South Charlotte Today

Ashley Westwood led the way in the 3-1 victory over the league leaders with a hat trick of primary assists to Iuri Tavares, Liel Abada, and Kerwin Vargas.

Charlotte FC got off to a strong start on Saturday night in Cincinnati. They dominated possession early, scoring two goals within the first half-hour and nearly adding more.

Iuri Tavares opened the scoring in the 20th minute. Tavares, replacing suspended Patrick Agyemang, received a cross from Ashley Westwood and volleyed it into the net. Two minutes later, Brandt Bronico forced a turnover high up the field, allowing Westwood to assist Liel Abada for Charlotte's second goal.

Nathan Byrne almost made it three in the 27th minute but was denied by an impressive save from Roman Celentano. FC Cincinnati then found their footing; Miles Robinson and Luca Orellano both came close to scoring before Luciano Acosta pulled one back during stoppage time with a well-placed shot.

Charlotte FC defended effectively for the remainder of the first half, maintaining their 2-1 lead at halftime.

In response to his team's struggles, Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan made two substitutions at halftime: Gerardo Valenzuela for Alvas Powell and Sergio Santos for Kevin Kelsy. Early in the second half, Valenzuela's shot resulted in a penalty after hitting Adilson Malanda’s hand. However, Kristijan Kahlina saved Acosta’s penalty kick.

Shortly after that incident, Orellano scored what appeared to be an equalizer for Cincinnati but was ruled offside following a VAR review. Charlotte maintained their lead despite these challenges.

Charlotte had further opportunities through Abada and Djibril Diani but failed to convert them into goals. Meanwhile, Yuya Kubo's attempt for Cincinnati was cleared off the line by Malanda without triggering an on-field review.

At the 60-minute mark, CLTFC Head Coach Dean Smith made strategic substitutions: Brecht Dejaegere replaced Diani while Ben Bender came on for Tavares. Six minutes later, Westwood assisted Kerwin Vargas from a corner kick to extend Charlotte's lead again.

Cincinnati faced additional setbacks when Miles Robinson received his second yellow card and was sent off after fouling Vargas from behind. Andrew Privett thought he had scored another goal for Charlotte shortly afterward but saw it disallowed upon VAR review due to an offside call.

The match remained intense throughout its duration; Bret Halsey's deflected cross hit Charlotte’s post late on while Tyger Smalls injected fresh energy into his team as they closed out their victory comfortably despite extended stoppage time periods.

Kahlina made crucial saves late on ensuring no further goals were conceded by his side.

Ultimately hampered by Robinson’s red card—Cincinnati couldn't create any clear-cut chances towards game end—and thus fell short against resilient opponents who secured this statement win over top-ranked opposition who had won twelve out of fourteen recent matches leading up till now placing them atop Supporter Shield standings