Charlotte FC poised for electric atmosphere
First Round series comes down to decisive Game 3 tonight at Bank of America Stadium against New York City FC; Zaha's impact; Charlotte's hunt for goals
It’s time for Fútbol Friday, The Charlotte Ledger’s weekly newsletter getting you up to speed on Charlotte FC.
➡️ Need to sign up for Fútbol Friday and other Charlotte-focused email newsletters from The Charlotte Ledger? You can do that here.
➡️ Ledger subscribers can add or drop individual newsletters on their “My Account” page.
Today’s Fútbol Friday is sponsored by StreetFair. Find the home service pros your neighbors actually use and trust, and join together for group discounts.
Charlotte FC and fans look to make tonight ‘special’ with first-round playoff series-clincher on the line
The pre-game “Poznan” celebration will be jumping Friday night for decisive Game 3 at Bank of America Stadium. (Photo by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project.)
Charlotte FC fought all season for homefield advantage, then willed itself to a shootout victory over New York City FC Saturday night, in the name of bringing a big moment back to Bank of America Stadium. Tonight, it’s here.
Charlotte hosts New York City FC in the win-or-go-home Game 3 in the best-of-three Round One of the MLS playoffs. The winner advances to play the Philadelphia Union in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
It’s Fútbol Friday, indeed.
“The Bank will be rocking,” Charlotte FC coach Dean Smith said. “I know there’s a lot of people really enthused about the game, and we can all make this a special night for Charlotte.”
Charlotte FC set an MLS record with more than 74,479 fans at its inaugural home game in 2022. It stacked the stadium for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in 2023 and again, at least in the lower bowl, in September. And last year, at the city’s first home MLS playoff game, more than 40,000 fans lit up Bank of America Stadium for a dynamic penalty shootout win against Orlando City.
That forced a Game 3 in Orlando, which Charlotte FC went on to lose. Tonight, a victory can push the Crown into unprecedented territory: a single-elimination conference semifinal.
What amounts to a quarterfinal game in the MLS playoffs will be played in Philadelphia, home of the Supporters’ Shield winners as this year’s regular season champion. [Here is the MLS playoff bracket.] The only chances Charlotte has to host a playoff game after tonight are if Nashville or Columbus advances to the Eastern Conference final, Charlotte keeps winning, and lower-seeded Minnesota or Seattle wins the Western Conference.
In other words, this is probably Charlotte FC’s last game at The Bank, The Fortress, whatever you like to call it, of 2025. If it’s anything like last Saturday night’s game in New York, it’ll be dramatic.
Needing a win at Yankee Stadium to prolong the series, Charlotte outscored NYCFC 7-6 in penalty kicks, including the last three in sudden death, before a diving save by goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina forced the series back to Charlotte.
“Our main thing was ‘We’re not leaving without winning,’” Wilfried Zaha said afterward.
First-round goal drought
No. 4 Charlotte FC and No. 5 New York City FC figured to be evenly matched this series and have been. The only goal scored in open play by either team during the first two games was Alonso Martinez’s goal 34 minutes into New York City’s 1-0 win in Game 1. [That game, for Charlotte, was marred by a Tuesday night assignment, one defensive lapse and the absence of a suspended Zaha.]
Dating back to last year’s first-round series against Orlando, Charlotte has scored just one goal in the run of play in its last five playoff games. Karol Swiderski scored on a go-ahead swinging left-footer in the 81st minute of Game 3 in Orlando.
If not for a shirt-grab penalty by Djbril Diana late in stoppage time and a game-tying goal scored on the rebound of a penalty kick, Charlotte would have advanced to host Atlanta in the Eastern Conference semifinal.
In Game 2 in New York, Harry Toffolo missed a great opportunity wide after a cross from Brandt Bronico and back-heel flip from Idan Toklomati. Both Ashley Westwood and Bronico hit longer range shots off the woodwork of the goal.
“I still think we’ve got more to show,” Westwood said. “We’ve got another couple of gears to go, and we need to do that Friday.”
Toklomati goes up for a header in Game 1. (Photo by Matt Geslin, Instagram: @mgeslinphoto)
Smith, for his part, doesn’t seem to want the players to focus as much on what they haven’t done as much as what they have.
“The biggest thing for me is making sure the lads are relaxed enough to go and do the right things,” Smith said. “They’ve been doing that all season, winning 19 games out of 34 in the regular season, so we know how to go and win football games. It’s about doing it as a team, making as few mistakes as possible, but also pushing [the opposition] into mistakes as well.”
