The two biggest results of last weekend belonged to Charlotte FC (3-1 win at FC Cincinnati) and the Columbus Crew (5-1 win at LAFC). Now, these two will match up just four days later in Columbus. The Crew is looking to continue their charge up the table in their Supporter’s Shield chase, while The Crown is attempting to solidify themselves as a top-four contender.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Wednesday’s match.
Match: Charlotte FC at Columbus Crew
When: Wednesday, July 17
Where: Lower.com Field, Columbus, OH
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV – How to Watch & Listen
Listen: WFNZ 92.7 FM (English) & WOLS 106.1 FM (Spanish)
For all other radio station affiliates in the Carolinas, click here.
Previous Matches:
FC Cincinnati 1 – 3 Charlotte FC (Major League Soccer | July 13)
LAFC 1 – 5 Columbus Crew (Major League Soccer | July 13)
Eastern Conference Table: For the full live table, click here.
1. FC Cincinnati – 48 points, 23 GP
2. Inter Miami CF – 47 points, 23 GP
3. Columbus Crew – 42 points, 21 GP
4. New York Red Bulls – 37 points, 23 GP
5. New York City FC – 36 points, 23 GP
6. Charlotte FC - 35 points, 23 GP
7. Orlando City SC – 30 points, 23 GP
8. Toronto FC – 27 points, 24 GP
9. Nashville SC – 26 points, 23 GP
---------- Playoff Line ----------
Momentum and Belief
A few weeks ago, this period of the schedule may have filled Charlotte FC fans with trepidation: the top three sides in the Eastern Conference (Inter Miami, FC Cincinnati, and the Columbus Crew), who are all overall Supporter’s Shield contenders, with two of those three matches played away from home.
Not exactly a stretch of matches that past CLTFC teams would have expected results from.
However, as has been demonstrated time and again, the 2024 version of Charlotte is a different beast. Under Head Coach Dean Smith and Club Captain Ashley Westwood’s leadership, the team has transformed into a legitimate top-four contender. Smith has gone on record in the past saying that his team would be in the top three alongside those aforementioned teams if they finished chances more effectively.
While the team fell to a 2-1 loss at home to Miami, Smith believes it was one of the team’s better performances of the year. Some wayward finishing and an opportunistic Miami team without Lionel Messi combined for a disappointing loss, but internally, the team gathered belief from the match that they could go toe-to-toe with the top teams.
Then, on Saturday at league-leading FC Cincinnati (who had just walloped that same Miami team 6-1), they proved that theory correct. A 3-1 win fueled by a hat trick of Westwood assists put the entire league on notice, and Charlotte has shot up the various power rankings and editorial columns in national media coverage.
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Now, however, this three-match gauntlet concludes with a visit to the defending MLS Cup Champions, the Columbus Crew. The Crew were the only team with a bigger result than Charlotte last week, downing Western Conference leaders LAFC 5-1 in Los Angeles. They’re the hottest team in the league as they eat up the points gap between themselves and Miami/Cincinnati.
So, the match will be a stiff test for Smith’s men. Was the Cincinnati result a flash in the pan? Smith, Westwood, and the rest of the group clearly believe not; they believe they are a true top-four team. Recently, the numbers and the points back that up.
Taking the momentum from Cincinnati and swinging a result in Columbus? That would be ironclad proof, and the team has the momentum and the belief to do it.
The Opponent
Alright, let’s run through the Columbus Crew metrics quickly and efficiently. They’re the defending MLS Cup Champions, and after a Concacaf Champions Cup run in the spring that hampered their league play, Head Coach Wilfried Nancy has them playing like champions again.
- Best goal differential in the league (+26)
- Fewest losses in the league (3 – one of which was to Charlotte FC)
- Fewest goals conceded in the league (19 – Charlotte FC is second with 24)
- Just six points adrift of first place (with two games in hand)
- Cucho Hernandez on double digit goals (12 goals in 16 appearances)
- Diego Rossi on double digit assists (10 assists in 21 appearances)
They’re a great team. Their front three forwards interchange constantly, taking up the half spaces and trying to “take their defender on a walk” (a favorite Dean Smith-ism) to pull them out of position. Their midfield is anchored by Darlington Nagbe, an all-time great MLS midfielder who rarely loses the ball, and their back three is athletically gifted to cover the space behind their marauding wingbacks.
They will likely dominate possession on Wednesday, as Caleb Adams broke down in his weekly Ingredients of the Match. That’s ultimately okay, as Charlotte are comfortable in their defensive organization before hitting on the break, although they will look for spells of possession to calm the match down.
Overall, it’s a tall task for CLTFC, but they already won the first matchup of the season 2-0 at Bank of America season and will be out to prove they belong in the top half of the league.
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The Season So Far
CLTFC started the season well with a gritty 1-0 home opener win over New York City FC. After a rocky three-game road trip that only resulted in one point, the team returned home to Bank of America Stadium to down defending MLS Cup Champions Columbus Crew (2-0) and draw defending Supporter’s Shield Champions FC Cincinnati (1-1).
Results continued to be up and down from there during a frustrating April. The team won a thrilling back-and-forth home match against Toronto courtesy of a late Patrick Agyemang match-winner, but they lost their other three matches in disappointing fashion.
However, a busy May reignited Charlotte’s form. The team notched three wins, two draws, and one loss over the course of the month. Even an away loss to the Red Bulls at the end of the month didn’t dent the players’ confidence, and they followed it up with a big away win over rivals Atlanta United.
Then, CLTFC vaulted up the standings to fourth with a great three-match week: a gritty 1-0 home win over D.C. United, a valiant home draw against Orlando after playing down to ten men for 52 minutes, and a 2-0 win on the road at Philadelphia.
After two tight, one-goal losses (on the road to Houston and at home to Miami), Head Coach Dean Smith’s men got their biggest result of the year as they powered past league-leading FC Cincinnati on the road. Now, they’ll look to swing that momentum into another tough matchup in Columbus.
UP NEXT AT HOME:
Charlotte FC vs Cruz Azul | July 31 | Leagues Cup
Cruz Azul comes to The Fortress to take on Charlotte FC in Leagues Cup 2024 on July 31st at 8:00 p.m.
