By Billy McGee
July 15, 2025
Photo: Kurt Shackelford / CLTure
Charlotte FC picked up all three points in a crucial 2-0 win over New York City FC, putting them back in a playoff position leading up to a midweek game against D.C. United.
Against NYCFC, Charlotte took an early lead with an Idan Toklomati goal assisted by Pep Biel in the 14th minute. The goal was Toklomati’s third in the last four games, while Biel’s assist marked his 17th goal contribution of the season — a single-season record for Charlotte FC. Kerwin Vargas added the second goal in the 81st minute on a second-chance effort after his initial shot was blocked, helping secure the win for the Crown.
Despite several individual mistakes in the buildup that led to turnovers throughout the match, Charlotte defended their box well, facing 15 shots but allowing only four on target — including one that was cleared off the goal line by Adilson Malanda to help preserve their first clean sheet since May 31 against Toronto.
“We got into good positions to defend our box really well, there’s a couple of opportunities which we’ve given them,” said head coach Dean Smith. “Most of their opportunities were from us, you know, from individual errors or unforced errors, but our reaction to actually help our teammates out was really good, and it should give us a lot of confidence going into the next few games.”
When Charlotte avoided the mistakes in their buildup play, they looked good, with both goals starting from the left wing and eventually getting to an attacker who made a run into the box. However, they managed just seven total shots, putting three on target, but were efficient with the shots they created.
Looking ahead, the Crown will face D.C. United, who are on a six-match winless streak, with their most recent game a 2–1 loss to LA Galaxy. Against the Galaxy, they went down 2-0 early in the second half with goals conceded in the 23rd and 53rd minutes, before pulling one back in the 77th, but they couldn’t find an equalizer to salvage a point on the road.
Through 22 games so far, D.C. United has a league-worst goal differential of -23 and is severely underperforming their xG of 31.1 with just 18 goals scored. They have struggled to put shots on target this season, with the league’s sixth-lowest accurate shooting percentage at 33.1 percent. The 2024 MLS Golden Boot winner, Christian Benteke, has not been as prolific this season, scoring just six goals in 15 league appearances for D.C. United. They also have a new coach, having fired Troy Lesesne on July 10. Academy director Kevin Flanagan is serving as the interim manager, with the club planning to hire Swiss manager René Weiler as their full-time head coach, per Tom Bogert.
The match against D.C. United is the first of three consecutive games that Charlotte will play against teams that are in the bottom four of the Eastern Conference. This will be the first regular-season matchup between Charlotte and D.C. United this year, but the two sides did face each other in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16, where D.C. United eliminated Charlotte in a penalty shootout. Last season, Charlotte took all six points against D.C., keeping a clean sheet in both fixtures.
Coming off a home win over the weekend, the Crown will look to start a winning streak and firmly reestablish themselves in the playoff race. Facing one of the worst defenses in the league, Charlotte’s attack will need to threaten D.C.’s back line by creating both quality and quantity of chances. Biel playing centrally and Zaha out wide, with either Vargas or Liel Abada opposite him, should provide plenty of attacking output for the Crown. They will also need to clean up self-inflicted mistakes and limit turnovers in their own half when building from the back — something they struggled with at times against NYCFC.
The club will debut its new kit, which pays homage to Charlotte’s first professional soccer team, the Carolina Lightnin’, who played in the ASL from 1981 to 1983 at American Legion Memorial Stadium and won the city’s first professional sports championship.
A press conference will also be held at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday morning with Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, David Tepper, Nicole Tepper, and Kristi Coleman to announce Charlotte as the host city for the 2026 MLS All-Star Game.
A special press conference will be held at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday morning with Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, David Tepper, Nicole Tepper, Kristi Coleman, and others, likely announcing Charlotte as the host city for the 2026 MLS All-Star Game. ⚽️✨ pic.twitter.com/OZjB8YcA6G
— CLTure® ( culture ) (@CLTure) July 15, 2025
Kickoff for the match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16, with streaming available on Apple TV+ through MLS Season Pass. Tickets are available here.
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