Carolina Courage (3-3-3, 12 pts) found goals from four different players to defeat the Chicago Stars (2-8-0, 6 pts) 4-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 10,023 at WakeMed Soccer Park. Evelyn Ijeh and Ashley Sanchez both scored, assisting one another’s goals.

  • The Courage are now above the playoff line in 8th place with a game in hand, and take on 15th place Racing Louisville FC (2-6-1, 7 pts) in Kentucky on Saturday, May 23.

• Charlotte FC (5-6-3, 18 pts) defeat Toronto FC (3-5-5, 14 pts) 3-1 for their first MLS home win since Easter. Charlotte, now 7th place in the East, will host the 3rd place New England Revolution (8-4-1, 25 pts) on Saturday, May 23 for the Crown’s final MLS fixture before the World Cup break.

  • Charlotte FC center back Morrison Agyemang was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for his contributions; with his first MLS goal, Charlotte’s David Schnegg made the Team of the Matchday bench.

• The Charlotte Independence made moves in the USL Cup, upsetting USL Championship side Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 1-1, (4-2) in a penalty shootout on Friday, May 15 at Memorial Stadium. The Independence converted all of their penalty kicks, and goalkeeper Matt Levy had two huge saves.

  • The Independence are now in 2nd place in Group 6 with 5 points, 1 point behind Charleston Battery. Their next Cup fixture is at home on June 24 against Greenville Triumph SC.

• Carolina Core FC (1-5-4-1, 8 pts) got their first regulation win of the season at home, defeating Chicago Fire II 2-1. The Foxes travel to Tennessee to take on 7th place Chattanooga FC (5-4-1-0, 16 pts) on Sunday, May 24

• Due to scheduling conflicts, Crown Legacy FC (7-1-3-2, 26 pts) ended up playing last place Inter Miami CF II (0-7-3-1, 4 pts) on Monday, May 18 in Florida. Charlotte FC rookie Rodolfo Aloko had a first half brace less than 48 hours after playing against 25 minutes against Toronto FC in Charlotte.

In Depth: Ascent’s Win against Sporting JAX Means Déjà Vu all over Again

Carolina Ascent FC (15-7-6, 51 pts) won their final match of the regular season 3-1 on Saturday night, and in the process denied Sporting Club Jacksonville (16-7-5, 53 pts) the USL Super League Players’ Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular season record.

Sporting JAX came into the final weekend of Super League play atop the table, but an insurgent Lexington SC (14-3-11, 53 pts) defeated Tampa Bay Sun 1-0 and tied Jacksonville on points right before the Ascent and Jacksonville took the pitch at American Legion Memorial Stadium.

A win or draw would have been enough to earn Jacksonville the title, and the visitors got off to an early 0-1 lead, but the Ascent came to play despite being assured a 3rd place finish thanks to Lexington’s win. Carolina scored three goals — including a Jill Aguilera Olimpico — and stunned a team that was expecting to go home with their first trophy.

When asked about the Olimpico — an unassisted goal made from corner kick — Aguilera told reporters that a goal is a goal.

“We work a lot on set pieces, and we’re very good at them. Other teams know they have to account for our dangerous players in the box, and if we can create confusion or distract defenders, we’ll take advantage of that. I didn’t necessarily mean to score directly from it, but a goal’s a goal and I’ll take it.”

Other goal scorers for the Ascent included Tyler Lussi with her fourth goal of the season and Shea Groom with her first for the Ascent.

After tying on points, Lexington would be crowned regular season champions thanks to their superior goal difference, 26 to Jacksonville’s 22. In the playoff semifinals, Lexington will host 4th place Dallas Trinity, while #2 Jacksonville will host #3 Carolina.

“We gave them a lot of chances and they capitalized on them,” said Jacksonville head coach Stacey Balaam. “For the next one, we need to tighten up in the back and limit their ability to get through the line. I think that’s how we can make the next game different.”

The “next one” will be on Sunday, May 24 at 5:00 PM in Jacksonville. Should the Ascent win their second match against Sporting JAX in 8 days, they’ll either travel to Lexington or host Dallas the next weekend for the playoff final.

Soccer Sheet asked Groom about turning around and facing Jacksonville again this weekend.

“I think we match up well with them,” said Groom. “Honestly, I still don’t think we’ve played our best soccer yet, which is exciting because there’s still room to improve. There were moments tonight where we could’ve been cleaner, and we’ll look to sharpen those up before the next match.”

Saturday night was likely Carolina Ascent FC’s final home match this season, so the club’s matchday staff put on a show for the 6,566 fans in attendance. Mascots from across the Carolinas came to celebrate the Ascent’s newest addition — Sassy the Sasquatch — as multiple “Carolina Reapers” joined her at halftime. The Ascent’s T-Shirt cannon launched volleys into the stands, and fireworks ended the night.

Still, none of the spectacle was as exciting as the match on the field. This was one of the most exciting Ascent matches to date, as Carolina came back from an early deficit to play a showcase match for their talent.

“I’m really proud of the organization tonight because, even though I don’t get involved much with what goes on before the game or at halftime, I could feel the energy in the stadium,” said Carolina Ascent head coach Philip Poole. “There was excitement, noise, and a really fun atmosphere. It was a strong finish to the season, and we ended with more points than we had last year when we won it.”

