Breaking down Charlotte FC’s historic first goal
What finally scoring means for Charlotte FC’s offense — Why the call of a historic goal is challenging — Sweet vindication for Adam Armour’s 'biggest fan' — and more!
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Team can exhale after scoring drought ends
Adam Armour scored the first goal in franchise history at Atlanta on Sunday. It was a header off a corner kick from Ben Bender. (Photos by Kevin Young/The 5 and 2 Project.)
Scoring its first goal might not have won the Charlotte FC a game yet — Charlotte lost 2-1 Sunday on a last-minute goal in Atlanta to fall to 0-3 — but it certainly released some pressure on a struggling offense.
“It’s like ripping the band-aid off,” said 19-year-old Adam Armour, who headed in the history-maker on a corner kick feed from Ben Bender. “Now that the first goal has been scored … I feel like the goals are going to start coming.”
The breakthrough goal came compliments of a young and perhaps surprising duo. Armour is a defender and was coming off the bench against Atlanta after being left off the active roster for home opener the week before. And the assist came from 21-year-old rookie Bender, who was making his first Major League Soccer start after impressing off the bench in the first two games.
“He’s winning the respect of everybody because … he’s so good,” coach Miguel Angel Ramirez said about Bender. “He’s becoming a leader because he’s been important for us and everybody knows.”
A more obvious place to look for goal production has been striker Karol Swiderski, who is at the point of attack for Charlotte FC and the team’s first designated (or star) player. Swiderski has attempted a team-high four shots on goal so far.
His backup, Danny Rios, is one of several players coach Miguel Angel Ramirez singled out during a press conference Thursday for building up healthy competition in practice with the starter in front of him. Rios is the striker Charlotte acquired from Nashville just before the season started.
Rios has been subbing for Swiderski late in games but could get some chances to play alongside Swiderski in some two-striker formations.
“I went to (Ramirez this week) to ask what else I can do to get better, and he said to have a bit more patience,” Rios said. “And he wants to try with two strikers.”
Rios’ confidence is growing, and so, he said, is the team’s — now that the goal-scoring seal has been broken.
“We know now that we are able to create those type of opportunities,” Rios said. “And we’re able to play the way that we can be dangerous, offensively speaking.”
‘SCCCOORRREEEE!’: The story from the radio booth of Charlotte FC’s first goal
Almost as signature as the first goal in team history was the call of the first goal in team history. When Armour scored in the 66th minute to tie Atlanta 1-1, the challenge of the moment as a broadcaster was underscored during the national TV broadcast on FS1.
As Bender centered the ball on a corner kick, Charlotte had a flurry of activity in front of Atlanta’s goal. Armour leaned in for a header but — as the ground-level video showed — he was shadowed by Guzman Corujo, who was moving toward the ball in a parallel motion. When Armour connected for the goal, TV play-by-play broadcaster J.P. Dellacamera mistakenly credited Corujo for it.
Watching the action both live and in replays, the mistake was understandable. Dellacamera corrected himself moments later, but in the short video clips fans shared around the internet, the wrong scorer was identified. Meanwhile, on radio, Charlotte FC play-by-play announcer Will Palaszczuk used his instincts to get the call right.
“Sixth-fifth minute. 1-nil Atlanta. Charlotte trying to equalize,” Palaszczuk said, working up to the big moment. “Bender approaches on the left side corner, into the area, headed in…”
And then he went ballistic:
SCCOOORRRRREEE! ADAM ARMOUR HAS THE FIRST-EVER GOAL FOR CHARLOTTE FC ON A CORNER KICK SET PIECE FROM THE YOUNGSTERS. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
Charlotte FC’s color analyst Jessica Charman then jumped in, right on time:
TALK ABOUT SUPER SUB! It’s a brilliant header! He leaps up above the defenders! It’s a fantastic ball from Bender! I asked for a little bit more on the service. He gives me exactly that. Armour heads it home! Great angle! Great power! Guzan — no chance! Charlotte FC ties it up, and Adam Armour, in the history books, forever!
“Oh, what a strike from the Cary, North Carolina, native!” Palaszczuk said. “It had to be a Carolina boy!”
How he did it: It was a strike for Palaszczuk, too. Palaszczuk said after the game that identifying Armour correctly was a stroke of luck. But when he explained how he did it, it was clear both his preparation and experience came into play.
“You take stock before a play like that who’s in the middle,” he said. “I saw it was the two of them in the middle (Corujo and Armour) and Karol (Swiderski) was somewhere in there as well. So I knew it was 1 of those 2.”
“I held the goal call as long as I could,” Palaszczuk said. “The way we’re taught is to credit it to the guy who emerges first or is celebrating the most. …
“You see the pile of players and the guy who emerged first was Armour, and he was celebrating most demonstratively,” Palaszczuk said. “That’s why I credited it to him. It’s the same thing in hockey. (Go with) the guy who ends up skating first to the bench and celebrates with the guys at the bench. I saw him put the two fingers down. People thought that was for Atlanta. That was A.A. for Adam Armour.”
“Honestly, I just wanted it to be him. It begged for a great story.”
While Charman picked up the call, Palaszczuk sucked in a breath and looked to the video monitor for confirmation.
“They showed us the down-low replay, from right behind the net,” he said. “It was Armour. I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, thank god.’”