Zaha factor
A mistake by Zaha, a red card in the regular season finale, cost Charlotte in Game 1, but the Crown reaped the reward of both a rested and motivated Zaha Saturday in New York. Paced by his measured but menacing presence, Charlotte seemed to play with more confidence and reassurance.
Zaha, who watched the Game 1 loss in a suite at Bank of America Stadium, said after Game 2 at Yankee Stadium that he’d played with his usual mentality, which is to say, edgy. But from the outside looking in, it looked as though Zaha kept a tighter hold on his emotions. He saved his biggest reactions for one fairly demonstrative response to a late-game call, a smile for New York goalkeeper Matt Freese after scoring his penalty kick, and a semi-heated exchange with TopBin90.com’s lead reporter Jorge Gonzalez in the postgame presser, taking exception to being singled out for missing Game 1.
Smith said this week that he talks to his team about thinking clearly under pressure, or “T-CUP,” a phrase coined by England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup championship coach Clive Woodward. [Talk about a British phrase.] However you want to characterize Zaha’s mentality in Game 2, Charlotte wouldn’t mind the exact same thing tonight.
Apple TV broadcaster and former standout New York Red Bulls [and Manchester City] striker Bradley Wright-Phillips told the Charlotte Soccer Show podcast this week, “You guys should feel lucky that he’s a bit wound up. He doesn’t like being questioned about this kind of stuff … If you get him wound up, you might get a good performance out of him.”
Zaha rejoined his teammates Saturday in New York and helped them win in penalties 7-6. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC)
Captain Quotable
Forcing a Game 3 back at Bank of America Stadium lightened the mood around Atrium Health Performance Park this week, and captain Ashley Westwood was jovial with media this week:
On missing his penalty kick Saturday:
I offered Kahli [goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina] a massage, babysitting his children, but he turned it down.
Westwood on reaching 600 games for his career:
It’s a lot of miles. I think it’s back and two to Australia three times or something.
On fellow Englishman Nathan Byrne’s penalty kick in New York, which was his first goal in any game action in a Charlotte FC uniform.
Nath has scored a couple in training. But I must admit, when he scores in training, the gaffer usually cancels training and sends us all in. But he wasn’t phased one bit. He stepped up and did the job.
Up next: No. 4 Charlotte FC vs. No. 5 New York City FC
When/Where: 7 p.m. Bank of America Stadium
How to watch: MLS Season Pass and Apple TV. Find information about how to subscribe for the season here.
How to listen: WLNK 107.9 in English; WXNC 97.3 and WNOW 99.1 in Spanish.
Notable:
These teams split the first two games of the series, with the visitor winning each time. New York City FC won 1-0 in Game 1, and Charlotte winning a 7-6 shootout in Game 2 after a scoreless draw in regulation.
This is Charlotte’s second ever home playoff game. The Crown won Game 2 against Orlando last year in a shootout at Bank of America Stadium to force a Game 3 in Orlando, which Charlotte lost.
Charlotte FC is 6-2 in shootouts all time, 2-1 in MLS playoffs. Kahlina has made eight penalty kick saves overall in his four seasons in Charlotte, three in the MLS playoffs. He had one PK save against Orlando in Game 2 last year and two in Game 2 Saturday night.
Zaha has recorded a goal or an assist in 13 of the last 17 matches.
New York City FC’s Martinez led MLS with 10 game-winning goals during the regular season and made it 11 on the year in Game 1 when he slipped past multiple Charlotte FC defenders to score the only goal in a 1-0 win.
The winner will advance to play in Philadelphia either Nov. 22 or 23, following an international break next weekend. Charlotte FC center back Tim Ream will join the U.S. Men’s National team for exhibitions against Paraguay on Nov. 15 and Uruguay on Nov. 18.
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her fourth season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!
—
Need to sign up for this e-newsletter? We offer a free version, as well as paid memberships for full access to all 6 of our local newsletters:
The Charlotte Ledger is a locally owned media company that delivers smart and essential news. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
◼️ About The Ledger • Our Team • Website
◼️ Newsletters • Podcast • Newcomer Guide • A Better You email series
◼️ Subscribe • Sponsor • Events Board • Merch Store • Manage Your Account
◼️ Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, LinkedIn