Charlotte FC's Tough May Comes to an End
From first place in the Eastern Conference, to ninth place and knocked out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Charlotte FC's season hit a wall in May - but there are bright spots and room for hope.
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From Injury to Insult
Charlotte’s May matches were a step backward for a club that at one point was leading the Eastern Conference table, and seemed destined to go deep in the playoffs this year.
The primary cause of the trouble is no secret: Charlotte’s defense endured significant injuries that shook what was one of the best back lines in Major League Soccer.
It’s probably coincidence, but it’s become an unfortunate pattern for the club.
In Charlotte’s first year, talismanic center back Guzmán Corujo was sidelined for the rest of the season after a knee injury against Chicago. During the 2023 preseason, center back Anton Walkes tragically died in an accident off the Florida coast, leaving the team to scramble to replace him with Bill Tuiloma. At the same time, goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina was recovering from back surgery.
However, after losing two center backs, Charlotte FC found perhaps the best pairing in the league. In 2022, Adilson Malanda joined the team from France, and in the summer of 2023 MLS SuperDraft pick Andrew Privett moved from the midfield to the back line.
Last season, everything finally clicked. Charlotte found a steady back line in center backs Malanda and Privett, and fullbacks Tim Ream and Nathan Byrne. The club had depth, with Ream able to move to his natural position at center back, and players like Jaylin Lindsey and Jere Uronen as strong substitutes. Kahlina found his groove and led the defense to multiple clean sheets and goalkeeper of the year honors.
This year, the boys were back, and while Uronen and Lindsey left the club, they added Ivorian Souleyman Doumbia, who quickly impressed as a quick, technically skilled box to box fullback. Unfortunately, both Doumbia and Byrne quickly picked up injuries, and while Doumbia is finally back with the squad, Byrne’s neck injury required surgery, leaving him questionable for months.
Charlotte brought in Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty on loan from CF Montréal to make up for the lack of depth at fullback, but it’s been a rough stretch for a team that expected better this year. Another factor: below-average play from Kahlina, who Smith subbed with backup goalkeeper David Bingham in two Open Cup matches, and one MLS match over the course of the month.
The last time we checked in on Charlotte FC, Chicago had handed the team their fifth-straight MLS loss. We’ll pick up our coverage of May’s doldrums at the next match, an Open Cup loss for the Crown.
Crashing Out of the Open Cup
What started as a rainy night at Audi Field turned into a wild US Open Cup match between two MLS teams trying to shake off a few rough couple of weeks. DC United got off to a good start with a goal from David Schnegg, but Charlotte FC responded in the second half with back-to-back goals from Patrick Agyemang and Bill Tuiloma.
Just when it looked like DC was done, Garrison Tubbs stepped up in the 86th minute with an equalizer to send the game into extra time.
Charlotte took the lead again early in extra time thanks to Tyger Smalls’ first goal for the Crown off of Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty’s second assist of the night.
“It was a great feeling [to get that first goal],” Smalls told Soccer Sheet. “It was the goal to make it 3-2, so I thought hopefully we could keep [the lead] and win the game … I wish we were just able to get the result, but it was a good feeling to get my first goal.”
Charlotte FC had the advantage, but DC’s Jackson Hopkins, fresh off a long injury, tied it up 3-3 in the 104th minute. That set the stage for penalties, and that’s when things got really interesting.
DC subbed on third-string keeper Jordan Farr in the 117th minute just for the shootout. Farr had most recently played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the Division II USL Championship league, and had never played a minute at the MLS level.
Brandt Bronico was the only Charlotte player to get past Farr, which wasn’t enough despite Charlotte goalkeeper David Bingham getting three saves of his own. Making his club debut, Farr saved four out of five penalties, stealing the show and helping DC win the shootout 2-1.
It was a Hollywood moment for the 30-year-old, who’s spent years grinding in the lower leagues. With that win, DC moves on to the quarterfinals for the first time in over a decade - and Charlotte once again is stalled in the Round of 16 in the country’s oldest soccer tournament.
U.S. Open Cup Round of 16
DC United vs. Charlotte FC
Wednesday, May 21
7:30 PM EDT
Audi Field
Washington, DC
Final Score: 3-3, (2-1)
DC United Wins on Penalties
Charlotte FC Goals
Patrick Agyemang 58' (Assist: Marshall-Rutty)
Bill Tuiloma 61' (Assist: Williamson)
Tyger Smalls 95' (Assist: Marshall-Rutty)
DC United Goals
David Schnegg 17'
Garrison Tubbs 86' (Assist: Leal)
Jackson Hopkins 104'
Soccer Sheet’s Players of the Match
Jordan Farr (DC)
Tyger Smalls (Charlotte)
Charlotte FC Finds its Form on Pride Night
Charlotte FC came alive at home on Saturday, May 24 as the club celebrated Pride Night at the Bank. The team finally snapped their 5-match losing streak in league play with a thrilling 3-2 win over the Columbus Crew.
Despite falling behind early to an Ibrahim Aliyu header — his first goal for Columbus — Charlotte responded with firepower. Patrick Agyemang was unstoppable, scoring a quick brace in the first half with a header off a Pep Biel corner and a slick finish set up by a perfectly timed through ball from Wilfried Zaha.
Maybe it was because Big Pat’s brothers were there, so he needed to show off — or maybe he’s just that talented.
