Arfield following Westy's path to Charlotte
Plus Ben Bender's two-goal game as a newly married man, Gaines' engagement and other good news Charlotte FC made off the field during the break, and previewing Montreal game Saturday at The Bank
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Veteran midfielder to join Charlotte FC in July
Arfield getting his hands on a Charlotte FC jersey during a tour of Bank of America Stadium. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
When news broke that world class soccer superstar Lionel Messi was bound for Inter Miami of MLS this summer, Charlotte FC midfielder Ashley Westwood joked with reporters that it must be the “Westwood effect.”
The jest was in keeping with the humble-natured Westwood, but a couple of weeks later, we can at least entertain the possibility that there’s a variation of a “Westwood effect” at work within the Charlotte FC ranks. The club announced Thursday that it had inked a deal to bring Scottish midfielder Scott Arfield — a veteran of 660 professional appearances in England and Scotland — to Charlotte FC.
The Scotland native was a teammate of Westwood’s at Burnley of the English Premier League, before leaving in 2018 to sign with Scottish powerhouse Rangers FC.
“He scores, creates goals, right character, works hard and a great human,” was the scouting report Westwood gave The Ledger on Thursday. “We should never have let him leave Burnley. But him leaving meant he could cross the border to Scotland and create a legacy there. He wants to help me do the same here.”
Arfield, 34, played five seasons for Rangers FC in Glasgow, while winning both the Scottish Premiership (Scotland’s highest division) and the Scottish Cup. He became a free agent when his contract expired in May. He had made it known he was interested in coming to Major League Soccer. Conversations with Westwood, whom he played with for two seasons at Burnley — not to mention his wife talking to Westwood’s wife, Becca — helped make Charlotte his MLS choice.
Arfield (left) and Westwood as teammates for Burnley FC in England. (Photo from @TurfCastPodcast.)
“Very excited to be in the Q.C.” Arfield said in thick Scottish brogue, in a video produced by Charlotte FC as he toured Bank of America Stadium and the locker room. “Cannot wait to play in front of everybody at the Bank.”
The summer transfer window — or period of time when teams are allow to trade for players — doesn’t open for almost two weeks. But Charlotte FC got a jumpstart on adding reinforcements for the second half of the season since Arfield was a free agent. Charlotte signed him through 2024 with an option for 2025. He will not be able to suit up for Charlotte FC until after the transfer window opens July 5.
Arfield, whose father is Canadian, played in 19 games for the Canadian National team before retiring from international play in 2022.
“He brings a wealth of leadership experience in big matches to our dressing room…,” Charlotte FC sporting director Zoran Krneta said in the team’s press release. “including three promotion-winning seasons in England, two trophies with the Rangers and a run to a European final.”
Lattanzio wants three: Coach Christian Lattanzio has been lobbying Krneta and Charlotte FC’s front office to bolster the roster with three additional players, presumably a midfielder, perhaps a winger and a left back, which has been a club need since the offseason. The Arfield acquisition would leave two to go, as the club continues to reshape the roster after off-the-field issues left them thin for much of the first half.
The club is still trying to fill the void left by forward Andre Shinyashiki and midfielder Nuno Santos, who haven’t played since early April having been linked to a sexual assault report. Charlotte is expected to try to trade both during the summer transfer window.
Newly married Ben Bender celebrates with a two-goal night
Bender celebrating the first of his two goals Wednesday in New York. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
As a rookie last year, midfielder Ben Bender introduced the Charlotte FC faithful to his signature celebration after scoring goals — a high-flying kick of the corner flag — something he started at the University of Maryland. Wednesday night in New York, after scoring two goals for his first MLS “brace,” he explored other options.
After an acrobatic first goal, he stopped short of the corner flag, where he was mobbed in a team hug, then kissed the new wedding band taped securely onto the ring finger of his left hand.
It’s just another sign that he is growing up before our eyes.
On June 11, during the international break, Bender married his childhood sweetheart, Hannah Leubecker, a family friend he has known since he was 4. (With apologies to all young Charlotte FC fans who can’t help but crush on the All-American kid.)
Ben and Hannah both starred in athletics at the University of Maryland. Bender left after his his standout sophomore season when Charlotte FC drafted him No. 1 overall in the 2022 SuperDraft. Leubecker just completed her senior season in lacrosse as an All-American performer. They share not only a long history, but a bond over athletics and a strong Christian faith, which they talked about in this video.
Bender and now-wife Hannah Leubecker, in a video two years ago from their time together at the University of Maryland.
