Charlotte FC clinches MLS Cup playoff spot with win over Chicago Fire

Charlotte FC clinched its first home MLS Cup playoff match Wednesday night by holding off the Chicago Fire at Bank of America Stadium, 4-3.

The victory, in a loosely-played contest that included 37 shots and two Karol Swiderski goals, clinched at least an eighth-place finish for Charlotte in the MLS East standings.

“We could have scored seven or eight goals in this game,” Charlotte FC coach Dean Smith said. “We had a few that just missed.”

Charlotte will need only a tie Saturday in its home finale against Montreal to clinch at least seventh place. Charlotte also could finish seventh by winning its final regular-season match on Oct. 19 at DC United.

Even an eighth-place finish would have Charlotte at home against the No. 9 seed in a play-in match. Finishing seventh or higher would elevate Charlotte to a two-game first-round series with one of the matches at home.

The Queen City side qualified for the playoffs a year ago in their second MLS season with a ninth-place finish, but lost the play-in match.

After averaging 1.1 goals in the first 29 MLS matches this season, Charlotte’s offense has caught fire, scoring nine times in the past three matches.

“We haven’t changed anything,” Smith said. “We’re just starting to take chances that we weren’t taking earlier. We really should have clinched the playoffs by now. We left too many points out there. But the guys are playing with more confidence now.”

It didn’t take long for Charlotte to get on the board Wednesday. Swiderski took a pass from Pep Biel in the eighth minute and connected on a left-footed shot from the center of the box, beating Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady in the upper-right corner of the net.

Swiderski and Biel narrowly missed scoring about 10 minutes later, but it was Chicago that got on the scoreboard next. Fabian Herbers’ header in the 25th minute got past Charlotte keeper Kristijan Kahlina into the lower-right side of the goal.

Five minutes later, Charlotte went ahead for good, when Biel fed Junior Urso in the center of the box, and Urso connected with a header. It was the first goal in 19 games as a Charlotte player for Urso, who played for four-plus seasons with Orlando FC before coming to the Queen City side earlier this season.

“It was a special night for me,” Urso said. “The coach has given me more minutes, so I have a chance to show what I can do.”

Swiderski’s second goal, on a header in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, gave Charlotte a 3-1 lead.

The Queen City side appeared to be headed to a rout when Liel Abada’s left-footed shot in the 58th minute beat Brady and gave Charlotte a 4-1 lead. Swiderski got the assist on that score.

But this was not a match in which a 4-1 lead was safe — not with the 37 shots and 17 attempts on goal.

Chicago closed to 4-2 on Kellyn Acosta’s right-footed shot in the 67th minute, and the Fire’s Tom Barlow upped the anxiety level at Bank of America Stadium to code-red in stoppage time when his shot beat Kahlina. Charlotte FC argued unsuccessfully to referee Sergi Boiko that the Fire had been offsides on the play.

In the end, the Queen City team managed to control the ball for the remaining two minutes and get the victory.

“The two goals they scored near the end took some of the luster off, but still, it was a good effort by our guys,” Smith said.

Urso said a “changed mentality” is behind Charlotte’s offensive surge.

“We can’t think about the other team,” he said. “We have to think about ourselves, about what we should be doing. And we’re doing that now.”

Charlotte FC ended then night in seventh place with 45 points. Only CF Montreal, with 40 points, can pass Charlotte. That would require Montreal to win its final two matches and Charlotte FC to get one point or less in its final two outings.

By winning its final two matches, and getting cooperation from the fifth-place New York City FC and sixth-place New York Red Bulls, Charlotte could finish as high as fifth or sixth.