By Billy McGee
May 23, 2025
Photo: Kurt Shackelford / CLTure
Charlotte FC’s poor stretch of play continued with a 4-1 loss at home to Chicago Fire FC, dropping them to eighth in the Eastern Conference. They also had a heartbreaking end to their U.S. Open Cup campaign, losing on penalties to DC United.
The Crown’s recent struggles persist with defensive lapses, poor positioning, and a high number of shots and goals conceded.
“What’s made our identity really good is, we lose the ball, we try and win it back, and if we don’t, we get into shape really quickly,” said Dean Smith in the postgame press conference following the loss to Chicago.
The fixture congestion hasn’t helped Charlotte, with six matches since the start of May, and nine total this month.
“It looked like one team had six days to build up to it, and it looked like one team had been on the road a lot, and only two days to build up to it, because they [Chicago] looked fresher than us. Not an excuse, it’s a reason, and we didn’t play well enough,” said Smith
Chicago catches fire against Charlotte
Against Chicago, Charlotte had one of their worst halves of the season, falling behind 1-0 just before halftime after an impressive long-range strike from Chicago forward Jonathan Bamba in the 42nd minute. The game unraveled for Charlotte in the second half, as they conceded two goals within four minutes — in the 60th and 64th minutes — scored by Brian Gutiérrez and Philip Zinckernagel.
Charlotte managed to get on the board in the 70th minute with a goal from Patrick Agyemang, who fired a shot after Eryk Williamson laid it off to him. Agyemang took a touch, spun to create space, and left goalkeeper Chris Brady with no chance to react.
The Fire added their fourth goal in the 79th minute after a questionable call on Williamson led to a penalty, which Brian Gutiérrez converted to complete his brace. “It’s not a penalty — it was a poor decision. It was a fleeting glance at best,” said Smith postgame.
Charlotte’s back line was under pressure throughout the match, facing 25 shots from Chicago — 10 on target and nine blocked. Injuries to first-choice fullbacks Nathan Byrne and Souleyman Doumbia are almost certainly contributing to the recent defensive struggles, but the presence of an aging Tim Ream playing out of his natural center back position is also a factor.
The attack struggled in the match, managing just 12 shots — five of which were on target. Patrick Agyemang accounted for three of those five and scored the team’s only goal. Pep Biel also took five shots and put one on target, but overall, Charlotte created few quality chances.
The U.S. Cup run comes to an end
In a rainy U.S. Open Cup match against D.C. United, Charlotte fielded a rotated squad, leaving Kristijan Kahlina, Ashley Westwood, and Wilfried Zaha out. D.C. United opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a goal from David Schnegg, who was left unmarked on the left side of the box. Charlotte went into halftime trailing 1-0 for the second consecutive match.
Charlotte responded in the 58th minute with an impressive goal from Patrick Agyemang, who beat a defender and fired a shot past a diving Kim Joon-Hong. The Crown took the lead in the 61st minute when a corner from Williamson was headed in by Bill Tuiloma.
D.C. United equalized in the 86th minute after Garrison Tubbs controlled a cross and scored to force extra time. Charlotte regained the lead in the 95th minute with Tyger Smalls’ first career goal, assisted by Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty. D.C. United equalized again following a failed clearance, with Jackson Hopkins punching the ball into the net from a difficult angle. Neither team scored in the second half of extra time, leading to a penalty shootout.
A huge factor in the shootout was the substitution of 21-year-old D.C. United goalkeeper Kim Joon-Hong for the more experienced 30-year-old Jordan Farr. Bingham performed well, saving the final three shots after allowing the first two to get past him, but it wasn’t enough, as Brandt Bronico was Charlotte’s only penalty taker to convert. Adilson Malanda, Pep Biel, Iuri Tavares, and Liel Abada all had their shots saved by Farr.
The Charlotte attack looked better in the match but missed some big chances, notably a strike from Malanda that would have made the score 3-1, hitting the crossbar in the 77th minute. They had eight shots on target from 18 attempts despite having just under 40 percent possession, with Agyemang scoring for the second game in a row. Defensively, they again faced a lot of shots, conceding eight on target out of 17.
Return to The Fortress
The Crown will look to get back on track with a home match against the third-place Columbus Crew. The two teams faced off earlier this month at Lower.com Field in Columbus, where the Crew defeated Charlotte 4-2.
Columbus has not won a game since defeating Charlotte, drawing three consecutive games against Philadelphia, Montréal, and Cincinnati. A possession-heavy team, Columbus controls the ball for nearly 60 percent of each match while leading Major League Soccer in passes completed with 7578. Charlotte will likely need to play a counter-attacking game, striking quickly in transition while holding up in defense if they are to get a positive result against Columbus and end their losing streak.
The match is scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 24, and will be available to stream on Apple TV MLS Season Pass. Tickets for Charlotte FC vs. Columbus Crew are available here.
Back on the Road
Following the home match against Columbus, Charlotte will kick off a lengthy road trip with a midweek match against the reigning Eastern Conference champions, the New York Red Bulls. The Red Bulls currently sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, just one point behind Charlotte.
The two teams have yet to play each other this year, but last season, New York defeated Charlotte 3-1 at home and later drew 1-1 at Bank of America Stadium.
Statistically, the Red Bulls have been quite similar to Charlotte this year, averaging a comparable number of shots per match and both putting 4.1 shots on target per game. They are also close in goals scored, with Charlotte tallying 21 so far this season and New York 20.
The Red Bulls are coming off a penalty shootout win over FC Dallas in the U.S. Open Cup following a 2-2 draw at the end of extra time. Prior to that, they suffered back-to-back MLS losses, falling 2-0 to crosstown rivals NYCFC and 2-1 to Nashville SC. They will face DC United over the weekend before the match with Charlotte.
Charlotte FC vs. New York Red Bulls is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Wednesday, May 28, and will stream on Apple TV MLS Season Pass.
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