Charlotte FC back in playoff hunt
Big upset in New York keeps Charlotte's chances alive, Bronico breaks out Cam Newton superman celebration, team lands a new HQ and practice facility, plus lineup shakeups and preview of Orlando.
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Surprise win keeps hopes alive for Charlotte FC
Midfielder Brandt Bronico breaks out the Cam Newton âsupermanâ pose after his game-winning goal in New York. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
Just when you think this Charlotte FC team is done, playoff hopes are squashed, and road woes are insurmountable, the âboys,â as coach Christian Lattanzio calls them, come up with this: a 3-1 victory against the defending MLS Cup champion New York FC â in New York, no less. Just four days after being humiliated by league-leading Los Angeles FC in a season-worst 5-0 loss, Charlotte won for only the second time on the road all season. (The Black and Blues are now 2-10-2 on the road.)
Can somebody please explain?
âI think guys came out after that game, even at training, with a more aggressive mentality (like) they didnât want to take any crap,â said midfielder Brandt Bronico, who didnât, and scored the game-winning goal Wednesday night in the 77th minute. âItâs almost like losing this game was not an option. So we had to do what we needed to do to win the game or at least get a point.â
Itâs going to feel that way from this point out, basically. Charlotte FC is now just one point shy of the playoff pace with eight games to play. Four teams are bottle-necked within a point of each other at the seventh-place threshold, including Charlotteâs upcoming opponent Orlando, Miami and Cincinnati, all with 33 points and Charlotte with 32.
The top seven teams from the Eastern Conference make the playoffs. (Each team collects three points for a victory, one point for a draw.) Charlotte FC TV play-by-play man Eric Krakauer believes Charlotte FC needs to get to 45 points to make it, which would leave them 13 more. Charlotte FC could get there, in that scenario, by winning four of the final eight games and tying another.
Six of the eight games remaining come against opponents ahead of Charlotte on the âtable,â in the standings, including Eastern Conference leader Philadelphia and both New York teams, which are among the top four. The good news is five of the remaining games are at Bank of America Stadium, where Charlotte has gone 8-4. And perhaps Charlotte brings home a new kind of confidence from New York.
âThe importance of this win is in creating the belief â the belief that we can go away with some of the biggest teams, play with courage, and get the result,â Lattanzio said.
âSuperâ first goal â and celebration â for Bronico
Midfielder Brandt Bronico had to wait 26 games â and 2,209 minutes on the field â for his first goal as a member of Charlotte FC, so why not make it memorable? He scored what might have been Charlotte FCâs best goal of the season if you factor in style points (check out the video below) and substance, as the go-ahead goal in Wednesdayâs 3-1 win in New York.
Christian Fuchs sent a strike forward to Karol Swiderski, who left a back-heel beauty in the box for Bronico. He connected on a low liner into the side net for the picturesque finish:
âThis is probably the most special goal Iâve ever scored in my life, scoring professionally for my hometown club,â said Bronico, who grew up in High Point and played college soccer at UNC Charlotte. âIt definitely means a lot to me. (It was) like a weight lifted off my shoulders, a little relief that that first one finally went in.â
Nobody has gotten more starts (26) or minutes (2,254) on the field for Charlotte FC this season outside of goalkeeper Kristijan Kohlina. Bronico has been the workhorse, and as the âholdingâ defensive-minded midfielder, his responsibilities center on the dirty work. But under Lattanzio, Bronico has also had more opportunities to push forward, and he got them again Wednesday when Lattanzio started another defense-first kind of midfielder in Derrick Jones alongside Bronico.
âYouâve still got to keep the discipline, and somebodyâs always got to sit there in front of the back lines and make sure that we have that that stability,â Bronico said. â(But Lattanzio) emphasized that he wants his players to play with freedom out there.â
Bronico has had some time to come up with a great goal celebration and he did â opening his imaginary shirt to reveal a faux Cam Newton-style superman logo underneath. As he explained in his postgame interview online with Eric Krakauer and Lloyd Sam: âThereâs a new superhero in town.â
McAlpine Park provides Charlotte all-inclusive HQ and training complex
Charlotte FC just went from a franchise without a headquarters and permanent practice facility to putting plans in motion to have one of the premier setups in Major League Soccer. The team announced this week it had reached agreement with Levine Properties to turn its temporary two-field practice facility at 8600 McAlpine Park Drive off Monroe Road into a state-of-the-art complex, featuring team headquarters and a practice facility â all by next spring.