Armour’s Super Fan celebrates
Adam Armour (right) greets his super fan, Victor Chavez (left) after the game in Washington. (Photo courtesy of Victor Chavez.)
As surprised as others might have been to see 19-year-old defender Adam Armour score the first goal in Charlotte FC history — and the first goal of his professional soccer career — Victor Chavez has had a feeling since the preseason.
“I just had a feeling he was going to be a special player for us,” Chavez said.
Chavez, 31, a member of Southbound & Crown Supporters Group, considers himself Armour’s No. 1 fan and for good reason.
Chavez started driving to Charlotte from his home in Myrtle Beach last year to watch the Charlotte Independence of the USL play. That’s where he got to know and cheer for Armour while he was playing on loan.
“After the game, the players were so nice, and they would come up and take selfies with us and we would get to talk a little bit,” Chavez said. “Ever since I got a picture with Adam, I got to talk to him for a little bit. He’s really nice. He's really humble. He was just a really great guy. And I was started following him every time we went to the games. I was just really amazed at the talent that he had.”
The admiration only grew after Chavez chatted with Armour at a tailgate party the Charlotte FC threw fans before a Carolina Panthers game. They met again after preseason game in Charleston.
Chavez traveled to the season-opener in Washington and worked his way down close to the field afterward. Armour had already gone to the locker room by then, but Chavez asked Brandt Bronico, Armour’s teammate with the Independence and CLT FC, to tell him hello. Next thing he knew, Armour had come back out of the locker room to greet Chavez.
One of the Charlotte FC videographers captured the moment and Armour retweeted it from his account with a shoutout to Chavez. He follows Chavez on Twitter and Instagram.
That video share might have been the highlight for Chavez, until Armour’s goal Sunday in Atlanta.
“He got the goal and it was so amazing,” Chavez said. “I couldn’t believe it. I was surrounded by Atlanta fans, but I didn't care. I was screaming. I was jumping up and down and it was so cool. All my friends were so happy for me. I love the attention that he’s getting. He's finally getting the recognition he deserves.”
Up next: Charlotte FC (0-3) vs. New England Revolution (1-1-1)
When/Where: 7 p.m. Saturday, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
How to watch: WXAN (TV 64), Telemundo, Charlotte. Or live stream at www.charlottefootballclub/live or on the Charlotte FC app. Local restrictions apply.
Notable:
The opening schedule for the Charlotte FC has done the team no favors, and this is another tough matchup against the 2021 Supporters’ Shield winners as regular season champions of MLS last year.
The Revolution comes to town a little leg weary, having just played Wednesday in Mexico City in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals (featuring top teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean.) They were eliminated by Pumas UNAM 4-3 on penalty kicks.
Charlotte FC midfielder Chris Hegardt suffered a meniscus injury — damage to cartilage in his knee — last week during practice and will miss significant time going forward.
Midfielder Sergio Ruiz was back practicing and available this week following the birth of his son. His wife gave birth to their first child last Saturday, the day the team traveled to Atlanta.
Midfielder Derrick Jones, acquired from the Houston Dynamo late last week, joined Charlotte FC in practice this week.
Attendance: Coming down off the record high
The size of Saturday’s crowd for the New England Revolution game won’t be anything close to the record crowd of 74,479 who packed Bank of America Stadium for the inaugural home game against the L.A. Galaxy.
A crowd of around 30,000 — all seated in the lower bowl — is expected at the second home game Saturday night. (As of Thursday night, close to 28,000 tickets had been sold, according to Tepper Sports & Entertainment CEO Nick Kelly.) But that’s right on target with goals the team has set for the remainder of the regular season.
The team issues a limited number of $15 tickets two weeks before each home game.
The upper deck seats will remain closed during the rest of the regular season. That’ll change if the Charlotte FC is able to host a playoff game.
The Charlotte FC did announce this week that season tickets in the supporters’ section — where fan groups sit behind the East Goal — have sold out, capping at 3,500.
“Getting the most devout fans in the building week in and week out is of the utmost importance for sustained success,” Kelly wrote on Twitter in response to the announcement. “We’re so lucky to have so many passionate fans from across the Carolinas supporting our club.”
Waiting on the winger
Kamil Jozwiak spent the week since he signed to become Charlotte’s second designated player (whose salary is unaffected by the salary cap) shuttling between England and Poland, while waiting on his visa to come through.
“We don’t know like how long we will wait because now in Poland is a difficult situation with Ukrainian (refugees),” Jozwiak said.
He said he is hopeful his visa arrives about the time he’ll be healthy enough to train again — in two weeks.
Jozwiak joined Charlotte media on a Zoom call this week from England, where he was packing up from his time with Darby County of the English Championship league.
Jozwiak was on the verge of signing with Charlotte a month ago before an ankle injury derailed the deal. They revisited it again after his recovery went faster than expected.
“The last few weeks were so busy for me and like a roller coaster,” said Jozwiak, who said he started running on the field and doing on-the-ball drills this week.
In signing with Charlotte, he joins fellow countryman Karol Swiderski, his teammate the Polish National team, as well as Poland’s Under-19 and Under-21 national teams.
“We’ve played a lot of games together, and I think our cooperation should be good here,” Jozwiak said. “Before the transfer, Karol told me all about the club, about the whole atmosphere, about how big this project is. That was impressive as well. I hope we will show our quality on the pitch together.”
Previous editions of Fútbol Friday
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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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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project