Charlotte FC defeats DC United to lock in playoff spot. MLS Eastern bracket now set.
MLS playoffs haven’t yet begun.
Someone needs to tell Charlotte FC.
Charlotte dominated D.C. United on the road Saturday night, 3-0, on Major League Soccer’s Decision Day, the day in which all MLS regular-season finales are played. The victory wasn’t always pretty, but it was one of those wins that translate come the postseason — the kind that makes it feel like the Queen City side entered the contest in ideal playoff form.
And given the stakes of the contest — D.C. United missed the playoffs with the loss; Charlotte FC climbed in the table — it felt like a playoff game itself.
“We knew it was going to have a bit of a playoff feel about it because they had to get a point or win to host here for the play-in,” said Dean Smith, the first-year Charlotte FC head coach. “So they were always going to throw things at us, and we knew that. I felt we were too loose on the ball in the first half. We gave it away in really good areas, and we didn’t have as much control in terms of when we built.
“But I thought we defended really well when they threw balls into the box. ... I just told them at halftime, you need to calm down a little bit. This is how we’re going to build. This is how we’re going to play out. I thought there were a lot calmer heads in the second half, and we went and got the result then.”
As mentioned, the win wasn’t as convincing as the final score. At least early on. It was one of winces and white knuckles that relied on a stalwart defense, a deserving goalkeeper of the year candidate in Kristijan Kahlina and an opportunistic offense that finished off three of their few true chances: The first was a gorgeous sequence bookended by the left foot of Pep Biel (58’). The second was a counter-attack finished off by Patrick Agyemang (75’).
And the third was a Karol Swiderski dribbler into the back of the net in extra time that prompted D.C. United fans to stream out of Audi Field like water running down a hill.
It doesn’t matter how it happened, Smith said. A win’s a win.
That motto has propelled Charlotte into four wins in its last five contests — the only draw in that stretch to Leo Messi-led Inter Miami.
The win locks Charlotte into the five spot of the Eastern Conference playoffs. That means they will face Orlando City SC next weekend, kicking off a best-of-three series against the club.
This marks Charlotte’s first trip to this round of the MLS postseason. The club earned its first postseason trip last year — one made possible via a win over Inter Miami on Decision Day 2023 — but didn’t make it out of the wildcard stage.
What a turn from the team’s preseason prognostications. Most national pundits had Charlotte FC dwelling in the league’s cellar.
The game’s three goals were good in their own ways — but the first was a sight to behold.
Call it Biel brilliance.
The Spaniard started a wonderful sequence at midfield by taking a loose ball and just swatting it with his left leg, one-touch curling it to a streaking — if surprised — Brandt Bronico. The midfielder then took the ball to the left side of the 18-yard-box and filed a pass across the goalkeeper’s face, only for Biel to be there and finish off the goal.
“It was what we deserved at that time in the second half,” Smith said.
Charlotte is playing like it deserves more wins beyond Saturday, too.
MLS Eastern Conference matchups
Charlotte FC will face Orlando City SC at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 27 in round one of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The fifth-seeded CLTFC tied with ORL once and lost once earlier this season. The first round of the MLS playoffs begin Oct. 26 and runs through Nov. 10.
The second game of the Charlotte FC-Orlando City SC series shifts to Charlotte and is set for 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 1. If a Game 3 is necessary, it will be played at 6 p.m. on Nov. 9 in Orlando.
Below are the first-round playoff matchups. If Charlotte advances past Orlando, the club plays either Inter Miami or the winner of the wild card game between Montreal and Atlanta.
- Single-game wild card: CF Montreal (No. 8 seed) vs. Atlanta United (9)
- Inter Miami CF (1) vs. Wild Card Winner
- FC Cincinnati (3) vs. New York City FC (6)
- Columbus Crew (2) vs. New York Red Bulls (7)
- Orlando City SC (4) vs. Charlotte FC (5)
“It’s going to be a tough matchup,” Smith said of Charlotte’s matchup with Orlando. “They were good at their place, we weren’t very good. We were good in our place, and I think Scotty (Arfield) got sent off after 35 minutes, and we played well with 10 men against them. But I’m looking forward to the matchup. It’s going to be competitive, we know that, but we know we can play a lot better than what we did when we played there earlier in the season.
“Whoever we play, they’re going to be ones who finished above us in the regular season. So they’re going to be tough games. But it’s important we went into this with some momentum. And we’ve done that. So I think whoever we play, our lads will be ready.”
Three final notes from Charlotte’s win
▪ Saturday night marked a full-circle moment for Charlotte FC. Audi Field was the site of the first match in the Queen City side’s history. There are only two Charlotte FC players who started both that first contest and Saturday’s contest — goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina and midfielder Brandt Bronico. When asked how far the club had come in those three years, Bronico smiled: “Man I think tonight was a good depiction of it. First game here, losing 3-0. Kind of a bummer, but the club was just starting out. Then the last game, right before our best finish ever in a season going into the playoffs, we win 3-0. So you couldn’t have really written it up any better.”
▪ This had all the elements of a playoff game. It was chippy. Loud. Aggressive. Agyemang, as striker with such a strong run-right-through-you play style, bore the brunt of such physicality. His thoughts on the intensity of the contest: “As we know, DC, they needed a win or tie, I believe, and they were fighting with all they had. And it felt like an actual playoff game. So I think we’re ready for it, and we’re ready to go into the next week.”
▪ Head coach Dean Smith opted to start Kerwin Vargas and Patrick Agymang instead of Liel Abada and Karol Swiderski. Swiderski has been on a hot streak himself, scoring four in the last three matches. Smith’s reasoning was simple; Abada (Israel) and Swiderski (Poland) had national team responsibilities to tend to earlier this week: “So Karol only got back Thursday morning. His first training session was yesterday. He’d started both games for Poland. We know what a long journey can be. And the same for Liel Abada as well. Started both games for Israel. He got back a day early on the Wednesday. But I’ve seen before where them journeys can take a bit out of your legs. And we put ourselves in a position where we could afford to do that. The likes of Kerwin (Vargas) and Patrick have been playing well as well. So that was the main reason behind it.”
This story was originally published October 19, 2024 at 9:37 PM.
