Charlotte FC gets to continue home reset after struggles

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Charlotte FC forward Idan Toklomati splits a pair of Orlando City defenders in a 2-2 draw July 5, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium.

As resets go, Charlotte FC can use better results.

The Crown squandered a two-goal advantage against Orlando City for a 2-2 draw last week, the third match Charlotte dropped points. This time, it was at Bank of America Stadium, where they hadn’t played since May 24.

“We’ve got stay together,” said midfielder Bill Tuiloma, whose goal in the 65th minute was his first MLS tally since 2022 and his first match of the season. “Stay together and focus on the team and focus on ourselves. Throughout the trainings, have that connection and have a have a good, positive energy and we will come back up.”

The Crown, which is 10th in the Eastern Conference, didn’t have much connectivity over the final 20 minutes when Orlando City made its move. Having to rely on reserves in the absence of Patrick Agyemang and Tim Ream (national team commitments) and Wilfried Zaha (yellow card accumulation) Charlotte had to make do with stand-ins like Tuiloma, who added an assist against Orlando before leaving the match due to cramps.

“It’s my first game, and now I’ve got to keep pushing and keep working hard to avoid cramping up as well,” he said.

Before Orlando rallied with goals in the 69th and 80th minutes, Charlotte controlled momentum on both sides of the pitch. As the match dragged on, the Crown’s attack melted, and their defense struggled to contain the Lions.

I thought we took a good lead, probably it was an even game up until that point,” Charlotte coach Dean Smith said. “We took a lead, and then we had to defend. I thought we were frustrated them for long periods, then got a second goal, and then I thought they deserved to come back. I don't think we held out long enough, I don't think we passed the ball very well in the second half. I think you could see there was a lot of tired players on the pitch, some players who haven’t been playing loads of minutes. … So, we didn’t deserve to win the game, that's for sure.”

Pep Biel, whose loan was extended through season’s end, added two goal contributions to bring his campaign tally to 16, including seven goals and nine assists. He is the fastest player in Charlotte history to 20 career goal contributions, arriving in 29 games. Karol Swiderski held the previous record of 37 games. 

The Crown will play eight of their last 13 matches in Charlotte, where they’re 6-2-1 at Bank of America Stadium. 

“We wanted to be back here,” Smith said. “It feels like we haven’t been here for a long time. The last one was a win against the best team in the league, in my opinion, in Columbus, and a really good performance. You know what we do now? We get some players back, obviously, Tim and Patty and hopefully we can get [defender Souleyman Doumbia] back as well for next week.”

Neeley to the top club roster for now

Charlotte FC added defender Jack Neeley to the first-team roster ahead of the Orlando City match. An off-roster Homegrown Player, Neeley was eligible as a short-term call-up.

Neeley, 20, has started 11 matches with Crown Legacy this season. A Charlotte FC Academy alumnus, he made his first-team debut in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 against North Carolina FC, followed with an appearance against D.C. United in the Round of 16. Neeley made his MLS debut in a 3-2 win against Columbus Crew on May 24.

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