Injuries sideline two Charlotte FC players for Saturday’s match against D.C. United
Charlotte FC will be without two key players Saturday night when it attempts to extend its winning streak to three games.
Forward Kamil Jozwiak and defender Bill Tuiloma were injured in Tuesday’s 4-1 victory against South Georgia in a U.S. Open Cup tournament match.
Charlotte coach Christian Lattanzio said neither will be in action when his team travels to D.C. United for a 7:30 p.m. MLS match.
He said Jozwiak, who is tied for the team lead in goals scored and second in key passes, will be out of action “for seven to 10 days.” Tuiloma, a defensive stalwart, will be sidelined “a bit longer,” according to the coach.
Both players, like others on the team, appear to be hitting their stride.
Charlotte FC beat Columbus 1-0 last Saturday, then followed with a dominating performance against a lower-level South Georgia team. The Crown (2-4-3) has lost only once in its past six matches and sits in 11th place in the MLS East.
DC United is 3-4-2, good for eighth place, and has won three in a row – 1-0 over Montreal and 3-1 over Orlando in the MLS, and 1-0 over a lower-level Richmond team Wednesday in a U.S. Open Cup match.
“They have quality everywhere,” Lattanzio said of D.C. United, noting that the team is strong defensively.
Lattanzio said Jozwiak and Tuiloma were “two players who were hitting their form.”
“Kamil took well to the role of captain,” Lattanzio said. “And Bill was playing really well in his role. He was one of those players who was improving more and more.”
But Lattanzio sees other players who have been developing quickly.
Several times in the last week, he has mentioned the growing bond between forwards Karol Swiderski and Enzo Copetti.
“They are working better together all the time,” Lattanzio said. “They have the potential of being among the best in MLS.”
Personnel changes
Charlotte FC made a notable addition to the roster Thursday when it acquired veteran forward Justin Meram from Real Salt Lake. It was a cash deal, with Salt Lake getting $200,000 and possible $350,000 is Meram meets some performance-based incentives.
Meram, who has more than 30 caps at the international level with Iran’s national team, is in his 15th MLS season. He has scored 54 goals with 55 assists.
He will add plenty of experience to a roster that Lattanzio has said several times is quite young.
There was no immediate word if Meram will see action Saturday night at DC United.
The team also announced in midweek that it had waived Adam Armour, a defender who scored the first goal in Charlotte FC history, in March 2022 against Atlanta United.
Armour had been assigned to Charlotte FC’s MLS Next Pro team, Crown Legacy, where he had appeared four times this season.
“Adam is a great kid,” Lattanzio said. “But sometimes, things don’t work the way you want them to work. We wish him the best.”
Open Cup update
Charlotte FC will play its next U.S. Open Cup match, in the Round of 32, at home.
The Crown will face fellow MLS side Orlando City FC at 7 p.m. May 9, at the Sportsplex in Matthews. That is where Charlotte played Tuesday, beating South Georgia 4-1. Orlando City was last year’s Cup champion.
The U.S. Open Cup is an in-season tournament for nearly 100 professional teams in the United States, modeled after England’s FA Cup and similar events in other European countries.
TV, radio for Saturday night
Charlotte FC vs. DC United
When/where: 7:30 p.m., Audi Field, Washington
TV: MLS Pass, on Apple TV
Radio: WFNZ-FM (92.7), in English; WOLS-FM (106.1), in Spanish.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
