Short-handed and riding a two-game losing streak, Charlotte FC delivered the biggest surprise of Matchday 26 with a 3-1 win at Supporters' Shield-leading FC Cincinnati.
Ashley Westwood's club-record three assists guided The Crown to Saturday's victory at TQL Stadium, where Iuri Tavares (20') – filling in for the suspended Patrick Agyemang - and Liel Abada (22') staked the visitors to an early lead.
Goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina then saved a Luciano Acosta penalty kick after the reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP pulled one back for the hosts, while Kerwin Vargas put the game away shortly before Miles Robinson's 72nd-minute red card sealed Cincy's fate.
"It was a statement performance tonight," Westwood said after the win, which kept Charlotte in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 35 points – just two points away from hosting an Audi MLS Cup Playoff match. "I think tonight, we've come here and really put on a performance. The first 35, 40 minutes, I thought we were outstanding. They couldn't live with us.
"We put in a real good performance tonight. And I think we've done during the week, the game plan was unbelievable."
Back to standards
Saturday was a perfect bounceback for Charlotte after back-to-back losses against Inter Miami CF and Houston Dynamo FC.
However, head coach Dean Smith brushed off any notions his team may have sent a message to the rest of the league with Saturday's performance, instead challenging his side to be even better.
"I keep talking in our dressing room about how good we could be. And we've got to be consistent," Smith said.
"We've just lost the last two games. I thought we played really well against Inter Miami. Our first half against Houston, we dropped our standards and got beat because of that. So we wanted to make sure that our standards were back there. And I thought it was a good follow-up performance to the Inter Miami game."
Confidence on display
Despite missing Agyemang and needing offensive reinforcements ahead of the Secondary Transfer Window, which opens on July 18, Charlotte scored three goals (and had a fourth called back by Video Review) on the road against the league's top team.
"We never know when we're beaten, and that's a good thing to have," said Westwood. "We get knocked down, we keep coming back up. And it's a real togetherness. All the lads are running for each other.
"... We know how organized we are. Everyone knows what they're doing. And tonight, I thought the gameplan was spot on, and we knew we could come here and win," Westwood said. "That was the confidence we had coming into this game."
