Charlotte FC Report: Week 33, 2022
It is finally Decision Day Weekend and sadly, the decision has already been made for Charlotte FC. They were eliminated from playoff contention on Wednesday after the draw vs. Columbus Crew. The contest was a continuation of a rain-delayed contest from earlier in the season and it had an odd feeling. Daniel Rios netted one in the 58th minute and Andre Shinyashiki kept Charlotte alive with his extra time goal. Columbus’s first goal came from the leg of Lucas Zelarayán and it happened to be the longest free kick goal in MLS history. Sadly, we won’t see Charlotte competing for the championship, but we can look back at a very successful season. For an expansion team, I would say they overperformed. There were a lot of memorable performances and a lot of things that we can look back fondly on. The offseason will be interesting. It will be interesting to see what the roster will look like in the opening match of 2023 and hopefully we will see some improvements and hopefully we could see a playoff-contending team.
Jim Dedmon/USA Today Sports
With all of that being said, there is still one more match. The New York Red Bulls are next on the agenda on Sunday and this game doesn’t matter as far as the standings are concerned, but there is a good amount of pride at stake. Charlotte can walk out of New York with something more to look forward to if they leave with a win. The Red Bulls are a playoff team and are currently the 4th seed in the East. I accidently said that 8 teams make the playoffs, but I want to correct that. Only 7 makes the playoffs. I had the NBA playoffs on my mind. This will not be an easy contest and it’s another road matchup and we know how Charlotte performs in those. This will be the third contest between the two clubs and Charlotte actually defeated them in Charlotte, 2-0 back in June. Ben Bender and Derrick Jones scored the two goals for Charlotte. In the first contest however, the Red Bulls picked up the 3-1 win in US Open Cup play. We’ll see how this matchup goes on Sunday, but it will be sad to see the season end.
Yacs