Pep Biel and Patrick Agyemang each had a goal and an assist as host Charlotte FC defeated the short-handed New England Revolution 4-0 on Saturday.
Liel Abada and Kerwin Vargas also scored and goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina made four saves in posting the shutout for Charlotte (11-11-8, 41 points), which snapped a three-match losing streak and remained above the playoff line in the Eastern Conference.
Aljaz Ivacic was credited with five saves for the Revolution (8-17-4, 28 points), which stayed in last place in the conference as their winless streak reached five matches (0-3-2).
New England played with 10 men from the 70th minute on as Dylan Borrero was issued a yellow card for a dangerous tackle, followed by a red for arguing the call with referee Mark Allatin.
Charlotte opened the scoring in the 39th minute. The Revs’ Ivacic made a diving save on a shot from just outside the penalty area by Abada, then scrambled to knock the ball away from an onrushing attacker. But the ball deflected off defender Xavier Arreaga and fell to a wide-open Abada, who hammered it into the net from 5 yards out.
The hosts doubled their advantage in the 65th minute. Agyemang got the ball just outside the top right of the penalty area. He spun around a pair of defenders and dribbled the ball to the end line before sending a pass to Biel for a left-footed one-timer from the top of the 6-yard box that found the lower right corner of the net.
In the 77th minute, Biel sent a pass down the right wing and into the penalty area for Agyemang, who put a 15-yard shot past a diving Ivacic and into the far side netting.
Vargas capped the scoring in the 87th minute on a low, 12-yard shot from the left wing that also found the far side netting.
The Revolution argued for a hand ball on Charlotte’s Andrew Privett in the penalty area in the 31st minute, but they didn’t get a call. It appeared the ball hit Privett’s left arm as he fell backward while New England’s Carles Gil tried to dribble around him. Gil, the Revs’ captain, was so upset at the non-call that he drew a yellow card a minute later after play had moved to the other end of the pitch.
Gil hadn’t calmed down by the half, as he got into a shouting match with teammate Arreaga on the way to the locker room and pushed the defender.
–Field Level Media