Over the course of the season, Ascent captain Jill Aguilera scored 4 goals, had 3 assists, and was second overall in the league in chances created with 50. Soccer Sheet asked Aguilera what it meant to lead the team over the course of the campaign.

“I may be wearing the [captain’s] armband, but everyone out there is a leader,” said Aguilera. “I guess my job is to be the main person to hold the ref accountable … I truly don’t think my job and role as a leader has changed much throughout this season.”

Soccer Sheet’s Post-Match Conversation with Carolina Ascent Head Coach Philip Poole:

Soccer Sheet’s Post-Match Conversation with Carolina Ascent Captain Jill Aguilera and Forward Shea Groom:

We’ll have more on Charlotte FC’s 2-2 draw against FC Cincinnati in our next newsletter, but here’s the good news for the Crown: after four straight losses against MLS opponents, Charlotte FC (4-5-3, 15 pts) played one of the best halves we’ve seen from them all year on Saturday to salvage a draw after going down 0-2 at halftime.

However, the Crown will be without their captain when they host New York City FC on Wednesday, May 13. Ashley Westwood picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Cincinnati, and will serve a one game suspension.

Meanwhile, the Charlotte Independence (3-2-2, 11 pts) and the Carolina Ascent (14-7-6, 48 pts) both scored 3 away goals to bring home big wins on Saturday night.

On Friday, the NC Courage (2-3-3, 9 pts) fell to the Orlando Pride 1-0 in Florida thanks to a late goal from Barbra Banda, who currently leads the Golden Boot race with 8 goals.

Finally, both of North Carolina’s MLS NEXT Pro sides lost this week. Crown Legacy FC (6-1-3-2, 23 pts) suffered their first regulation loss of the season in Chicago, falling 3-2, while Carolina Core FC (0-5-4-1, 5 pts) fell 3-0 in Huntsville on Thursday, May 7, and are yet to find their first regulation win.

The Enzo Show Continues in Texas

In USL League One, the Jacks prevailed 1-3 against Corpus Christi FC (0-4-3, 3 pts), a team playing their first professional season after 8 years in USL League Two. Enzo Martinez, the Independence’s all-time leader in both goals and assists, continued to make a difference after rejoining the club this year. With his 15th minute goal, he now has 5 goals across all competitions this season.

Though Corpus Christi were able to equalize later in the first half thanks to Patrick Langlois’ tap-in goal off of an assist from former Charlotte player Christian Chaney, the Jacks went into the locker room up 1-2 after Independence academy product Jefferson Amaya exploited a bad clearance from the Sharks and found the net from 50 yards out.

“When I saw the ball coming to me, there was only one thing in my mind, shooting the ball as I knew the keeper was out,” said Amaya. “Thanks to God it went in. It feels awesome to score, but most importantly to close out a huge week with the team.”

Courtesy USL League One

Another player who recently rejoined the Jacks - Luis Alvarez - converted a penalty in the second half for the final Charlotte goal. With the win, the Independence improve to 5th place in USL League One.

Ascent Extend Unbeaten Streak to 10

In Fort Lauderdale, the Ascent won 0-3 against the team that ended their playoff run last year, extending their unbeaten streak to 10 matches. Despite Carolina’s playoff loss at home in last year’s semifinals, the Ascent are still pushing to host at least one postseason match in 2026; however, they’ll probably need to win their final match on May 16 at home against Sporting JAX, and they’ll need Lexington SC to drop points in their final two matches.

Soccer Sheet spoke with Ascent head coach Philip Poole about the importance of a home playoff match after the team clinched a playoff berth last month.

“I don’t want to look too far down the line, but I look at potential home playoff games as a great reward for Dan [DiMicco] and the support and the resources he gives this team; for him and Jim [McPhilliamy] and the ownership group,” said Poole. “But also for our fans, right? You’d love to get a home game at American Legion Memorial Stadium, and you’d love to be in front of those fans … last year is gone, but you’d like to be able to put that right and fill that stadium up in a playoff game, and I think we would.”

While the Ascent struggled to break through in the first half thanks to bad luck as much as anything else, the team was on fire in the second half, starting with a corner from Mia Corbin in the 63rd minute that found the head of Mackenzie George at point blank range for the forward’s first goal since October.

“[Mackenzie] deserves it. There’s no easy way to say it. She’s a tireless worker and a great teammate,” said Poole. “If you step back and look at her body of work over the course of the season, I can’t believe she hasn’t gotten more. She deserves that goal.”

Not to be outdone, Corbin added a goal to her assist in the 77th minute in another set piece situation. After Fort Lauderdale sent her first attempt out of bounds, Captain Jill Aguilera’s second corner from the right side of the goal went into the area, bounced out to the top of the goal box, and found Corbin on the run. Corbin launched a rocket that bounced off the goalkeeper and into the net.

“Staying consistent with our press and our principles as a team allowed us to have the freedom to exploit them and just have some fun tonight,” said Corbin.

Five minutes later, Tyler Lussi was good for another insurance goal.