Bender has endeared himself to Charlotte fans with an “aw shucks” attitude off the field to go along with a tenacious offensive mindset on it. Fans saw a little of both on Wednesday night in the first multi-goal game of his MLS career. He was asked afterward about both the goals, of course, but first the wedding.
“It's amazing,” Bender said. “For me, it's a lifelong commitment and I’m super excited about that. I want to do my best to love and be sacrificial and selfless all the days in my life.”
The strength of his relationships with his teammates was on display Wednesday night, too, as he became the fastest to score two goals in a game in the club’s young history. Bender scored twice in the game’s first 19 minutes. Enzo Copetti scored two in first 39 minutes vs. NYCFC. Brandon Cambridge scored two goals in a 21-minute span vs. Chicago but it was off the bench in the second half.
One look to goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina was all it took for Bender to get a long outlet pass to his feet, which he deftly controlled and then fired with his left foot to the near post. He got his second goal in perfect pursuit of Copetti, who plowed through two defenders to flick a ball to Bender, who scored this time with his right foot.
Both sequences were evidence of the progress Bender has made to speed up his game against the tougher defenders in MLS.
“Understanding the structure and how we want to play the positioning, talking with the coaches more, just my second year of being more experienced in the league, picking up the little details,” Bender said. “Stuff like that helps a lot.”
More off-the-field good news: Wedding bells, baby news and beach trips
After a grueling month of May, a week off for the international break was a welcome diversion for Charlotte FC players, who made the most of four days off from training. McKinze Gaines traveled home to Austin, Texas, where he proposed to his girlfriend Kidist Bisrat. The two met in September of 2021 when she was a student at the University of Texas and he was playing for Austin FC.
Gaines invited her to dinner with his parents and made a stop at their house beforehand, where he had created a romantic scene with flower petals and candles arranged in the shape of a heart in front of a fireplace adorned with a strand of polaroid pictures documenting special moments throughout their relationship.
“I was secretly hoping this would happen because of how adamant he was about going back home for the break,” Bisrat said. “But right when I completely wrapped my mind around it not happening, I walked into that beautiful set up. … It was the most beautiful, thoughtful proposal a girl could ask for.”
Gaines shortly after popping the question to fiance Kidist Bisrat. (Photo courtesy of Bisrat.)
Beach bums: Captain Ashley Westwood and his family vacationed with new teammate Justin Meram and his family in Isle of Palms, S.C. Kerwin Vargas and his family spent time in Cancun, Mexico. The Copetti family — Enzo; his wife, Araceli; and their infant daughter, Mia — vacationed in Miami, as did goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, his wife and their infant daughter.
Upon their return to Charlotte, the Kahlinas celebrated their daughter Kiara’s 1st birthday with a festive gathering complete with cake, balloon sculpture and a host of Charlotte FC teammates in attendance. Copetti posed for a picture with 11-year-old Frankie Westwood, whose father, Ashley, says he idolizes Copetti.
Vini Mello, the dynamic young forward who is currently with Crown Legacy FC, announced on Instagram he and his wife Naty are expecting a baby girl.
Talking Charlotte FC on Charlotte Talks
It was a great time joining Charlotte FC radio color analyst Jessica Charman on WFAE’s “Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins” this week. We spent an hour talking about how professional soccer is faring in Charlotte, what to expect from Charlotte FC the second half and how I might be the only person on the planet who hasn’t watched blockbuster show “Ted Lasso” yet.
Check out the full interview here.
Up Next: CF Montreal (8-9-1) at Charlotte FC (6-8-5)
When/Where: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
How to watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. For information on how to sign up for a regular subscription, click here.
How to listen: WFNZ 92.7 FM in English. WOLS 106.1 FM in Spanish.
Karol Swiderski returns after missing Wednesday’s game in New York, a 2-2 tie, as he returned from international duty with the Polish National team. He sat on the bench for Poland’s game against Germany and then played 17 minutes in reserve in an 3-2 upset loss to Moldova.
Charlotte squandered a 2-0 lead Wednesday and had to settle for a 2-2 tie in New York against the Red Bulls. But the team used its one point to match its road point total (11) from a year ago, and there is still nearly a half a season to play.
Montreal has won two in a row, defeating Minnesota 4-0 and Nashville 1-0, both at home. For the season, Montreal is 7-1 at Stade Saputo but only 1-8-1 on the road.
Charlotte is 0-2 against Montreal, taking a pair of losses last season.
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now cutting her teeth on soccer and the Charlotte FC just as fans in Charlotte do. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!
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