Copetti adds injury to scoreless start
Plus: a familiar face in Nashville uniform, Crown Legacy kicks off Sunday, previewing third straight road game, and roster movement
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Striker Copetti unlikely to play in Nashville on Sunday, adding injury to frustration of missed chances
Copetti directing some traffic vs. NYCFC in opener. (Photo by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project.)
All eyes were on striker Enzo Copetti coming into this season, as the sole designated player on Charlotte FC’s roster-in-transition under new coach Dean Smith. The 28-year-old Argentinian was poised to claim the spotlight and take the next step forward as the primary goal-scorer for a team that parted ways with stars Karol Swiderski and Kamil Jozwiak during the preseason.
Through the first three games, Copetti has gone scoreless, and this week he had his hamstring tighten up during a practice, making him unlikely to play Saturday in Nashville. Smith didn’t rule him out for the game during his Thursday press conference, saying Copetti would be evaluated further on Friday, but the star striker hadn’t practiced since Tuesday. All of which makes Copetti an easy target for frustrated fans on social media.
But for the coaching staff?
“I’ve reassured him that he still has the full belief and backing of our dressing room,” Smith said. “And that’s an important thing for any player. You’ve been in this game long enough, sometimes it’s just about very small margins.”
Copetti could easily have two or even three goals. He surrendered a penalty kick opportunity against New York City FC to teammate Kerwin Vargas, who missed it. The VAR (video assistant referee) overturned a foul that would have awarded Copetti a penalty kick in Vancouver, after which Smith said he doubted there was “clear and obvious error” to overturn it. Then last Saturday in Toronto, goalkeeper Luka Gavran needed a VAR ruling to avoid a penalty against Copetti.
Had any of those gone Copetti’s way, the missed opportunity on a 1-vs.-1 chance he had against Gavran in Toronto wouldn’t have been quite so frustrating — for the fans and for Copetti, who slammed down his hand in disgust as Toronto cleared the ball.
“The keeper guessed well and made a good save,” said Smith, who commended Copetti for his “selfless running” throughout the game. “Could he have done better? Yeah. … But there are other people on the pitch that could have got the rebound as well, which if we ended up scoring from the rebound from the goalkeeper, nobody's talking about Enzo missing that chance. There’s many things that add up to a performance and getting goals.”
If he’s unable to go, Patrick Agyemang is the logical choice to start Saturday in Nashville. Both Scott Arfield, normally a midfielder, and Iuri Tavares, a starting winger, could play there as well, Smith said.
Charlotte FC’s loss is Nashville SC’s Gaines: Former winger McKinze Gaines thriving in new setting
Former Charlotte FC winger McKinze Gaines (left) got to suit up with his younger brother Julian Gaines for Nashville SC. (Photo courtesy of Nashville SC.)
Even as some of us (ahem, myself included) continue to get to know players on opposing teams around MLS, there will be a familiar face suited up in yellow for Nashville SC on Saturday night: winger McKinze Gaines.
He’ll become just the second player in Charlotte FC history to face his former club and likely the first one to play. Venezuelan center back Christian Makoun never entered the game when he came to Bank of America Stadium with the New England Revolution in last year’s 1-0 win over Charlotte in the season opener. Gaines figures to see action. He has played in all seven of Nashville’s games (including four in Concacaf Champions Cup play) and started two of them.
“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” said Gaines, who has kept in touch with close friends like Jaylin Lindsey, Agyemang and Brandon Cambridge. “I think that if you asked any professional player, playing against your old team is one of those games that gets you fired up, so I’m excited to play.”
This is the first of two straight games that Charlotte FC will face one of its former own. Derrick Jones comes to Bank of America Stadium next Saturday, March 23, with the Columbus Crew.
Shortly after Charlotte lost its wildcard game in New York last October, Gaines was told the team was not picking up his contract option. The speedy winger was among a departing group that included Harrison Afful, Chris Hegardt, Pablo Sisniega, and Jan Sobocinski. The move came more than a week before the club fired coach Christian Lattanzio and began its search for new coach Dean Smith.
“I think truthfully, they consulted Christian Lattanzio on some of the roster decisions, and the way that he saw the game, his philosophy (called for) a player with different attributes than I had at the time,” said Gaines, who was Charlotte’s first pick in the 2021 Expansion Draft from his hometown Austin FC. “I didn't really see it coming, but it happens.”
Two days after Smith was announced as the new head coach, Gaines was traded to Nashville SC for a second round pick in the 2024 SuperDraft.
It’s been a good landing spot for him. Not only has he played in all seven games, including two starts, he scored a goal in a start against Moca FC of the Dominican Republic to help Nashville advance to the Round of 16 in Concacaf Championship Cup. (He scored four goals in 49 games across all competition in two seasons for Charlotte FC.) Not only that, Gaines got to play alongside his brother Julian, whom Nashville signed this season to its his MLS Next Pro team in Huntsville.
