Liel Abada and Patrick Agyemang each netted their first goals of the season early in the second half, while Kristijan Kahlina recorded a career-best eight saves, leading Charlotte FC to a 2-0 victory over FC Cincinnati on Saturday night.
Abada broke the deadlock in the 48th minute, sprinting past two Cincinnati defenders to latch onto a loose ball before calmly slotting a shot from the edge of the box into the net. Just three minutes later, Agyemang doubled Charlotte’s lead on a counter-attack, timing his run perfectly to connect with a through ball from Pep Biel and firing a low shot inside the far post.
Cincinnati (2-2-0) was reduced to 10 men in the 83rd minute when Gilberto Flores, who had received a yellow card just before halftime, was sent off with a red. The team also suffered a setback in the 30th minute when captain Miles Robinson exited with an injury, prompting Teenage Hadebe to step in as his replacement.
Charlotte (2-1-1) secured the clean sheet with Kahlina’s standout performance in goal, capping off a dominant night at home.
