Rookie Agyemang finds comfort zone with Charlotte FC

COURTESY CHARLOTTE FC

Charlotte FC's Patrick Agyemang celebrates after his goal in the 89th minute forced a 3-3 draw Saturday against the Seattle Sounders at Bank of America Stadium.

Fifteen miles separate Matthews Sportsplex from Bank of America Stadium, but it’s two separate worlds to Patrick Agyemang.

The Charlotte FC striker has spent part of his rookie season with Crown Legacy FC, the MLS side’s MLS Next Pro team, where he scored Sunday in a loss to Columbus Crew 2. The previous day, Agyemang tallied on a header in the 89th minute of Charlotte FC’s 3-3 draw against the Seattle Sounders – for his first MLS goal. Agyemang is the first player to score in the developmental league and top level on consecutive days.

“I have a little dance celebration, but we were down a goal, so I really wasn’t trying to do it,” he said of the goal against Seattle. “Hopefully, as more time goes and I score a couple more goals, you’ll see my signature.”

Agyemang, a Connecticut native, was the 12th overall pick in January’s MLS SuperDraft. He was a prolific striker at Rhode Island, where he scored 19 goals and 12 assists for the Rams in addition to earning All-Atlantic 10 first team as a junior and senior. At 6-4, Agyemang is rangy and quick – he was clocked as the fastest player at the MLS College Showcase.

Still, he needed seasoning, which is why time with Crown Legacy was needed for Agyemang’s development.

“I’m not going to lie,” he said. “My first game at the Sportsplex, I was very nervous. I realized it was the start of my professional career and it was challenging, the speed and everything. I had to adjust and just realize this was the start. I love how my journey is [unfolding], starting from below and back up, so when I came here, my first thought was ‘relax, you’re here for a reason. You’ve done the work, just show what you can do and prove to yourself what you can do.’ I have great people around me that continue to tell myself I’m good for a reason, I’m here for a reason and I want to show that.”

Joining the first team caused some anxious moments, especially working in the presence of more experienced players.

“Coming in at first, I was very nervous,” Agyemang said. “Coming into a professional environment, first team stuff, I was like I don’t even know if these guys will talk to me, but from the beginning and even now, these guys are like my brothers. They treat me as one of them and they’re always by my side.

“I’m so blessed to be here because I could be somewhere else where it isn’t the same and it could potentially affect my game. The guys always encourage me each day – training, everything I do – they want me to get better, so I’m happy to be here.”

Agyemang’s goal against Seattle was one of three firsts for Charlotte FC players in the draw. Charlotte native Jaylin Lidsey and Ashley Westwood also tallied their first goal for the Crown. All three were equalizers for Charlotte, which never led against the Sounders but showed fight.

“I’m so happy,” Charlotte coach Christian Lattanzio said. “I think the way we want to play … we want to score from different positions with different players. “I think the fullbacks should be in that position sometimes in the second phase or third phase to keep the ball in the last third. I think one of [Westwood’s] characteristics is to shoot from outside the box where he’s really accurate and precise. I’m very glad for them because they work so hard.”

Said Agyemang: “The main thing is to take the positives. In this game, there’s a game every week or every other week or so, so you always want to bounce back and although there were a couple of mistakes in terms of conceding goals, we were attacking … and we had a good attacking style. We were pressing, we were creating chances. For us as a team, that’s a positive and our main thing is creating chances.”

This article corrects the spelling of Agyemang's last name.

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