Charlotte FC Stock Up, Stock Down: Urso and Bronico's presence is having a major impact, the defense holds the line

By Brian Maurer

Nathan Byrne (left) shielding Caden Clark (23) from the ball (Photo courtesy of CJ Hellner/TopBin90)

Charlotte FC made history again this weekend as they beat CF Montréal to clinch a top-seven spot in the Eastern Conference for the first time as a club. Another goal from Karol Świderski kick-started the game for the Crown and then Patrick Agyemang wrapped it up with a chip-in after a strong one-on-one dribble against Montréal defender Joel Waterman.

While the goals often grab the spotlight one of the more important aspects of this game was that Charlotte kept the clean sheet, and they kept it resoundingly. The Crown only allowed eight shots total and only one of those was on target. This was an important change from other recent performances where Kristijan Kahlina has been called on to make several saves to keep the team in the game.

Here is this week's stock up/stock down:

Stock Up

Karol Świderski

Karol Świderski scored for the third straight game. What are the changes that have led to his recent success? The answer is two-fold. First, the team is creating far more looks than earlier in the season. Second, Świderski is taking more shots from inside the box. He mentioned that Dean Smith talked to him about being closer to goal in the postmatch presser and it seems like those instructions are helping the Polish international find his scoring boots. The DP forward has five shots in the last two games, and all ten were from inside the box.

Brandt Bronico and Júnior Urso

When the club struggled to find consistent goals and cohesion, Dean Smith made two changes to the lineup. The most notable was changing Tim Ream from center-back to left-back, but the addition of Júnior Urso to play alongside Brandt Bronico and Ashley Westwood has also had a major impact. Their willingness to run up and down the field has made it easier for Charlotte to maintain numerical advantages defensively and in the attack, something they struggled with during their six-game winless streak.

Their two-way play is also highlighted in the stat sheet as Urso got a goal on Wednesday while Bronico pinged a deep pass for an assist to Agyemang on Saturday. They also combined for 11 defensive actions. Statistically, they are combining to provide an attacking presence (1g/1a, seven shots, and five chances created in the last two games) while also providing the defensive presence of an additional center-back (Adilson Malanda had 11 defensive actions against Montréal).

Defensive unity

Smith mentioned in the post-match press conference that he was most pleased with how Charlotte performed off-the-ball, not allowing Montréal to gain much attacking threat. The Crown had only kept one clean sheet in their previous 12 MLS matches. Getting back into form on the defensive front against a team in playoff contention should provide momentum as the club prepares for an MLS Cup run.

Stock Down

Jere Uronen

Uronen went from being one of the most impactful players for Charlotte FC to not having a role with the club in a matter of weeks. Most of this is not his fault, the player traits he has just do not line up with what Smith is looking for at the moment. Smith opted to add more stability and defensive presence to his starting eleven in an aim to free up his attacking players. That strategy has been working which has diminished Uronen's place in the team.