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Charlotte FC scrambles a point after rebounding from a 2-0 deficit with Andre Shinyashiki’s 94th-MINUTE equalizing goal against Columbus Crew, but it’s not enough to keep their MLS playoff hopes alive
- Charlotte trailed 2-0 at halftime and managed to equalize in injury time
- They needed a win to stay alive in the MLS Eastern Conference playoff hunt
- Lucas Zelarayan scored a 56-yard free kick to open the score for Columbus
- Andre Shinyashiki scored in the 94th minute to tie the score at two apiece
- The single point wasn’t enough for Charlotte as playoff hopes came to an end
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Andre Shinyashiki scored a 2-2 draw against the visiting Columbus in the fourth minute of stoppage time on Wednesday, but Charlotte FC was still eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Charlotte trailed 2-0 in the second half.
The Crew’s tie (10-7-16, 46 points) temporarily put them in fifth place with Cincinnati, but after Inter Miami defeated Orlando City later on Wednesday, it dropped to seventh. The top seven teams qualify.
The regular season ends Sunday with the Crew in Orlando.
Charlotte FC scrambled a point against Columbus Crew, but it wasn’t enough for the playoffs
Charlotte (11-17-3, 42) needed a win to stay alive.
Lucas Zelarayan scored his 10th and most spectacular goal of the season in the 36th minute to give the Crew a 1-0 lead, a free kick from 56.1 yards. Luis Diaz made it 2-0 in the 54th minute before Daniel Rios scored his fifth goal in the last two games for Charlotte to reduce the deficit to 2-1 in the 58th minute.
The match concluded the 30th July game which was abandoned in the 16th minute due to bad weather.
Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina fell victim to Zelarayan’s masterpiece.
Zelarayan surveyed the situation before his restart and saw Kahlina wandering 15 yards from the net and fired a shot into the far net.
Columbus Crew midfielder Luis Diaz celebrated the 2-0 in the 54th minute
Charlotte’s Yordi Reyna (right) tackles Columbus midfielder Aidan Morris (left)
Since joining MLS in March 2020, Zelarayan has scored 17 goals from outside the box in the regular season, more than double any other player in the league during that period. Randall Leal of Nashville SC is second with eight.
According to MLS Communications, Zelarayan scored the longest free kick goal in the league since the stat was kept in 2010.
On Diaz’s goal, Cucho Hernandez, who was returning from a one-game suspension for foul language, gave a pass to Derrick Etienne Jr., who sent the ball through the penalty area to Diaz on a late run for his third goal.
Rios, who scored four goals on Saturday vs. Philadelphia, put Charlotte on the board with a header from a cross from Yordy Reyna. Kahlina kept it a one-goal game with saves over Hernandez and Zelarayan with 15 minutes to go