It was the first time they’d ever been on the field together for an official game.
“We finally played our first competitive game together which was super cool,” said Gaines, 26, who is nearly five years older than Julian, 21. “I got a goal; he almost scored a goal. I think that would have blown the roof off my parents house had he scored a goal in the same game as me. … It’s been awesome so far.”
Gaines was on the field this preseason with Nashville when Julian scored in an exhibition game. So a brotherly celebration ensued?
“Yeah,” Gaines said, laughing. “I gave him a little smack on the head.”
Quotable: Keeping the opposing fans quiet
Charlotte FC coach Dean Smith:
I've been told how difficult it is to travel and get points (in MLS), but I’ve not seen that. I’ve been told about the atmospheres when you go to opponents’ (stadiums). I feel that the two games we’ve played (in Vancouver and Toronto), their fans have been pretty quiet apart from when (Lorenzo) Insigne scored last week. So we’ve done our job in keeping crowds quiet, and it’s certainly not not been any anywhere near the atmosphere that we create at the Bank of America.
Crown Legacy FC, which looks to build on success, opens Sunday
Just one year since fielding its first MLS Next Pro team — a developmental league that feeds into MLS — Charlotte FC has added four players to its senior roster from Crown Legacy FC: wingers Iuri Tavares and Nimfasha Berchimas, center back Joao Pedro, and midfielder Nikola Petkovic. This comes after Agyemang, Cambridge and center back Andrew Privett all earned promotions last season.
This is what Charlotte FC coaches and staff mean when they talk about a “pathway.” And it means as Crown Legacy prepares to open its second season Sunday against Carolina Core FC, it’ll field a roster restocked with players taking notice of not just a club that led the Eastern Conference last year but the rapid progression of its players to the first team.
(Carolina Core FC is a new independent team from High Point that’s joining MLS Next Pro this season. The game starts Sunday at 5 p.m. Crown Legacy FC plays its home games at the Matthews Sportsplex. Tickets are $15.)
Both Crown Legacy coach Jose Tavares and Charlotte FC assistant general manager Bobby Belair, who oversees construction of the Crown Legacy roster, acknowledged that the success of its players both collectively and individually is helping.
“This year, we found that so many players were willing to play for us,” Tavares said. “That’s changed from year one. No one knew about Crown Legacy FC. Now, suddenly, due to our culture and what we have done on the field and off (more players) want to play for us. So then it’s about choosing which ones are real possibilities, having in mind that we have a clear culture here.”
Some Legacy players to watch for this season include defensive midfielder Phillip Mayaka, who impressed in some action with the first team in preseason. He’s a player Belair thought should have been in MLS Next Pro’s “Best XI” team last year after starting 27 games for Crown Legacy. A talented newcomer to keep an eye out for is 18-year-old center back Assane Ouegraogo from Ivory Coast.
Up Next: Charlotte FC (1-1-1) at Nashville SC (0-0-3)
When/Where: 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Geodis Park, Nashville
How to watch: FREE on 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:
The season-opening gauntlet continues as Charlotte plays its third straight road game after playing back-to-back games in Canada. Even so, Charlotte will be better rested because Nashville has played four games in the Concacaf Champions Cup in addition to three MLS games so far. Nashville was eliminated from CCC by Inter Miami in a 3-1 loss Wednesday night.
Charlotte is coming off its first loss under Dean Smith, a 1-0 loss in Toronto, and has scored just two goals in its first three games. Charlotte has allowed just two goals in three games, too.
Midfielder Djibril Diani returned to practice this week after obtaining his visa in France and will be available for his MLS debut, likely off the bench.
Left back Jere Uronen will play in Nashville before leaving for international duty. Both he and Charlotte FC’s new designated player, Liel Abada, will play in EURO qualifiers March 21 (Uronen for Finland and Abada for Israel). Abada is expected to debut for Charlotte FC at home March 30 against FC Cincinnati.
Charlotte had heartbreak in stoppage time twice against Nashville SC last season when fullback Nathan Byrne was whistled for penalties and Hany Mukhtar converted penalty kicks — the first time for a 2-1 loss May 20 in Charlotte and again Sept. 2 in Nashville to settle for a 1-1 draw after Arfield had put Charlotte ahead just five minutes earlier.
Nashville defender Walker Zimmerman, a regular of the U.S. Men’s National Team, is out following “non-invasive” knee surgery.
Nashville has three draws in MLS play this season.
The Leagues Cup schedule was announced this week. In group play, Charlotte FC will play at the Philadelphia Union on July 27 and host Cruz Azul of the Mexican League on July 31 at Bank of America Stadium.
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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