“I’m really proud of the fight and mentality we showed tonight,” said Lussi. “It was important for us to keep our foot on the gas and stay focused because we always want to get a result. For us, it’s about staying locked in and mentally prepared for every game, taking things one match at a time, and continuing to show resilience as a team.”

Editor’s Note: All of us at Soccer Sheet are sending our best to Patrick Agyemang as he recovers from an lower leg injury he picked up in Derby County’s win over Stoke City today.

After the match, Derby County manager manager John Eustace said there wasn’t an update on Agyemang’s condition after the U.S. striker left the pitch in a stretcher.

"He's gone off for a scan, so we'll wait and see the results of that ... We don’t want to lose any players, and we certainly don’t want to see any players coming off in a stretcher. Hopefully it's not as bad as what it might be, but until we get the scan results, we'll have to wait and see."

Agyemang has 6 goals in 14 appearances for the USMNT since receiving his first call up in January of last year.

Opinion: What I Didn’t Find in Atlanta

On a recent trip to Atlanta to cover the United States Men’s National Team for Soccer Sheet, I witnessed a sub-par performance for the Stars and Stripes.

What I didn’t see, however, was evidence of a looming disaster at the World Cup.

Let’s get the important stuff out of the way: the USMNT are not dominant in international competitions like the USWNT are; the Men still have trouble with top-tier European opponents; and a goal differential of -5 over two friendlies this close to the World Cup is cause for concern.

Additionally, head coach Mauricio Pochettino isn’t the best at explaining why he makes certain decisions — beyond the usual coyness you’d expect from a manager — and some of his comments during post-match press availabilities in Atlanta were not what fans wanted to hear.

However, after reading numerous articles this week, I have little choice but to conclude that some of the commentary related to the USMNT exaggerates the threat of the Stars and Stripes getting grouped at the World Cup.

Let’s dive in to some of the questions that have come up in the wake of the defeats in Atlanta.

“Can [the] USMNT Trust Pulisic?” Yes.

Christian Pulisic is a divisive figure in U.S. Soccer, and never more so than last year, when he skipped the Gold Cup after playing a 50-match season with A.C. Milan. Former USMNT star Landon Donovan was vocally critical of the decision, and at one point it seemed like Donovan was getting more press than the squad on the pitch.

In the wake of the losses to Belgium (2-5) and Portugal (0-2) — with Weston McKinnie and Patrick Agyemang scoring the only goals for the U.S. — the Captain America criticism has ramped up again with one podcast asking, “Can [the] USMNT Trust Pulisic?”

In this reporter’s opinion, the answer is yes.

The case against Pulisic is that he hasn’t scored for the national team in over a year (Nov. 19, 2024 vs. Jamaica), he hasn’t scored in Serie A in the last 15 matches, and he skipped the Gold Cup to focus on his health when he should have cared about the badge.

On the other hand, the Pulisic I saw play in Atlanta is someone who — at his best — is still the most talented player in national team history. Seeing him play on Tuesday night, I kept thinking back to that line Carrie-Ann Moss tells Keanu Reeves in The Matrix: “You move like they do.”

I’m by no means a Captain America Stan, but it’s undeniable that Pulisic moves, thinks, passes, and plays like one of the greats.

Unlike Donovan, I can’t fault someone for thinking about their physical and/or mental health after a 50-match season. He played 3,650 total minutes across all of AC Milan’s competitions in 24-25, and that doesn’t include 508 additional minutes for the USMNT. Donovan never played anywhere near as many minutes during his seasons in Europe, and I don’t think I’m making waves by saying the MLS of Donovan’s era doesn’t hold a candle to Serie A.

While finishing has been a problem for Pulisic — and his perturbation is visible every time he makes a great play that doesn’t result in a goal — he’s still the guy you want leading your team, even if Pochettino had him playing out of his natural position against Portugal. The Stars and Stripes just have to hope the finishing is a result of bad luck or a statistical drought.

“Will the USA get out their World Cup group?” Likely.

In World Cup Group D, the 14th-ranked United States face 25th-ranked Turkey, 26th-ranked Australia, and 39th-ranked Paraguay, with Turkey earning their place last week as the UEFA second round Path C winner over Kosovo.

The last time Turkey made the cut, in 2002, they finished third.

Group D is one of the toughest groups in the tournament; it has the second highest average FIFA ranking at 26.25. It’s the only group where the top and bottom squads are separated by 30 places or fewer, and it’s also the only group in which every squad is ranked 40th or better.

Every team has a shot. The USMNT won their most recent friendlies against Paraguay (2-1 on Nov. 15) and Australia (2-1 on Oct. 14), while dropping a June match to Turkey 1-2 despite a first minute strike from Jack McGlynn.

Even before the matches start, the format of this World Cup means the odds are heavily in the USMNT’s favor to advance. In addition to all of the first and second place teams in each group, eight of the 12 third place teams will advance. After total points the tiebreakers are goal difference; goals scored; team conduct score; and latest FIFA ranking, a tiebreaker that will strongly favor the U.S. if it comes to that.

Don’t fret: it probably won’t come to third place tiebreakers, either. If this were an old school World Cup with only two teams making it out of the group, the USMNT would still be favored. They play Paraguay and Australia first, and may advance to the knockout stage before even taking the pitch against Turkey. They’re the best team out of the four despite the friendly loss to Turkey (without Pulisic in the lineup, by the way).

