Charlotte FC maintain early advantage to sweep Red Bulls

Field Level Media|published: Sat 25th July, 21:11 2026

Jul 25, 2026; Harrison, New Jersey, USA; Charlotte FC offense Liel Abada (11) and midfield Ashley Westwood (8) celebrate after a goal by midfield Pep Biel (16) during the first half against Red Bull New York at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

A pair of early goals from Pep Biel and Ashley Westwood lifted Charlotte FC to a 2-0 win over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday evening in Harrison, N.J.

The victory completes a season sweep for Charlotte (7-6-4, 25 points), who beat the Red Bulls (6-7-4, 22 points) 6-1 on March 21. The match extends Charlotte's four-game unbeaten streak going into August.

The result also means the Red Bulls have gone 17 matches without a clean sheet. New York has lost its first two matches since returning from the international break in July. The loss puts them on the edge of the playoff picture as New York continues to battle for a postseason berth.

Charlotte keeper Kristijan Kahlina ended the game with five saves, while New York's Ethan Horvath saved one shot.

Charlotte struck first in the seventh minute when Liel Abada burst down the left wing past his marker. Abada laid the ball off to Biel at the top of the box, who slotted his shot into the bottom right corner to give Charlotte an early advantage. The goal was Biel's eighth of the season, a team high.

Charlotte doubled its lead just five minutes later when Vargas found open room down the right wing on a counter-attack. Instead of dribbling to the baseline, Vargas cut inside with his left foot and found Ashley Westwood waiting outside the penalty box. Westwood cleanly sent his shot past Horvath to put Charlotte up 2-0.

New York's best chance of the game came after an unforced error in the 64th minute, when Kahlina mishit a pass in front of his own net as Emil Forsberg closed him down. Kahlina did enough to toe Forsberg's shot away and preserve Charlotte's lead, but the pressure from New York's attack remained.

Despite outshooting Charlotte 23-4 and holding 64% of the possession, New York failed to translate its chances into goals. Most of New York's shots came from far away, and when they got close enough to have a clear look at goal, Charlotte's compact defense quickly hustled them off the ball.

Red Bulls midfielder Anis Mehmeti received a second yellow card for dissent two minutes into stoppage time, capping off an exasperating night for New York. Mehmeti, who looked visibly frustrated while disagreeing with a call, will miss New York's Aug. 1 game against Orlando City.

--Field Level Media

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