Moments that defined Charlotte FC's three-game series versus Orlando City

By Sam Vanolinda

Photo courtesy of CJ Hellner/TopBin90

There was a delightful 20 minutes during which every Charlotte FC fan daydreamed about how far this team could go in the playoffs after Karol Swiderski put the team up 1-0 on Saturday night.

Those daydreams turned into nightmares when a slight pull of the shirt by Djibril Diani on an unreachable Orlando City cross caused 6’ 1” bulky striker Duncan McGuire to fall to the ground in a heap, dislocating his shoulder. 

When 12 minutes of stoppage time had ticked on, the football gods again came to the Florida team’s aid when Kristijan Kahlina saved Torres’ penalty and it rebounded straight back to him for a tap-in.

In the ensuing penalty kicks you could tell before that the momentum swing and home-field would give Orlando a big advantage. The men in purple won 4-1 after Swiderski and Pep Biel’s penalties were saved.

A short lapse of concentration and a smart sell by McGuire was what ended Charlotte FC’s season. It’s hard not to feel hard done by, the team deserved to win and would've hosted a second-round game against Atlanta. What could've been…

One thing that can be said is fans can be proud of how this team ended its season and performed in the playoffs. There is a lot of good to look back on in Dean Smith’s first campaign with Charlotte. Building through this strong defense and tinkering with the attack in the offseason could boost this team to the next level. With the connections that Smith has, you never know the caliber of player that could be representing the Crown next year.

Here are a couple of thoughts from this series and the season:

Swiderski’s moment

You can add the 81st-minute Swiderski goal to the list of sports moments that should've been iconic but got ruined minutes later.

The Polish Designated Player was benched for Patrick Agyemang but he didn't let that affect him. When he came on in the second half he scored after a cross from his fellow substitute Liel Abada.

This goal should’ve been legendary, it should've been the first time a Charlotte-based professional team had defeated a team in the playoffs since the Panthers in 2015.

Almost TEN years of pain in the city could’ve been alleviated by a deep Charlotte FC run, and a home-field game against rivals Atlanta United in the second round.

It wasn’t to be, but it was awesome to see Swiderski celebrate that goal; an iconic moment in club history.

Diani’s disaster

It will be easy to blame Diani after the penalty he gave up deep into stoppage time.

One mistake was the reason Charlotte’s season ended, but Diani was just trying to defend in the box and grabbed on for a little too long.

If you watch any corner or set piece you will see plenty of pushing, holding, and occasional shirt pulls, but of course, a team on the brink of its season-ending is going to be desperate and try to draw any kind of foul they can when the time was dwindling.

Diani has been a solid player all year for Charlotte and had a good series besides that half-a-second decision he made. His time here shouldn’t be defined by an unfortunate moment.

Heartbreak for Kahlina

Of course, Kahlina was able to save that penalty. It was almost expected after his recent performances.

It was painfully close to being such an incredible moment, but the ball bounced awkwardly back to Facundo Torres who was bailed out at that moment. Torres has been a Charlotte FC killer all season long, in this instance he needed a little bit of luck and he got it.

Kahlina had an amazing game, with five saves, 1.39 goals prevented, and 10 recoveries.

Kahlina has to be MVP of the series after his game two heroics in the penalty kicks and what almost was another clean sheet in game three. The Croatian is as solid as they come.

Finding an identity

Smith has created an identity for this club in his first season. It will be great to see him build on that identity and take this team to the next level in the future.

After being a team that left points on the table time after time in the last couple of years, blowing lead after lead, Smith came in and created a culture that is consistent and a team that is hard to beat.

The backline with Tim Ream, Adilson Malanda, Nathan Byrne, and Andrew Privett especially is so poised. Towards the end of the season, Brandt Bronico became a key player in the midfield alongside Ashley Westwood. Diani and Júnior Urso were also able to add much-needed starts and depth.

If Smith can stabilize the offense next year with rising star Patrick Agyemang being one of the building blocks, they should be aiming to finish in the top four, Westwood stated this was their standard for 2025 in the post-match press conference.

Summary

Officiating aside, Charlotte FC lost, and the season is over. 

We can all say that this team exceeded expectations this year, the team can go into the offseason with a solid foundation to build on.

With the way Smith coached this season, showing class on and off the field, it's safe to say this front office made the right decision in appointing the former Aston Villa boss as the manager.

There will be some important decisions to make in the offseason, which we will dig into and analyze as they come.

Thank you again to all the Charlotte fans who have read and interacted with us this year, it's truly been a pleasure to cover this team.