So despite some pundits asking if the USA will fail to get out their World Cup group, the math makes it unlikely. for the US to get grouped, it would require a failure of unimaginable proportions.

Why is the USMNT not playing the best XI they have? Valid Question.

USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino has received criticism from on many fronts since taking the job in September of 2024, including his answers in interviews, roster choices, and more. The criticism comes with the job, and it’s almost always going to be more intense than what is deserved.

However, one recent point of criticism stands out to me: despite the rapidly-approaching World Cup, Poch still seemed to be experimenting with the roster last week instead of giving his best players the chance to play together, or playing them in the position he expects them to play during the World Cup.

Pulisic playing as a false 9 and coming off at halftime during the match against Portugal immediately comes to mind, as does Matt Turner’s rough shift in goal against Belgium when it’s clear the #1 shirt is going to NYCFC standout Matt Freese. The United States played a back four against Belgium after finding success last year playing a back three, then came back to a back three for Portugal.

Pochettino was still optimistic after the losses.

“I am more positive now than before, because seeing the team compete, we are not far away,” he told reporters after the Portugal match.

Another interesting soundbite: “The results are negative, but they’re not official games.”

Pochettino also said that Portugal and Belgium had many players in the top 100 in the world, while he believed the US had none.

It’s true that the U.S. doesn’t have a Vitinha in the midfield or a Courtois in goal, but a good team is greater than the sum of its parts. Pulisic at his best is a top 100 player, Freese continues to impress in goal, and many others demonstrated their quality last week despite the results.

It remains a valid question, though, why Pochettino didn’t send out a World Cup squad to face two talented European opponents. He’s been on the job for 18 months, he should know what he has to work with, and one would think the focus this late in the preparations would be on putting the pieces together, not measuring or evaluating them.

Instead, he told reporters that there are 35-40 players still in contention for roster slots.

One underreported quote from Pochettino’s post-match press conference did catch our attention: he told reporters that he didn’t speak to his squad after the match, eschewing his last opportunity to speak to all of his players together before the World Cup roster is announced.

Soccer Sheet confirmed after the press conference that we heard Pochettinio correctly. When we reported the quote, one of the first replies we got on social media reflected where some in the U.S. fan base seem to be on Pochettino at this point:

“Hire a Spurs manager. Get Spurs results.”

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In 2023, Charlotte FC’s first-ever postseason run ran into a Red Bull brick wall, falling 5-2 in a play-in match that most fans of the Crown would rather forget.

What a difference two seasons makes.

Charlotte’s 6-1 win on Saturday, March 21 over RB New York seemed like revenge that was a long time coming, a statement victory that demonstrated how high the ceiling for Charlotte FC could be this season (Charlotte FC was off this week for the FIFA international break).

“We got a good show from the players,” Charlotte FC head coach Dean Smith told Soccer Sheet after the match, citing the “attitude and the application of the players.”

After the first two goals, it seemed like the team Charlotte FC fans are accustomed to seeing during the Dean Smith era was back at the Bank. Then Idan Toklomati won a free kick and drew a red card foul for denial of a goal scoring opportunity, New York went down a player, and Pep Biel knocked the proverbial roof off the house with a set piece goal.

“Very good day at the office,” said Smith. “Good performance, got the goals that we deserved.”

From there, it was all downhill for the visiting team.

The Lineup

There were two changes to the starting lineup from last week. Despite Brandt Bronico earning his 150th appearance for the Crown with his start against Inter Miami, Smith opted for Djibril Diani in the midfield instead. Charlotte’s coaching staff also continued to make the left wing a coin flip, opting for Kerwin Vargas over the last week’s starter, Liel Abada.

The Strategy

New York’s defense focused on shutting down Wilfried Zaha with a counter-press against Charlotte’s left side. Former Charlotte FC player Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, now a right back for New York, effectively denied Zaha opportunities in the first half.

However, as Smith noted after the match, it created a lot of space for Charlotte on the right wing that Kerwin Vargas, Toklomati, and others were eager to exploit.

“We created some good chances, certainly on the breakaway, just with how they defend,” said Smith. “We thought that if we got a couple of passes and switched play early, we could get chances, and we created chances.”

One interesting note about New York’s formation was how far forward goalkeeper Ethan Horvath chose to play. Charlotte almost took advantage of Horvath’s positioning a couple of times, with him having to use his head and feet quite a bit to play balls outside the box. Most of the Crown’s goals, however, came from normal range.

The Match

In the 4th minute, the Energy Drinks had the first real chance of the match as a ball from New York winger Cade Cowell traversed the goal box in front of Kahlina and reached Julian Hall to the right of the goal, but Hall put the ball in the wrong side of the net.

Early on, Charlotte’s touches were heavy, and crosses imprecise. Wilfried Zaha seemed to struggle against former teammate Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, who had Zaha’s number for the first third of the match.

That all changed in the 12th minute, when Kerwin Vargas was able to bring down a long ball, to the right of the box, 10 yards north of the goal line. New York’s Matthew Dos Santos put a high kick into Vargas’ chest, not quite earning the yellow, but giving Pep Biel a set piece opportunity.

