By Tony Álvarez
A rainy night did little to dampen Charlotte's Leagues Cup opener as the hosts, despite a weather delay of 1 hour and 22 minutes, stormed to a 3-0 victory over Pumas UNAM on Tuesday at Bank of America Stadium.
Charlotte came out on the front foot, forcing a pair of saves from Keylor Navas in the sixth and ninth minutes.
Henry Kessler nearly opened the scoring with a right-footed screamer in the 12th minute, but his effort crashed off the right post.
Uriel Antuna had a chance to put the visitors ahead in the 15th minute, but Tyler Miller produced a strong save to keep the match scoreless.
Brandt Bronico opened the scoring in the 27th minute, calmly finishing from close range after a scramble in front of goal created by Will Cleary's cross to Archie Goodwin.
Charlotte would add to the lead after the halftime break, when David Schnegg took the ball between two Pumas defenders and delivered a cross to the box that Goodwin headed brilliantly to make it 2-0 in the 50th minute.
Pep Biel nearly added the third, delivering a left-footed shot from a long distance, but it was saved by Navas in the 68th minute.
Tyger Smalls converted from the penalty spot in the 78th minute to cap Charlotte's dominant performance and seal all three points.
REACTIONS:
- Charlotte FC Head Coach Dean Smith
- “(Home field advantage) that was the message to the players today. Very rare you enter a tournament and have three home games, and you get an opportunity to get through the quarterfinals. That was given, and we can be really good at home.”
- Pumas Head Coach Esteban Solari
- “Somehow, we never managed to match the way they started the match, and that took a mental toll on us; then, the goals we conceded were the result of our own errors.”
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH:
- Charlotte
- Archie Goodwin played a key role in Charlotte's first goal before adding one of his own early in the second half.
GAME NOTES:
- Charlotte FC recorded its second clean sheet in its last three matches.
- Charlotte secured its fourth Leagues Cup victory over Liga MX teams, also matching its largest margin of victory.
- Bronico and Smalls scored their first goals of the season, while Goodwin netted his fifth of the year.
- Pumas suffered its second-worst Leagues Cup defeat, trailing only the 4-0 loss to Seattle in 2024.
- Pumas had more total crosses (12) than Charlotte FC (7).
CARDS/INJURY REPORT:
- Yellow Cards:
- Pumas: Guillermo Martínez, Nathan Silva
- Charlotte: Will Cleary
LOOKING AHEAD
- Charlote next game: Aug. 7 vs. Atlas
- Pumas next game: Aug. 7 vs. Cincinnati
