Kerwin Vargas scored in stoppage time to give Charlotte a fighting chance, but the MLS side came up empty in the penalty kick shootout.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. β Four Guadalajara players scored penalty kicks in a match-deciding shootout, compared to just two by Charlotte FC, to give Chivas a win in the Leagues Cup competition.
Gilberto Sepulveda, Miguel Gomez Ortiz, Cade Cowell, and Armando Gonzalez scored the penalties for Chivas. Nikola Petkovic and Brandt Bronico made their shots for Charlotte, while Eryk Williamson and Tyger Smalls had crucial misses that decided the match.
Charlotte forced the shootout and secured a point in the Leagues Cup table with an electrifying goal from Kerwin Vargas in stoppage time. Guadalajara led for most of the second half until Vargas went for goal on a set piece that was effectively a corner kick. Vargas aimed the shot just in the right spot to clear Guadalajara’s defense and its goalkeeper to find the net and tie the match at 2-2.
Chivas gifted the match’s first goal to Charlotte in the 11th minute when Sepulveda attempted to clear a cross from Liel Abada but instead put it in his own net.Β
Richard Ledezma evened things for Chivas in the 24th minute with a bombastic shot from just outside the corner box that dribbled past Charlotte’s goalkeeper, David Bingham, for a score.
Guadalajara took the lead in the 66th minute with a diving header goal from Bryan Gonzalez. Gonzalez fielded a cross from a teammate with his head that bounced past Bingham to give Chivas a 2-1 lead.
Charlotte’s offense was held out of the net the rest of regulation until the set-piece strike from Vargas. The foul kick was awarded after a rough tackle from Guadalajara’s Alan Mozo. The game went straight to a penalty shootout after the full-time whistle was blown.
Sepulveda and Gomez Ortiz hit their penalty kicks with ease, with Bingham guessing the wrong direction. Williamson’s shot sailed over the net before Petkovic and Bronico made their shots, the latter of which gave Charlotte some life following Luis Romo’s attempt, which hit the post. In the fourth frame, Cowell made his shot, and the Chivas goalkeeper blocked Smalls’ attempt. Armando Gonzalez sealed the match by making his shot.
Charlotte is credited with one point for Sunday’s penalty kick loss, leaving the team 15th in the Leagues Cup MLS group stage standings. Charlotte is still not mathematically eliminated, but the chances are extremely minute with only one match remaining. Guadalajara, similarly, was given just one point for winning the penalty kick shootout and is 10th in the Leagues Cup Liga MX table.
Charlotte’s final Leagues Cup match is on Sunday against Monterrey.