When he finally launched the kick in the 14th minute, Biel’s kick found Toklomati’s head in traffic, and the close-range strike easily went past Horvath for Toklomati’s second goal of the season, and Biel’s fourth goal contribution.

Charlotte continued to threaten, and when necessary, Kahlina continued to demonstrate his elite goalkeeping chops. On at least two occasions throughout the match, the woodwork pitched in for Charlotte as well, denying New York a less embarrassing result.

In the closing minutes of the half, New York played like they had a Celsius — the official energy drink of MLS — but weren’t quite able to break through. In the 43rd minute, Charlotte fans gasped as some pinball in the goal box almost sent the equalizer in the net, and then yet another strike on the right corner of the woodwork shook the goal.

In extra time, Zaha had the opportunity to score off of a great cross from Toklomati, but Horvath effectively blocked Zaha’s angle, resulting in a corner for Charlotte, but without enough time for the Crown to do something with it.

While the first half was evenly matched, the second half was a blowout — and it took less than a minute for Charlotte to find the back of the net. Starting from the back with excellent ball movement, the Crown confidently got the ball to Biel at midfield, who found Diani on a run down the left side. Diani crossed the ball into the area, and New York defender Omar Valencia misplayed it just seconds after coming on for Dos Santos. Vargas took up the ball in the goal box, ran past Valencia and Horvath, and slotted it in goal for Charlotte’s second.

Things got worse for New York before they got worse.

Shortly thereafter, Zaha created a strong chance for Toklomati, who was fouled by New York’s Gustav Berggren at the top of the penalty box. Berggren saw red for denial of a goal scoring opportunity, and Biel added insult to penalty as his left foot sent the free kick into the left side of the net, through well-timed movements in Charlotte’s wall and past Horvath.

Up three goals and a man, Charlotte continued to play what was perhaps the best match in club history. In the 68th minute, after some substitutions for Charlotte, Biel again created the play, finding Zaha at the top left corner of the penalty box. Zaha finally got the best of Marshall-Rutty, cutting to his right, shooting from his right foot, and finding the bottom right corner to get the fourth ball of the night past Horvath.

The goal was Zaha’s first of the season, and his third goal contribution of the campaign. By that point, Biel had secured his MLS Team of the Matchday performance with three goal contributions; Brandt Bronico would replace him in the 85th minute.

Charlotte still had one more set piece goal in their tank, and both the goal and assist would come from players who entered from the bench just two minutes earlier. In the 77th minute, Westwood took a free kick after Zaha was fouled by Ronald Donkor on the left side at the top of the final third. Westwood sent the ball forward to an unguarded David Schnegg, making only his second appearance of the year after coming on for Harry Toffolo, and Schnegg sent the ball to Archie Goodwin — in for Toklomati — who sent a header in the back of the net for his first Charlotte FC goal.

“As a nine, all you want to do is score goals,” Goodwin told reporters after the match. “So to get the first one at home couldn’t have been better.”

Don’t quote us on this, but three set piece goals for the Crown has to be a record.

“Excellent set pieces, excellent quality [Pep Biel's] got,” said Smith. “As well as the set pieces, just a really good performance from him.”

New York eventually got one back as Julian Hall scored off a corner, but even in injury time, Charlotte would not be denied. Liel Abada - in for Vargas - would assist Goodwin on his second strike three minutes into stoppage for his first MLS brace.

“The qualities are there for you to see with the goals and the finishes that [Archie] had today,” said Smith. “Works extremely hard in training. Been waiting for the chance and he got his chance today and took it.”

Goodwin is looking forward to more chances to show his quality, including the U.S. Open Cup and midweek games later in the season.

“I’m working hard in training, just staying ready for when my opportunities come,” said Goodwin. “And I think with the midweek games, there’ll be a bit of rotation in the squad. So I’m just staying ready and, yeah, looking forward to it.”

March 14 is Pi Day, so it’s fitting a soccer match ended with two round numbers, O-O, as the final score at Bank of America Stadium.

In front of a sellout crowd of 34,780, Charlotte FC (1-1-2, 5 Points) battled defending champions Inter Miami CF (2-1-1, 7 Points) to a physical draw Saturday night in a match defined by goalkeeping rather than goals, including the most memorable play of the night, belonging to Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.

In the 34th minute, some good ball movement for Miami caused danger in the area. Sergio Reguilón, in his MLS debut, launched a cross into the goal box to defender Ian Fray, who headed the ball at point blank range. Kahlina saved the header in the air with his left hand, the ball bounced on the ground as Kahlina also fell to the pitch, and as it trickled dangerously towards the goal line the 2024 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year kept the ball out with his right hand, mid flight.

The dramatic sequence sparked chants of his name throughout the lower bowl. He would go on to have three saves on the night.

Soccer Sheet asked Kahlina about the juggling save after the match, and he compared the play to something he would face from Jordi Alba, the Inter Miami player who retired after last season.

“Yeah, it was a really difficult save, I think. Really, really good save. It was completely reaction from me that even I didn’t expect,” Kahlina said. “[Reguilón makes] a really good cross and I was moving all in that time even to the second post, middle goal, second post, and [Fray shoots] in front of me and it was like, ‘fast hands,’ I saved it. What is really important is [it was for the team], and yeah, it was a nice save for me.”

