Charlotte FC plays finale for seeding
Plus: Swiderski gets hot at the right time, updating Agyemang contract talks, previewing Saturday's game vs. D.C. United and more
It’s time for Fútbol Friday, The Charlotte Ledger’s weekly newsletter getting you up to speed on Charlotte FC, the city’s new pro soccer team.
Charlotte FC, already in the MLS playoffs, is now playing for seeding, goals-against tallies and momentum
Charlotte FC players huddling up before 2-0 win over Chicago. (Photo by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project.)
So-called “Decision Day” doesn’t feel quite so daunting for Charlotte FC this year. Unlike a year ago, when the club had to beat Miami and Lionel Messi on the last day of the regular season to make the MLS playoffs — and did — this year’s matchup with D.C. United is a less pressurized.
Charlotte FC is assured of a spot in the MLS playoffs already and a bye into the best-of-three Round One as well. Charlotte will open the playoffs next weekend on the road, then host a Game 2 sometime between Nov. 1-5. A game three, if necessary, will be played on the road by Nov. 10.
All that’s left to figure out Saturday is which team Charlotte will face in Round One. If Charlotte wins and New York City FC loses, Charlotte would finish as high as No. 5 in the Eastern Conference and face Orlando City. If Charlotte finishes No. 6, it will play FC Cincinnati. If Charlotte finishes No. 7, it will play the Columbus Crew.
Ask Coach Dean Smith if he has a preference on which team they play, and he says, “Not at all.” With Smith, the verbal shoulder shrug comes off as genuine and not just because he doesn’t want to offer up any “bulletin board material.”
“There's four different clubs we could play against at the moment,” Smith said. “Whoever comes comes.”
When asked, later in the interview, if anything fazed him, he said, “Yeah, when I three-putt at golf.”
D.C. United, meanwhile, figures to play with more urgency, given that it is one of four teams fighting for the final two playoff spots in the wildcard game. D.C. United and Montreal are 8th and 9th, with 40 points each, and both the Philadelphia Union and Atlanta United are still in contention with 37 points apiece.
If D.C. wins or ties against Charlotte, they’re in the playoffs. If they lose, they can still get in with help from Philadelphia and Atlanta.
So what is Charlotte playing “for” if not a particular seed, or opponent?
“We want to continue some momentum,” said Smith, whose club is unbeaten in its last four games, while outscoring opponents 11-4. “I think we’ve got the best goals-against record in the Eastern Conference. I want to continue that.”
Charlotte has allowed 37 goals this season, the fewest in the Eastern Conference, with Columbus right behind, with 38 goals allowed.
In essence, Charlotte has the luxury of trying just to keep momentum, both offensively and defensively, to start the playoffs in position to make a run. Last year’s club fell flat as soon as it got there, losing 5-2 at the New York Red Bulls in the wildcard game.
Reminder: Saturday’s game starts early, at 6 p.m. Since it’s Decision Day, all Eastern Conference games start at 6 p.m. Eastern. Western Conference games start at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Swiderski is scorching
Returning striker Karol Swiderski has heated up at the most opportune time. The “Polish pistol” has scored four goals in Charlotte’s past three games to give him six now, which ties him for the second-most goals on the club with Liel Abada and Kerwin Vargas. But Swiderski’s six come in just nine MLS games (eight starts) since he returned from loan in Italy three months ago.
Swiderski scored two goals via penalty kicks in his first two MLS games back but didn’t get his first goal in open play until Sept. 28, when he deflected a blistering Brandt Bronico ball to end his four-game scoreless streak. The opportunistic goal was enough to get Swiderski on track. His next one against Chicago was the most picturesque team goal of the season, after Charlotte used six passes to work upfield as Swiderski and Pep Biel worked a give-and-go to set up the finish.
“He’s looked the player that we know he can be,” Smith said. “And that will give him an awful lot of confidence, but it will also give the team confidence as well.”
Swiderski has faced considerable backlash from a segment of fans since reports first surfaced late last season that he wanted to leave Charlotte to play in Europe. He had to face more when his loan to Hellas Verona ended earlier than most, including Charlotte FC’s front office, predicted. When asked if this run of play is what he had in mind when returning from Italy, Swiderski said:
When I [came] back, [it] was not easy for me because, half of the fans, they say, “We don't need you.” Some say, “Oh, nice, he’s back.” I try [not] to read this, don’t check the internet, Twitter or Instagram, but sometimes, even if you don’t want to, you will see this. But from the first day, when I [came] back, I [tried] to be focused in every training, to push to play the best how I can, so I’m happy now. I play like before, when I [left] to Italy.
