<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=42nqxj_0wELcngZ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=42nqxj_0wELcngZ00" width="1708" height="1138" ></figure>D.C. United’s playoff hopes were dashed after a 3-0 Decision Day loss to Charlotte FC. The Black-and-Red played their final match of the season in front of a sold-out home crowd of 19,365 at Buzzard Point.Always a class act, Christian Benteke made an early attempt, taking a shot from the right of the box, to open the scoring for D.C. United. Although Charlotte’s Kristijan Kahlina saved Benteke’s ‘warm up’ shot, the crowd was on their feet, roaring with excitement. The Black-and-Red kept the pressure on Charlotte from the whistle, pushing play into the visitor’s defensive half. Despite their best efforts and another solid attempt by Benteke in the 24′, the Crown’s defenses held them off the entire first half.For their part, Charlotte made a solid attempt to best Alex Bono and D.C. United’s defense with a slew of set pieces and an attempt in the 31′ by Júnior Urso. Fortunately for the Black-and-Red, Bono neatly saved his shot.Golden Boot winner Benteke finally found the back of the net in the 39′, and the stadium was absolutely deafening as the crowd took to their feet. Alas, the flag was up.As the halftime whistle sounded, D.C. and Charlotte remained locked in a scoreless draw.Into the second half, the Crown continued their efforts to shut down a noticeably frustrated Benteke. Dean Smith’s men pulled back into a five-man backline to stymie the striker and cut down on his space to create opportunities for the Black-and-Red.D.C. United continued to exert pressure on Charlotte, but in a quick turnaround, danger man Pep Biel got his left foot on a well-placed ball from Brandt Bronico in the 58′. Slinging a shot into the lower right-hand corner of the net past a diving Alex Bono, Biel put the Crown in the lead.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">The breakaway 🏃‍♂️ The breakthrough ⚽ Pep Biel opens the scoring for Charlotte! 📺 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLSSeasonPass?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLSSeasonPass</a>: <a href="https://t.co/k0ApjVEFsF">https://t.co/k0ApjVEFsF</a><a href="https://t.co/HNHXBGhbB8">pic.twitter.com/HNHXBGhbB8</a>— Major League Soccer (@MLS) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLS/status/1847782993865187471?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote>Charlotte’s defense locked down the Black-and-Red’s attack, closing off just about any breathing room in the box after Biel’s goal. Taking advantage of D.C.’s frustration, the Crown laid on the pressure to double the lead. Patrick Agyemang tipped in a shot from the top of the box in the 75′.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Charlotte in transition again! ✌️ Patrick Agyemang doubles the lead on D.C. <a href="https://t.co/tcXQ2UsMeh">pic.twitter.com/tcXQ2UsMeh</a>— Major League Soccer (@MLS) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLS/status/1847787114957615177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote>The visitors extended their lead yet again with a stoppage-time goal in the 90’+1′ from Liel Abada, tying a bow on Charlotte’s win.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Liel Abada adds extra insurance to give Charlotte a 3-0 lead. 😯 <a href="https://t.co/f2lYButlFV">pic.twitter.com/f2lYButlFV</a>— Major League Soccer (@MLS) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLS/status/1847791357428973589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote>Both Troy Lesesne and Christian Benteke expressed their gratitude for supporters and their disappointment at the end of the 2024 season.Lesesne said, “I want to say a massive thank you to our supporters. I think that’s the first thing that I want to start with because they’ve shown up for us all year. They’ve showed up for us whenever it looked like we were completely out of the picture. They showed up for us whenever we, obviously instilled a little bit of hope back in them to get ourselves a chance to push through, and I don’t think we showed up enough for them this year, especially at home.”Benteke echoed Lesesne’s sentiments, saying, “First of all, I just want to say thank you. They’ve been with us through ups and downs, and I think they deserve more. They deserve more than what we gave them during the season and even more tonight.”D.C. United was eliminated from playoff contention after its loss to Charlotte FC, and results from across the Eastern Conference sealed its fate.Alas, we go again in 2025. Box ScoreMLS Regular Season – Decision DayD.C. United: 0Charlotte FC: 3 Biel 58′, Agyemang 75′, Abada 90’+1′ LineupsD.C. United: Alex Bono, Lucas Bartlett, Pedro Santos (David Schnegg 60′), Aaron Herrera, Christopher McVey (Matti Peltola 79′), Jared Stroud (Dominique Badji 67′), Gabriel Pirani, Martín Rodríguez (Boris Enow 66′), Ted Ku-DiPietro (Cristian Dájome 60′), Mateusz Klich, Christian BentekeCharlotte FC: Kristijan Kahlina, Tim Ream (Jere Uronen 76′), Nathan Byrne, Adilson Malanda, Ashley Westwood, Pep Biel (Liel Abada 76′), Brandt Bronico, Junior Urso (Djibril Diani 76′), Andrew Privett, Kerwin Vargas (Jamie Paterson 84′), Patrick Agyemang (Karol Swiderski 83′)Misconduct SummaryD.C. United: Rodríguez 10′ Charlotte FC: Kahlina 79′</div></body>

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Decision Day ends in disappointment for D.C. United with a 3-0 loss to Charlotte FC

D.C. United’s playoff hopes were dashed after a 3-0 Decision Day loss to Charlotte FC. The Black-and-Red played their final match of the season in front of a sold-out home crowd of 19,365 at Buzzard Point. Always a class act, Christian Benteke made an early attempt, taking a shot...