The Lineups

The lack of scoring could be chalked up to the conspicuous absence of the most famous footballer in the world. Many fans arrived expecting to see Lionel Messi chase a career milestone of 900 goals, but Soccer Sheet learned early Saturday that Lionel Messi had not travelled with Inter Miami on Friday, with his status up in the air until shortly before lineups were announced.

Instead, Miami elected to keep the superlative scorer in Florida as the club manages a crowded schedule that includes a CONCACAF Champions Cup coming up later this week.

Messi wasn’t the only notable absence. Midfielder Rodrigo De Paul — who won the 2022 World Cup with Argentina and Messi — also stayed home, leaving Miami to rely on a rotated lineup that still featured veteran striker Luis Suárez wearing the captain’s armband, as well as academy products making their debut for the Herons.

On Charlotte’s side, USMNT star Luca de la Torre was out after observing concussion protocol earlier in the week, and center back Henry Kessler — who is yet to make his debut with Charlotte — continues to recover from a lower body injury.

Despite an unfortunate miscommunication with Kahlina that led to an own goal in last week’s match against Austin FC, Morrison Agyemang still got the start at center back over Andrew Privett.

Kahlina told reporters after the match about how he was adjusting to the new faces on the back line, and helping Morrison integrate into the squad.

“What happened in the previous game, [I told him], ‘don’t play something like I think you are there.’ If something goes to the goal, we can be really punished,” said Kahlina. “But overall, he trained really well. And I think maybe in the start he lost a few balls, but overall, in the end, he played very well.”

After not starting in the first two matches, Brandt Bronico got his second consecutive start at home. It would be Bronico’s 150th appearance for the club.

Soccer Sheet asked him how he was working to stay in the lineup with more competition in the midfield this year.

“[It’s] the same work I’ve always been doing: just giving my best, pushing guys,” said Bronico. “Like I said, competition is good, it’s healthy in a team, and ultimately it breeds excellence. So I think we have a really good midfield group that pushes each other every single day, and we’ll continue to do that, making each other better.”

The Match

The match started with an early scare.

Charlotte defender Nathan Byrne and Miami forward Mateo Silvetti collided in the 4th minute, forcing both players into concussion protocol before they returned to the field.

The physical tone continued throughout the half, with fouls and yellow cards piling up. Toklomati was on the receiving end of much of Inter Miami’s physicality, even getting jumped on by Miami’s back line.

One of Charlotte’s best chances to score came from a Liel Abada breakaway in the 22nd minute. Ashley Westwood volleyed the ball to Toklomati, who quickly headed it to Abada on the run. With an open shot, Abada sent it wide, to the right of the goal, immediately grabbing his head in frustration.

As tempers continued to flare, designated player Wilfried Zaha saw his fourth yellow card in as many matches at the 32 minute mark, yet again for dissent. His next yellow will result in an automatic one match suspension.

Charlotte’s Westwood and Harry Toffolo also saw yellow cards, the latter for a bad foul in the 77th minute.

Soccer Sheet asked Charlotte FC head coach Dean Smith if he had talked to Zaha about the infractions, and he pointed to what he perceives as a disparity between how the former Premier League star is treated relative to others players in MLS.

“I'm probably the wrong person you should be asking about it, to be honest,” said Smith. “The officials should maybe be in front of you explaining why some of them are cautions. Then you see similar situations happen with other players and not similar results.”

Smith also defended how Zaha shows up in tense moments.

“Listen, Wilf knows the league, he knows the officials. He’s been here 14 months now, so he’s understanding of that,” said Smith. “Yeah, we want to see emotion on the pitch, but we also want to see consistency from officials with how it's managed.”

Zaha came closest for The Crown in the 63rd minute, firing a shot from the center of the box that forced a sharp save from Miami goalkeeper Rocco Ríos Novo.

Then, Kahlina was seriously challenged for the final time, saving a Germán Berterame header from the center of the box in the 79th minute.

Charlotte nearly earned a opportunity to steal the match in the 89th minute when Kerwin Vargas went down in the penalty area after a challenge. Officials waved play on, awarding a corner instead in a decision that frustrated Smith.

“Kerwin's come on straight away and had a big chance. He should have had a penalty at the end, there's no doubt in my mind,” said Smith, “There's a tangle of legs. The one thing it can't be is a corner. It's either a goal kick or a penalty because the lad hasn't touched the ball at all. And VAR, in my opinion, has made a mistake there by not sending the referee to the monitor. So he comes on and makes an impact straight away. He probably should have hit the target with his chance, but creates some opportunities.”

Smith also tried to change the game with fresh legs off the bench from Archie Goodwin, Tyger Smalls, and Djibril Diani,

The crowd at Bank of America Stadium was the loudest with cheers when Miami head coach Javier Mascherano was shown a red card in stoppage time after protesting a foul call and was sent off.

Shortly after, the match ended in a draw. Kahlina was the clear choice for Man of the Match.

While Smith later described Charlotte’s overall performance as “average,” the result still carries weight. The Crown held the defending MLS Cup champions scoreless, and extended their unbeaten run at home this season.

