Charlotte FC breaks winless drought, aims for momentum

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Kerwin Vargas tallied an assist on David Schnegg’s goal in Charlotte FC’s 3-1 win against Toronto FC on May 16, 2026 at Bank of America Stadium. The win pushed Charlotte (5-6-3, 18 points) into seventh in the MLS Eastern Conference.

Charlotte FC finally played with energy, and three points followed.

The Crown snapped a six-match winless streak with Saturday’s 3-1 win over Toronto FC, their fourth straight in the series. After a month of struggles across all competitions, Charlotte (5-6-3, 18 points) put things right with a game left before the two-month World Cup break.

I think they can hopefully take some confidence from the game,” coach Dean Smith said. “There were some good performances, there was some parts that we can do better, and that’s what we did on the training ground last week. I said to them before the game that pressure is a privilege. When you’re a professional sports person, then there’s going to be pressure on you. Treat it as privilege but go and enjoy playing football because there’s a lot of other people who would want to be in their position, and a lot of the players … went and tried to enjoy the game.”

There was plenty to enjoy after a slow start against Toronto, especially on the attack. Wilfried Zaha, who is out of contract next month, opened the scoring 19 minutes in.

Pep Biel scored his seventh goal and fifth assist, which boosted his tally to 39 total MLS goal contributions at Charlotte FC career (19 goals and 20 assists). Biel’s 84th-minute penalty kick closed the scoring. 

Kerwin Vargas added two assists to give him to three for the season and his second match with multiple assists with the Crown. His first multi-assist match was in 2023 against FC Cincinnati. 

David Schnegg put Charlotte FC in front for good with his tally in the 35th minute. The goal – a left-footed strike from outside the box – was Schnegg’s second goal for Charlotte FC and first in MLS play. 

“It was a good ball, I think, from Kerwin,” he said. “This is how we trained [over the] week, and then I got the opportunity … to shoot, and happy that it went in.” 

Said Smith: “Really good finish. That’s the kind of thing he can do. I thought he made some really good runs at times, just want the final ball as well from him.”

Schnegg has seven goal contributions in all competitions in 2026 (five in MLS, two in U.S. Open Cup), which topped his season high in only eight games with the Crown. He had four with DC United over 32 games in 2024. 

With three points in tow, Charlotte’s attention shifts to Saturday’s home match against New England Revolution. With two months off, adding three points that could potentially move them past New York Red Bulls into sixth in the Eastern Conference would build momentum for the stretch drive.

“I think we came back from a few not great results, where maybe we deserved a little bit better, so it was not easy for us,” Schnegg said. “In the dressing room we were talking about how important it is to win at home again, and overall, to be honest, it's always hard to reflect on the game immediately after, so it’s just so superb to get the three points.”

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