Charlotte FC’s Stock Up, Stock Down: Extra-time heartbreak against CF Pachuca

By Rylee McKinney (@rylees_roster)

Ashley Westwood (Photo courtesy of Francisco Diaz/TopBin90)

Last night's Leagues Cup group stage match did not go as planned for Charlotte FC as they fell 1-0 to Pachuca in extra time. Dean's Starting XI simply struggled to create opportunities in the attacking third, with only five shots overall and two shots on target. The Crown's loss counteracts the clear momentum they had in the first two group stage matches, leaving fans wondering what exactly went wrong.

Here's our stock up, stock down for Charlotte FC's Leagues Cup loss to Pachuca:

Stock Up

Luca de la Torre - de la Torre earned the start last night over his counterpart Brandt Bronico. With Diani on the left side, de la Torre took to the right, pushing Ashley Westwood into the center spot. He went 39/45 for accurate passes and was only dispossessed one time. What stood out about de la Torre's performance was his touch count, sitting at 57, attesting to his consistent presence in the midfield. The 28-year-old even earned the attention of head coach Dean Smith during the post-match presser, who claimed de la Torre was one of the better players on the field overall.

Ashley Westwood - Despite being one of the oldest players on Charlotte's squad, captain Ashley Westwood shows no signs of slowing down with each match. Out of his 90 minutes played in the attacking mid spot, Westwood went 61/69 on accurate passes. It appeared that Westwood covered a significant amount of ground throughout the match, pressuring Pachuca's defensive line with intensity. Westwood even had the most touches out of the squad at 78.

Tyler Miller - This backup goalkeeper has been the star of Charlotte's Leagues Cup run, and he continued to prove so last night. In 90+ minutes, Miller had seven total saves, included three diving saves. Pachuca had a clear knack for shooting outside the 18-yard line, but Miller was always on his toes anticipating their striking power. He even had a strong physical presence on set pieces, helping prevent six Pachuca corners from becoming goals. On shots alone, Pachuca recorded 14 shots and six shots on target. Overall, Miller cannot receive enough praise for his performance during the group stage.

Stock Down

Tim Ream - After taking a rest for the second group stage game, center-back Tim Ream played all 90 minutes last night. The USMNT captain went 57/59 on accurate passes, which looks great on paper. However, in 90+ minutes, Ream send a weak pass toward the midfield, which was intercepted by Pachuca's Alan Bautista. Not only did he make a poor pass, but Ream failed to step to the ball, eventually falling back on his heels. From here, Bautista send a shot to the inside post and into the back of the net. Additionally, the veteran center-back only had four defensive contributions and two clearances. Ream's performance last night speaks to the nature of Charlotte's out-of-sync defense, indicating that too much rotation might jeopardize the stability of the backline.

Striker position - For the first 57 minutes of the match, Idan Toklomati held down the striker position. He went 5/7 on accurate passes and had one shot on target. Unfortunately, the 22 year-old had zero chances created and only one pass into the final third. His substitute, Archie Goodwin, came on in the second half. Similarly, Goodwin had zero chances created and only one shot on target. Unfortunately, the Australian striker also missed a critical penalty after Allan Saint-Maximin drew a penalty. Both strikers in the blue-and-white simply did not meet expectations last night despite having success in the previous two group stage matches.