“Always, having family here is nice,” Agyemang told Soccer Sheet at a post-match press gaggle. “Those are my guys. I always say my close circle is very supportive, and through ups and downs they’re always there with me, so to be able to put a performance in front of them is always great.”
He was also coming off the announcement of another call-up to the U.S. Men’s National Team, giving him another reason to celebrate. Either way, Agyemang earned MLS Player of the Matchday honors for his performance.
“I definitely wanted more,” Agyemang said, referencing his many opportunities to convert the brace into a hat trick. “As a striker you want to help the team — especially when we went 1-nil down — and to be able to bring us back 2-1 with two goals quickly is a nice feeling. I think for me it’s just carrying on this momentum.”
Columbus managed to level the match again in the second half when Malte Amundsen got a rebound from a free kick, but Charlotte kept up the pressure. Ten minutes later, Zaha and Biel linked up, with Biel converting the assist into the match-winner. From that point on, Charlotte looked the stronger side, carving out several more chances and forcing Columbus keeper Nicholas Hagen into countless saves.
The win was exactly what Charlotte needed to regain confidence, led by their attacking trio of Agyemang, Zaha, and Biel, who were all over the stat sheet.
Charlotte FC vs. Columbus Crew
Saturday, May 24
7:30 PM EDT
Bank of America Stadium
Charlotte, NC
Final Score: 3-2
Charlotte FC Goals
Patrick Agyemang 19’ (Assist: Biel)
Patrick Agyemang 24’ (Assist: Zaha)
Pep Biel 75’ (Assist: Zaha)
Columbus Crew Goals
Ibrahim Aliyu 15’ Assist: (Farsi)
Malte Amundsen 65’
Soccer Sheet’s Player of the Match
Patrick Agyemang
Columbus, on the other hand, saw their five-match unbeaten run come to an end.
One negative outcome, however, would haunt Charlotte in their next match: in the closing minutes of the match, Bronico picked up his fifth yellow card of the season, earning a suspension for Charlotte’s match against the Red Bulls.
Charlotte Finds No Joy in New Jersey
In six trips to Harrison, New Jersey, Charlotte FC is yet to beat the New York Red Bulls at their home stadium. Including Open Cup and MLS Playoff matches, the Crown have five losses and one draw to show for their trips to the Garden State, and as of their 4-2 loss on May 28, Charlotte’s all-time goal differential at the recently-renamed Red Bull Arena is now -11 (8 goals for to 19 against).
After a respectable 2-1 result in the first half, Charlotte was behind but not out of the match thanks to a Kerwin Vargas goal — his second of the year — off of Agyemang’s first assist of the year.
New York Red Bulls vs. Charlotte FC
Wednesday, May 28
7:30 PM EDT
Sports Illustrated Stadium
Harrison, NJ
Final Score: 4-2
NY Red Bulls Goals
Wiktor Bogacz 14' (Assist: Duncan)
Mohammed Sofo 29' (Assist: Carmona)
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting 70’ (Penalty)
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting 90+7’ (Penalty)
Charlotte FC Goals
Kerwin Vargas 26’ (Assist: Agyemang)
Liel Abada 76’
Soccer Sheet’s Players of the Match
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Red Bulls)
Liel Abada (Charlotte)
This match could have gone differently, but Charlotte conceded two penalties from soft fouls. Both Andrew Privett and Adilson Malanda received yellow cards in the box, and the Red Bulls’ Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting converted both penalty strikes to create an insurmountable lead, despite a solid unassisted goal from Charlotte designated player Liel Abada.
The Best Way to End a Bad Month
Historically, Charlotte hasn’t had much luck on Canadian soil, but this year Charlotte won both league matches in the Great White North. Charlotte FC ended May with a 0-2 win in Toronto.
Doumbia was back in the starting lineup for this match, and the back line of Doumbia, Privett, Malanda, and Marshall-Rutty — the latter returning as a hometown favorite — was especially solid given Charlotte FC head coach Dean Smith’s decision to rest Kahlina, giving Bingham his first start for the Crown in goal.
“I wanted to take a little of that weight off his shoulders,” Smith told reporters after the match. “It was a tough decision, and not one I made lightly, but I just felt it was the right time to just give him a breather.”
Charlotte dominated in the first half, but couldn’t find the net. They fixed that in the second half in the manner you would expect with goals from Biel (assisted by Abada) and Agyemang.
Toronto FC vs. Charlotte FC
Saturday, May 31
7:30 PM EDT
BMO Field
Toronto, ON
Final Score: 0-2
Charlotte FC Goals
Pep Biel 56’ (Assist: Abada)
Patrick Agyemang 90’
Soccer Sheet’s Player of the Match
Patrick Agyemang
The result was never in doubt, and Charlotte got out of the month of May on a high note.
“It's been a tough month. We’re glad to see the back of May I suppose,” said Smith.
Bonus from Toronto: Post-Match Conversation with Patrick Agyemang
Remains of the May
Charlotte FC (8-8-1, 25 Points) goes into the international break in 8th place in the Eastern Conference after going as low as ninth. Charlotte next plays first place Philadelphia United (10-3-4, 34 Points) on June 14 in Pennsylvania, the first in a three-match road trip that includes Kansas City and Chicago. Their next home match isn’t until July 5, when the Crown will face a team that makes every match a grudge match: Orlando City SC.
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