Charlotte FC Stock Up, Stock Down: Scardina makes first MLS Start, Privett nets first goal, Biel won't stop dominating

By Sam Vanolinda

*Pep Biel leads MLS with six assists (Photo courtesy of CJ Hellner/Topbin90)*

The Crown provided another impressive performance for the home supporters Saturday night. While the Hornets and the Panthers look forward to the draft lottery and draft, respectively, Charlotte FC continues to solidify itself as one of the best teams in MLS.

It's a much-needed breath of fresh, winning air in Charlotte. A town cursed with serial losers for sports teams now has a capable team with Dean Smith at the helm and Pep Biel puppeteering the offense.

Hirving Lozano and San Diego FC stepped into Bank of America for the first time and realized why Charlotte FC has now won 8 straight at their home. The energy was high in the Queen City, and the team delivered a complete, 90-minute performance to be proud of.

Here’s the stock up/down for Saturday’s 3-0 win:

Stock Up

Nick Scardina

Saturday’s game was a Charlotte FC 2023 MLS SuperDraft reunion, with Andrew Privett, Nick Scardina, and Patrick Agyemang starting for the Black and Blue, and even first-round pick Hamady Diop appearing in the game for San Diego.

“It’s crazy,” Patrick Agyemang said post-game, “we talked about it pregame, we were just like this is crazy, this draft class from ‘23, you can see the development from all of us, and its just great to see, you know Drew getting his first goal, Hamady on the pitch for San Diego, Nick’s playing well, and myself.. It’s a testament of how committed we are to the game.”

Scardina has been promoted to the starting right-back position, with Nathan Byrne expected to be out for 6-7 weeks. The 23-year-old had a solid game slotting into that role, earning a clean sheet and his first bottle of wine from Dean Smith.

Scardina made good overlapping runs, was accurate with his passing (90%), and was adept defensively with two tackles and six recoveries. He even made the pass that led to the San Diego red card.

Coming in to replace a veteran who has been one of the most consistent players for Charlotte since he arrived in the Queen City, and having such a confident showing is a great sign for the future for Scardina.

He has surely absorbed a lot of knowledge in the training ground, learning from Dean Smith, Byrne, and the other incredible defenders on the team, and now he is ready to prove himself in this league.

Scardina did pull up with a slight injury and was replaced. Let’s hope he is fit, because the team will need him.

Be on the lookout for more Scardina-related content coming soon.

Andrew Privett

The second SuperDraft superstar of the stock up list is Andrew Privett, who was outstanding for Charlotte in Saturday’s game.

Netting the first goal of his Charlotte career from a beautiful Ashley Westwood free kick, Privett continues to be one of the best decisions this organization has ever made.

“Westy told me he was going to rip it across the front of the goal and to run across, and just went on that near post, put my face to the ball… all it needed was a touch,” Privett explained post-game.

On top of his 57th-minute bullet header, Privett was 98% passing and his usual solid self defensively. Privett is truly a modern center back with his incredible passing quality; he is a player you can always depend on when the ball is passed back to him.

Even when key players are out, the defense was able to adjust and tame a talented San Diego offense on Saturday. Privett credits the work on the training ground for their success:

“Regardless of who’s in the lineup week in week out, we come into training and even the guys that aren’t seeing as many minutes are doing the same work that we do, so credit to Nick Scardina tonight, he played really well…”

Pep Biel

Pep Biel had another dominant game against San Diego. Many of us thought it would be Zaha who would be the MVP candidate on the team, but Biel has become a Charlotte FC legend overnight with his outstanding performance this season.

Biel managed to dribble through four players before playing a weighted pass into the path of Abada for the first goal of the game.

I’m beginning to run out of things to say about Biel as he graces this list every week. What I can say is that finding a 10 like him is the reason the team is at the top of the East.

Patrick Agyemang

In the last stock article, I said that strikers need to score goals, and despite it being a penalty, Agyemang scored Saturday night.

It was an incredible penalty, with pace into the right side of the goal where the keeper couldn’t reach it.

Agyemang was lively on and off the ball versus San Diego, with his smart run leading to the penalty and red card, which ended any chances for the opponents to get anything from the game.

It was a great move to give the penalty to Agyemang after he won it. I think this goal will give him the confidence to start scoring on a routine basis.

“Held my man off, he fouled me, and I was like ‘alright this is my goal, so let me take it’ little things like that is going to help me and benefit me in the long run...We [Wilfried Zaha] have a good relationship, so obviously if he gets a penalty he’s the first one that can say it's his ball, and if I get a penalty I'm the first person that can say and that's how it should be,” Agyemang added.

Liel Abada

Liel Abada has amazing attacking positioning. He made an elite run after he passed the ball to Biel, and Biel proceeded to work his magic and get it back to him to poke the ball into the net for the opening goal of the game.

Abada has turned things around recently. He plays best when he drifts around slightly instead of being locked down on the right touchline.

Even though he is a winger, Abada is a poacher. He has a sixth sense of when to make the run, especially when the passes come from Biel. They have a great connection.

He added another two chances created to his stat sheet, and another two successful dribbles, as well as another goal—a great game.

Very Honorable mention: Ashley Westwood