Charlotte FC Forward Liel Abada and Dean Smith Named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 33

CHARLOTTE, N.C (Thursday, October 29, 2026) - Charlotte FC Forward Liel Abada was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 33, joining Head Coach Dean Smith following Charlotte's 4-0 victory against CF Montréal. Forward Idan Toklomati was also named to the MLS Team of the Matchday bench after scoring his 15th goal of the season.

With the win over CF Montréal, The Crown clinched a playoff spot for the fourth consecutive season. Charlotte remains in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings, with an opportunity to improve their position before the regular season concludes.

Following the victory, Smith moved into fourth place all-time in MLS history for wins during a coach's first three seasons in the league with 47. He also became the second coach in league history to earn 50 points in each of his first three seasons. This marks Smith’s first Coach of the Matchday honor of the 2026 season.

Entering the match in the 65th minute, Abada made an immediate impact, completing a hat trick in only 18 minutes, the third fastest in MLS history. Two minutes after entering the match, Abada received a pass from Djibril Diani from the top of the box. After gathering himself, he finished with his right foot into the left corner of the goal. This would only be the start of the night for the forward.

Abada continued his scoring run in the 79^th minute, with Toklomati faking out an opponent sending a short lead pass to fellow Israeli teammate for his second goal of the night. Toklomati now has 21 goal contributions for the season.      

Just four short minutes later, defender Nathan Byrne forced a turnover and played the ball to Abada. A quick exchange between Pep Biel and Abada created a perfect opening for Abada to send the ball across the goal line, completing his hat trick. The assist marked Biel's third of the night.   

Toklomati continues to make history in his 2026 campaign, scoring in his fifth consecutive match, bringing his season total to 15 goals, the most in regular season history for the club.  In the 7th minute, Allan Saint-Maximin dribbled past three defenders before setting up Toklomati for a header to the back side of the net.

The Crown will play their final regular-season home match on Saturday, October 31 against Orlando City SC. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium. The match will be broadcast on Apple TV.

See Below the Full team of the Matchday

F: Kristoffer Velde (POR), Dor Turgeman (NE), Liel Abada (CLT)

M: Antoine Griezmann (ORL), Ryan Gauld (VAN), Santiago Rodríguez (CLB), Carles Gil (NE)
D: Anthony Markanich (MIN), Lucas Halter (HOU), Mathías Laborda (VAN)
GK: Patrick Schulte (CLB)

Coach: Dean Smith (CLT)

Bench: Jonathan Bond (HOU), Maxwell Woledzi (NSH), Samuel Gidi (CIN), Jack Jasinski (SJ), Jonathan Bamba (CHI), David Da Costa (POR), Morgan Guilavogui (RSL), Josh Sargent (TOR), Idan Toklomati (CLT)