Soccer Sheet asked Smith if he thought any performances stood out.

“I thought Ashley Westwood was excellent. I thought Pep Biel worked his socks off today,” said Smith. “And [Kahlina] made one outstanding save. Other than that, as I say, it was a bit of a stalemate of a game.”

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Personal Note: Seth Avett (of the Avett Brothers) band was coronated at the match, and it was a thrill to see one of NC’s greatest current musicians celebrated. It doesn’t hurt that he he’s married to Dexter star Jennifer Carpenter, who joined him for the festivities.

In Brief …

Here’s the breakdown:

• Carolina Ascent FC won at home 1-0 against the reigning Super League champion Tampa Bay Sun thanks to a goal from new addition Tyler Lussi, who most recently played for the NC Courage of the NWSL.

• The Charlotte Independence drew Westchester SC 1-1 in their first match of the year, with 17-year-old Viggo Ortiz tying the game in the 97th minute in his first-ever appearance for the Jacks. The Independence are home (at Matthews Sportsplex, not Memorial Stadium) this week for the first round of the U.S. Open Cup on Thursday.

• Crown Legacy FC, Charlotte FC’s reserve team, leads the MLS NEXT Pro standings with an undefeated record, three straight wins, and Legacy’s Rodolfo Aloko leads the league in goals with 5.

Yara Al Bayyari, Gabriel Seth Koch, and Sam Spencer contributed to this report.

VAR giveth, and VAR taketh away.

Indeed, Charlotte FC had reasons to both celebrate and lament Major League Soccer’s video review — commonly known as VAR — during Saturday night’s 3-1 win over Austin FC.

While an official review of a yellow card ended up helping Charlotte — Austin’s Guilherme Biro was sent off instead after the referee checked the monitor — it also denied a goal to Pep Biel when the official saw the arm of Charlotte’s Brandt Bronico brush the ball on its way to the back of the net.

Biel was undeterred, however, and found the net two more times, earning him Man of the Match honors and a place on the MLS Team of the Matchday.

After the match, Soccer Sheet’s Jorge Torres asked Biel about the team’s progression so far this season, with Biel telling us he already has a connection with Westwood, and wants the play in the midfield to evolve to the point where it is fácil.

“The truth is that after every game you feel more rhythm, better, and happier with it,” Biel responded in Spanish.

Now, the Crown’s attention turns to Inter Miami CF and Leo Messi.

Fun Fact: Miami has never scored at Bank of America Stadium with Messi in the lineup. In 2023, a potential goal was ruled offside in a 1-0 nailbiter that sent Charlotte to the postseason for the first time, and last year, Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina saved a Messi penalty kick — how many people can say that? — after the talismanic #10 attempted to put a cheeky chip past the reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.

Thanks to an Idan Toklomati hat trick, Charlotte prevailed 3-0.

However, Soccer Sheet confirmed rumors that Lionel Messi did not travel with Inter Miami CF yesterday. More on that below.

Charlotte FC 3, Austin FC 1

After a weak start to the season, Charlotte FC (1-1-1, 4 Points, 6th in the Eastern Conference) showed signs of life against Austin FC (1-1-1, 4 Points, 10th in the Western Conference) with a 3 goal result that almost gave Charlotte fans a Pep Biel hat trick.

The Lineup

Smith loves a debut, so it was no surprise that Aron John – one of the standouts from Crown Legacy FC, Charlotte FC’s second team – was announced as a short-term player for Charlotte FC. The Charlotte native started on the bench but came in in the closing minutes to earn the MLS Debut patch.

“He’s such a good guy, but on top of that, he’s a really good footballer as well,” Smith told Soccer Sheet’s Rebekah Whilden after the match. “He’s got a really good brain. He’s got a really good engine. The future’s bright for him.”

Soccer Sheet asked John after the match about his resilience coming back from injuries during the 2025 season that may have prevented an earlier debut, and he told us his faith played an outsized role in his recovery.

“I was out for five months, coming back, getting injured, coming back, getting injured,” said John. “But I worked out a lot of things in my personal life to discover who I really was, and I think that’s a big thing because once you are out here with all these professionals, ultimately you have to be who you are, be who you were created to be to the fullest. So I think that’s definitely helped a lot, and I learned that through that.”

The Crown started with their third different lineup in as many matches, starting Morrison Agyemang — no relation to Charlotte’s previous striker — at center back with Tim Ream; Brandt Bronico at midfield with captain Ashley Westwood and designated player Pep Biel, and designated players Wilfried Zaha and Liel Abada with striker Idan Toklomati up front. For Agyemang and Bronico, it was their first start of the season.

The Match

The Crown came out the gate looking more dangerous than they had in their first two matches of the year: a sleepy, 1-1 draw in St. Louis, and a disheartening 3-0 loss in Los Angeles against the LA Galaxy. For the first 10 minutes, Los Verdes did not look like a match for Charlotte as the home side consistently reached Austin’s final third.

Abada forced Austin’s first save of the night in the 15th minute, when a dangerous sequence ended with a header from the Israeli international. Austin responded by taking the match into Charlotte’s final third for the next four minutes, but not even a Zaha yellow card – for dissent after a soft foul – stopped Charlotte’s advance.

