Goals from Wilfried Zaha, David Schnegg and Pep Biel pushed Charlotte FC to a 3-1 win over visiting Toronto FC on Saturday night.
Charlotte (5-6-3, 18 points) ended its five-game winless streak with the runaway win. The club outshot Toronto (3-5-5, 14 points) 17-13 despite holding less possession. Toronto keeper Luka Gavran made two saves and Charlotte’s Kristijan Kahlina finished with three.
Zaha opened the scoring in the 19th minute, breaking a five-game goal drought. After joining a fastbreak, Zaha received a Kerwin Vargas cross in the box before burying his shot in the bottom left corner.
However, Toronto attacker Derrick Etienne responded with a top-class finish from 25 yards out, tying the game in the 22nd minute. After driving the ball into the middle of the pitch, Etienne rocketed a powerfully hit shot off the underside of the crossbar and past the goal line.
Debutant defender Jonathan Gilman nearly pushed Toronto past its 1-1 deadlock just five minutes after Etienne’s strike after heading in a long free kick. However, the referee disallowed Gilman’s goal, reasoning that Jonathan Osorio had unfairly blocked Charlotte’s Idan Toklomati in the box.
Schnegg responded with another long-range effort for Charlotte. Schnegg’s low, driven shot rolled 27 yards through Toronto’s defense and past the outstretched hands of Gavran into the goal. The strike marked his first league goal for Charlotte and Vargas’ second assist of the night.
Biel scored an 83rd-minute penalty to extend Charlotte’s lead to two. The referee awarded Charlotte the penalty after Osorio got tangled up with an attacker in the box off a corner. Biel fired his penalty straight down the middle to secure his eighth goal in 13 league appearances.
Although Toronto threatened the Charlotte goal throughout the match, a second goal never came. Its defense continued to struggle, extending their 10-game streak without a clean sheet. Their road loss also extended its winless streak to seven, the longest current streak in the league.
–Field Level Media