Agyemang contract talks ongoing
Patrick Agyemang leads Charlotte FC with nine goals. (Photo by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project.)
Charlotte FC has locked up a steady stream of players this summer, signing Andrew Privett, Adilson Malanda, Ashley Westwood, Nathan Byrne and Kristijan Kahlina to new multi-year contracts. But one name has stayed conspicuously out of the news so far: Patrick Agyemang.
Charlotte’s dynamic young striker is making a name for himself in MLS. Goals like his 1-v-1 handiwork in the final minutes of the 2-0 win over Montreal on Oct. 5 were just the latest example. Agyemang, who is getting most of his minutes now spelling Swiderski off the bench, leads Charlotte FC with nine goals on the season.
So what gives? Charlotte FC general manager Zoran Krneta told WFNZ’s Will Palaszczuk this week that contract talks with Agyemang have been ongoing.
“We’ve had open discussions with his representative for some time now,” Krneta said. “We want to secure Pat to a longer contract. He has two more years with us, guaranteed, so he’s not going anywhere else soon. We’re discussing to extend his two years to a multi-year contract.”
The club controls options for Agyemang for both the 2025 and 2026 seasons, so the team isn’t under big time pressure to sign him to a new deal — though it appears both sides would like to get it done sooner rather than later.
“Ultimately, I love the city of Charlotte, and I love to be here,” Agyemang said. “I think right now I just want to focus on the end of the season and get through it, and when the time comes right, hopefully everything is sorted and we go from there.”
Notable: Charman on Kahlina, Young podcasters, Aron award and playoff tickets
◼️ In case you missed it: Charlotte FC radio color analyst Jessica Charman put down the microphone and picked up the keyboard this week to write a piece on Charlotte FC goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina. It was an interesting read from one former goalkeeper about another, breaking down Kahlina’s best saves and analyzing why she believes he should win MLS goalkeeper of the year.
◼️ Podcast takeover: The ladies at the Queens Pitch podcast pulled off a nice surprise this week, and it wasn’t actually the “Queens” themselves who did it. The so-dubbed “Pitchside Princes,” Lillian Vogt, 12, and Lizzie Hunter, 11, borrowed their moms’ equipment — and quick wits — to put together an adorable-yet-still-edgy podcast, rating who was hot and not among a half dozen Charlotte FC players. You might be surprised who they judged the harshest. They definitely did their moms Bridget McCall and Kara Hunter proud.
◼️ MLS Next Pro award: Crown legacy midfielder and Charlotte FC Academy product Aron John was named to the Best XI for MLS Next Pro this year, after leading the league with 10 assists. He also scored eight goals, to finish third in goal contributions for MLS Next Pro, which is a feeder league for MLS. Crown Legacy plays top-seeded FC Cincinnati 2 in the MLS Next Pro playoffs Sunday at 7 p.m.
◼️ Round One Playoff tickets are on sale: Charlotte will host its Round One game between the dates of Nov. 1-5. The date will be determined following Saturday’s season finale. For information and to buy tickets through Ticketmaster, click here.
Up Next: Charlotte FC (13-11-9) at DC United (10-13-10)
When/Where: 6 p.m. Saturday, at Audi Field, Washington, D.C.
How to watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Find information about how to subscribe for the season here.
How to listen: WFNZ 92.7 in English, WOLS 106.1 in Spanish.
Notable:
D.C. United’s Christian Benteke is on pace to win the Golden Boot as MLS’s top goal-scorer with 23 goals. Charlotte FC managed to hold him scoreless for 90 minutes in Charlotte’s 1-0 win against D.C. United at Bank of America on June 15.
Benteke, 33, played 11 seasons in the English Premier League, including three alongside Charlotte FC captain Ashley Westwood with Aston Villa (the same club Smith managed from 2018-2021). Benteke led Aston Villa in scoring each of those years at ages 21-23.
D.C. United has lost just once in its last seven matches and is coming off wins over Nashville SC and New England.
Both Swiderski and defender Tim Ream arrived back from international duty Thursday morning, leaving them just one scheduled practice with Charlotte FC heading into D.C. but Smith said “we won’t be doing too much different.”
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her third season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!
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