In the 23rd minute, after another sequence ended with an Toklomati breakaway chance, Austin fullback Guilherme Biro committed an egregious foul by stepping on Toklomati with his spikes after taking down the striker. After the official initially awarded a yellow, Biro saw red. Austin adjusted by taking midfielder Jayden Nelson off the pitch in favor of defender Jonathan Bell.

Toklomati continued to be a difference-maker, tapping in a deflected cross from Zaha for the first goal of the night, his first of the season and the second assist for Zaha.

Then, in an inexplicable error, Agyemang leveled the score for Austin. Austin’s Ilie Sánchez played a long ball down route one, with it going to Charlotte’s new center back. Agyemang tried to head the ball back to goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, who wasn’t prepared. The ball went in the back of the net, a much-needed equalizer for the short-handed visitors.

Soccer Sheet spoke with Agyemang after the match about how he was integrating into the Crown’s backline despite the error.

“Yeah, with the help of teams, I'm able to settle, and then, I play both in a preseason with everyone, and it was good.” said Agyemang. “So coming into the game, I had to believe we can have a stable defense and then fight until the end.”

The goal rejuvenated Austin, despite falling a man down. By the end of the half, they had successfully defended 3 of Charlotte’s 4 shots on target – despite not being able to force a save from Kristijan Kahlina in 5 shot attempts.

In the second half Charlotte came out strong, and in the 55th minute they thought they had a goal. Ashley Westwood won a foul to the left of the goal, and set up a set piece that looked like a shorter corner kick. He found Pep Biel who slotted it in from near the penalty spot, but Austin immediately petitioned the official for redress.

After video review, the official called a hand ball on Bronico and disallowed the goal.

Charlotte kept up the attack, with Zaha busting through Austin’s defense in the 63rd minute to earn a clear shot at goal that went wide.

Shortly after, Abada took a chance off a Harry Toffolo cross that he missed to the left. Undeterred, Abada kept pressing and Toffolo sent another cross into Abada. This time, he made a short cross over to Biel, who slotted it in for the go-ahead goal. It was Biel’s second goal of the season, and Abada’s first goal contribution.

Charlotte dominated for the rest of the match, ending up with 11 shots on target to none for Austin, and the vast majority of the possession. It was no surprise, then that in the closing minutes Biel found the net again on a set piece play. Biel secured the brace with a left footed shot from the centre of the box, assisted by Luca de la Torre off the bench for the latter’s first goal contribution of the year.

The Tactics

For the first 20 minutes, Kahlina and others tried to find a route one connection in transition with striker Idan Toklomati, but Charlotte had more success with buildups that created chances inside the box - especially in the second half.

With Biel back to full health, the Spaniard took the corners from right of the goal, with captain Ashley Westwood continuing to be Charlotte’s kicker from the left. Though the goal was disallowed, Westwood and Biel’s short corner kick set piece play worked.

After going a man down and facing multiple dangerous shots from Charlotte - including the overturned goal - El Tree started to filibuster the match, trying the Crown’s patience by delaying the match. Of course, they couldn’t take that approach once Charlotte scored the go-ahead.

For Charlotte’s second goal, they made a much better effort at moving the ball around Austin’s final third, truly taking advantage of Austin’s red card for the first time. Seeing how effective that approach was, Charlotte continued to increase their pass rate after getting some fresh legs on the pitch, dominating possession for the next five minutes and giving substitute Luca De La Torre a chance to showcase his skills.

The final goal came off a set piece, which is encouraging for the squad — as is the news that Smith is going to hire a set piece coach.

Whilden asked Smith after the match about the increased visibility of his assistant staff:

“[Assistant Coach] Gary [Dicker] stepped up. Gary’s really good. [Associate head coach] Miles [Joseph] is good. We’ve got a really good staff with me as well,” said Smith. “They all play a major part in the team going out there and making decisions. What I ask them to do is challenge me and make me think a little bit differently at times because I’ve been doing this a long time and sometimes I might not see something that they see. So I welcome them to keep challenging me and pushing me.”

Tonight, Tonight

Soccer Sheet confirmed rumors that Lionel Messi did not travel with Inter Miami CF yesterday, and it is unclear when he will arrive today, and if he will start.

Additionally, Charlotte had the following players reporting out in the latest MLS injury report:

• OUT: Luca de la Torre (head)

• OUT: Henry Kessler (lower body)

Luca de la Torre had been following concussion protocol earlier in the week.

The match starts at 7:30 PM tonight at Bank of America Stadium, and will be broadcast on Apple TV. MLS Season Pass is no longer required.

Pre-Match Interviews

Soccer Sheet’s Jorge Torres spoke with Charlotte FC designated player Wilfried Zaha and head coach Dean Smith in advance of tonight’s match.

Photo of the Week: Crown Legacy Undefeated, Leads East after 7-2 Win over Huntsville City

Dean Smith on VAR: “That’s Not What Football’s About”

When Soccer Sheet’s Seth Koch asked Dean Smith about VAR in the wake of Charlotte’s match against Austin (as well as the FA Cup tie between Wrexham and Chelsea), Smith was clear: “that’s not what football’s about.”

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Jake Sokol, Seth Koch, and Yara Al Bayyari contributed to this story.