The new facility will allow Charlotte to house its Academy, Next Pro (like a Triple-A level) team, first team practice fields and business offices all at the same location. That is a rarity, even among some of the highest-profile MLS teams.
The club will lease the property from Levine, while continuing to invest private funds into facility upgrades, including the renovation to a 52,000-square foot building that will house team offices for more than 110 employees, players lounges, locker rooms, kitchen and workout room. The property will feature the two existing fields and two more will be added, including one with an artificial surface.
The McAlpines Center, which is across Monroe Road from McAlpine Creek Park, won out over the old Eastland Mall location because 1) Eastland would have only accommodated the Academy and 2) because most of the construction required is renovations to an existing structure, which can be completed by spring. A ground-up project at Eastland would have required two years to complete, according to sources familiar with the project.
âThe timeline for this project was crucial,â owner David Tepper said in a press release. âAnd weâre delighted to deliver a first-class facility to our players and staff in Spring 2023. This is an important milestone for our Club and reflects our commitment to continue investing in infrastructure that will allow Charlotte FC to be a leader in Major League Soccer both on and off the pitch.â
The club will release renderings and a name this fall.
The news came as a boost to players and coaches who started the season splitting practice time between the Matthews Sports Complex and Bank of America Stadium before the team reached an agreement to start practicing on existing fields at the McAlpines Center.
âThis is unbelievable news for Charlotte FC,â said Lattanzio, who said the team was informed about the news Wednesday, before it was released to the public. âWe were very pleased because itâs a stepping stone for this club to establish itself.â
Donât sleep on Lattanzio lineup
One thing we are learning about Lattanzio as a coach: Donât try to predict his next move in the starting lineup. Just in the past few weeks, Lattanzio has started two rookies in the midfield, calling up Quinn McNeill from the Independence and featuring him next to Ben Bender.
Heâs alternated multiple players at both outside fullback and on the wing. And just when it seems like somebody has been lost in the shuffle â Kerwin Vargas, Iâm talking to you â he gives him a surprise start on the wing in New York.
Lattanzio took a player in Jan Sobocinski, who was rarely even on the active roster under Miguel Angel Ramirez, and turned him into a starter at center back after Guzman Corujo was lost to a torn knee ligament. Lately, it hasnât even been a given that captain Christian Fuchs would start on the backline, either. Charlotte FCâs second-leading goal-scorer in Andre Shinyashiki (five goals) has only made a few cameos off the bench recently. And winger Kamil Jozwiak, the teamâs second designated (star) player, who started four consecutive games early in Lattanzioâs tenure, has started just two of six since, and in one of those he was out of position in the midfield.
About the only givens in a Lattanzio lineup these days are Karol Swiderski at striker, Kristijan Kahlina in goal and Brandt Bronico at holding midfielder.
Some of Lattanzioâs decisions are tactical and based on matchups, some are dictated by injuries. Some are based on performance and effort level in practice. All of them, Lattanzio conceded Wednesday, are designed to keep the entire team on its toes.
âEverybody has to be ready to play,â he said. âIf you donât bring (something) you take from the team â this is my belief. And so I want everybody to bring, and then I also want them to bring quality, and if they donât, then there is competition in every position. Somebody else will be given an opportunity.â
Up Next: Charlotte FC (10-14-2) vs. Orlando City (9-10-6)
When/Where: 7 p.m. Sunday, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
How to watch: WAXN (Channel 64), Telemundo, or live stream at www.charlottefootballclub/live or on the Charlotte FC app. Local restrictions apply.
Notable:
Charlotte FC plays its third game in seven days, this time back at home. The team is 8-4 at Bank of America Stadium.
They take on seventh place Orlando City, which defeated the Red Bulls 1-0 in New York last Saturday. Orlando has scored no more than one goal in each of its past seven games.
CLTFC lost to Orlando City 2-1 April 30 in Orlando, under previous coach Miguel Angel Ramirez.
Newly acquired defender Adilson Malanda, 20, traveled to his native France this week to secure his visa, which means thereâs at least a chance he could suit up Sunday and add depth to Charlotteâs depleted back line.
Fullback Harrison Afful, who left the LAFC game with an ankle injury, entered Wednesdayâs game in New York late, showing he should be good to go for Sunday.
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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New practice field and headquarters such good news!