Ashley Westwood said he was “heartbroken” following Charlotte FC’s elimination from the MLS Cup Playoffs.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. β Charlotte FC midfielder and captain Ashley Westwood enters his 18th preseason of professional soccer and third in Charlotte. The veteranβs motivation is as high as ever.
βThis year I want to play every minute of every game,β Westwood said. βIf that means Iβm 35 Iβll do my best to do that and push these lads and talk to these young boys coming through to try to take me out of the team.β
Westwood leads a team without a lot of turnover, with the continuity proving to be a benefit early in preseason. Alongside him are some other veteran players, including the addition of Tim Ream, who make Westwood better.
βWeβve got a real good group of humans and that first and foremost is the most important thing you can have in a football club,β Westwood said. βThe captainβs only as good as the experienced guys behind him and weβve got incredible experienced guys. It makes my job easy. Iβm the forefront of it but what the boys do behind me is a real help to my job and it makes my job a lot easier. β
Charlotte FC returned to training following their offseason, where Ashley Westwood said he spent the first month still thinking about their elimination in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
βFor me it was heartbreaking. It took me a good four weeks to get over it,β Westwood said. βBut, you go away, you have Christmas, thatβs last year now. Last yearβs done, whatever happened last year is done but we know in the back of our minds what weβre capable of and weβve got to use our anger a motivation to do it again and not rest on our lulls.β
One of the main objectives Charlotte FC has in 2025 is to dominate the ball more in possession, and according to Westwood, he feels if adding a βsuperstarβ player to the roster would help achieve that goal, he is in full support.