Who says Charlotte isn’t a playoff town? Charlotte FC will enter postseason on hot streak
Charlotte FC won its final regular-season home game of the year Saturday night, whipping Montreal, 2-0, before a happy crowd of 38,259 in Bank of America Stadium. Goals from Karol Swiderski in the 34th minute and Patrick Agyemang in the fourth minute of extra time provided the margin on a night where Charlotte FC clearly dominated in scoring chances, hustle and efficiency.
“It’s nice to prove people wrong,” said Charlotte FC coach Dean Smith, whose team was generally picked 12th or 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Instead, Charlotte FC will finish the regular season no worse than seventh and might end up fifth or sixth, depending on the results of its last regular-season match on the road Oct. 19.
“We felt at the start of the season we probably were written off a little bit from a lot of people,” Smith said. “But we knew we had the squad that was capable of getting to the playoffs.”
So there you go, Charlotte sports fans. While you bemoan how long it has been since the Carolina Panthers made the NFL playoffs (following the 2017 season) or the Charlotte Hornets made the NBA playoffs (following the 2016 season), don’t forget that Charlotte FC has actually now made it twice in a row.
Last year’s playoff appearance was brief, of course. Charlotte FC finished ninth in the 15-team Eastern Conference, which netted it a single-elimination wild-card game on the road.
Charlotte FC quickly lost that one, and then team owner David Tepper quickly fired head coach Christian Lattanzio.
That seemed impetuous — and Tepper certainly can be impetuous. But to be fair, professional soccer teams do that sort of thing. And Smith, Charlotte FC’s third head man in three years, is a definite upgrade. He has gotten more out of this team than most thought possible before the season began.
The talent has also been upgraded in places, which helps. Tim Ream, a stalwart on the U.S. national team, joined Charlotte FC in August. He’s in the latter part of his career and turned 37 Saturday, but the defender can still play and knows what a good team looks like.
“Everybody’s kind of contributing in their own ways and playing to their strengths,” Ream said. “And you know, we’re getting goals from everybody that you would expect to get goals from. When that happens, confidence flows. Confidence is a funny thing. If it’s not flowing, it can look really, really disjointed. And when it is flowing, it looks so simple and so easy.”
Swiderski has had an unusual career in Charlotte: playing for the team and then leaving on a loan for an Italian team. It was unclear if he would ever return. And, as he said Saturday, when he did there were some mixed feelings from the fans.
“When I come back it was not easy for me,” Swiderski said. “Because, you know, like half of the fans, they say: ‘We don’t need you.’ Some fans, they say: ‘Oh nice. He’s back.’”
The “oh nice, he’s back” folks are currently carrying the day. Swiderski returned in July and has quickly given Charlotte another scoring threat. His goal against Montreal marked the third consecutive game in which he has found the back of the net.
Swiderski said after the match that Saturday night’s tally was an “easy goal,” scored on a rebound after Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois didn’t cleanly field Liel Abada’s blast. But it required quite a burst of speed, as Swiderski slid into the ball like a baseball player sliding into third base to punch it into the net before Sirois gathered it in.
Agyemang’s late goal was even more electric, as he beat a defender on a one-on-one opportunity with a flurry of moves and then chipped the ball over the goalkeeper’s head. A jubilant celebration ensued, on the field and in the stands.
With the win, Charlotte clinched at least seventh place in the East and will now avoid the wild-card match with the victory (the win at least temporarily moved Charlotte FC to fifth). Charlotte will eventually be seeded fifth, sixth or seventh in the 15-team Eastern Conference, and will play in a best-of-3 first-round playoff series after finishing the regular season with one final game at D.C. United on Oct. 19.
Charlotte FC will be on the road for its first playoff game, then will host the same team in Bank of America Stadium. That game, in late October or early November, will be the first Charlotte FC home playoff game ever.
A potential deciding third game would be played in the other team’s home stadium, since it will be seeded higher. After the first round, the MLS playoffs are played in a single-elimination format. And Charlotte FC will enter those playoffs with a head of steam.
“I think we’re in a good place,” Smith said. “I think we’ve got a little bit of momentum. I think we’ve got confidence.”
This story was originally published October 6, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
