CHARLOTTE — Now at the end of its third season as a franchise, Charlotte FC is heading to the Audi Major League Soccer Cup Playoffs for the second time.
Over the weekend, MLS revealed the dates and times for all matches for the opening round of the 2024 playoffs.
Fifth-seeded Charlotte FC (14-11-9, 51 points) will play fourth-seeded Orlando City SC (15-12-7, 52 points) in a best-of-three series that begins in Orlando’s Inter&Co Stadium on Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and then goes to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. If necessary, a Game 3 will be played on Nov. 9 (6 p.m.) back in Florida.
First-year coach Dean Smith’s Charlotte club is currently on a roll.
The Crown ensured its playoff return ticket on Oct. 2 with a 4-3 home win over Chicago Fire FC (7-9-18, 30 points); Charlotte then took down CF Montréal (11-10-13, 43 points) in a 2-0 finish at home three days later.
This past Saturday, the club cruised to a 3-0 road victory over D.C. United (10-10-14, 40 points), eliminating its opponent from postseason play in a Decision Day match to close out the regular season.
Charlotte’s three points, combined with a New York City FC (14-8-12, 50 points) loss, propelled it into fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
“I think we’re in a really good moment, which is what we wanted to do,” Smith said after the win. “This is the time that you have to be in a good moment going into the playoffs. We’ve got Orlando now, so tough games — we played them twice this season. But as I said right from the start, we don’t care who we play.”
Smith noted his admiration for Charlotte’s defense that has only allowed four combined goals in the past five matchups; the club hasn’t lost a contest since a 2-0 road loss to Orlando City on Sept. 18.
In the last five matches across the league, only Los Angeles FC (19-7-8, 64 points) — with 15 points — is in better form than Charlotte FC.
“The big thing for me today — and I just said it to the players — is how proud I am of them for this season,” Smith added. “It’s my first full regular season, and we’ve kept the fewest goals against us in the Eastern Conference, and they can be proud of themselves for that as well.”
Midfielder Brandt Bronico, who assisted Charlotte’s first two goals (Pep Biel and Patrick Agyemang) in the win over D.C. United, echoed the sentiments of positivity expressed by his coach and said his club is performing well at the right time.
“It’s important in any sport to have momentum, but especially in soccer and especially in this league,” Bronico said. “That’s something we emphasized and strive to do going into these last five, six games.”
On Monday, it was announced that the 29-year-old former Charlotte 49er earned a spot on the MLS Team of the Matchday following his recent leadership in the midfield.
“We wanted to get three points tonight, and not only did we do that, but we scored three goals as well,” Bronico continued. “We wanted to keep that momentum going and make a statement going into the playoffs. We’re for real and we want to come and win this thing. We want to win the MLS Cup and that’s what we’re striving to do.”
Last season, Charlotte FC earned its first MLS Cup Playoffs berth in team history, but fell short in the wild card round to the New York Red Bulls in a 5-2 road finish. The club finished at ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 10-11-13 record as coach Christian Lattanzio was ultimately fired two weeks after the playoff loss.
Established in 2022, the 2024 version of Charlotte FC has proven to be the franchise’s best effort to date, ranking second in the MLS with only 37 goals conceded and ranking eighth in goal difference (nine).
With a team-best 10 goals, 23-year-old forward Patrick Agyemang has emerged as a true offensive threat, while captain Ashley Westwood has become the face of Charlotte FC as one of the league’s top defensive midfielders.
“Our players are in form at the moment, they look like they’re enjoying the football,” Smith said. “We have center-halves heading balls out of their box, and they’re enjoying doing it. It’s a good place to be, but now we need to carry that on into the playoffs.”
