Charlotte FC returns to MLS play against New England

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Charlotte FC coach Dean Smith is looking for his side to get off to a quick start in Saturday's game at New England Revolution.

The last two weeks have been rough for Charlotte FC.

The Crown (4-4-2, 14 points), which absorbed losses to Orlando, Nashville SC and Atlanta United in MLS and U.S. Open Cup matches, will try to get right Saturday at New England Revolution (5-3-1, 16 points). Gametime is 7:30 p.m. and the match will be streamed on Apple TV. 

“You still don’t enjoy the wins as long as you should do,” Charlotte coach Dean Smith said. “You feel the losses always longer, but you win a game and you still, straight away, think about the next game and how you can try and win that game. I never get too high, never get too low, and the players know my routine. They know what I’m like, so I give them the chance that their confidence doesn’t drop too low as well … and that’s a key, because we need them to be playing with confidence.”

Said forward Archie Goodwin: “We’re looking forward to this weekend against New England, really positive going into it. We’re going to put our best foot forward and bring back the three points.”

Charlotte, which is fifth in the MLS East, has struggled on both ends of the pitch over the last three matches. They were outscored 10-3, which includes a 4-2 loss to Nashville, 4-1 to Orlando and 2-0 to Atlanta in the Open Cup at Sportsplex in Matthews.

Slow starts and defensive lapses have been the chief culprits.

“In the last game [against Atlanta], our final third play wasn’t as good as it could have been,” Smith said. “We didn’t move their players and create space enough, and we didn’t combine well enough in and around the penalty box. We did it later in the last 30 minutes of the game, but not enough in the first half, especially. 

“The previous two games, I thought we played for an hour. Played well at Nashville. We conceded not good goals defensively. We’ve made some big mistakes that cost us goals at times. Orlando was a different one, and it’s three different games, and I think three different performances. The Orlando game, we weren’t good in rest defense and gave up big chances from not rest defending as well as we should do, but in that game, we were much better with the ball and create some good opportunities.”

The Crown has juggled lineups in 2026, due to injury and crowded match schedules. Those changes have more pronounced in the backline where fullback David Schnegg, who replaced the injured Harry Toffolo, has five goal contributions in all competitions to match captain Ashley Westwood despite playing only 300 minutes. Toffolo, Tim Ream and Henry Kessler won’t be available for Charlotte due to injury, but winger Wilfried Zaha is, which should boost Charlotte’s attack in the final third.

The Crown has been inconsistent in creating space and scoring opportunities, especially in the penalty area. With Zaha’s return from injury to partner with Pep Biel, Charlotte has the pieces in place to push defenses. 

“The opportunities haven’t really been created in moments,” Goodwin said. “In the games that we have lost in the last few weeks, there have been periods where we have been getting the ball in the box and creating those chances. It’s just doing it for longer periods of time. You’ve seen at times the first 45 has been a bit slow, and then we’ve come out hard the first 15, and those opportunities and chances and those forward runs are all coming, but then they go away. We just need to do it for the full 90.”

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