Kahlina picks up third Team of the Matchday honor in 2025; Vargas earns his first career selection to the Team of the Matchday.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Monday, October 20, 2025) – Charlotte FC goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina and midfielder Kerwin Vargas were named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 39 following the Club’s 2-0 victory over Supporters’ Shield winners Philadelphia Union on Decision Day.
Kahlina held the regular season champions at bay all night with his six-save Man of the Match performance, recording his 12th clean sheet of the season and matching his single-season career-high set in his 2024 Goalkeeper of the Year campaign. The Croatian ends the regular season having led MLS in total saves with 129, eight more than his total last year. Kahlina’s shutout total ties him with LAFC’s Hugo Lloris for second-best in 2025, trailing only Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s Yohei Takaoka (13).
Vargas capped off a career-best campaign with a goal and assist against the Union. The Colombian began his night by notching his third game-winning goal contribution of the year with an assist on Wilfried Zaha’s strike in the 24th minute. Vargas followed it up by doubling the lead in the 30th minute, firing a powerful volley past the Union’s Andre Blake. The Colombian finished his regular season with a total of nine league goal contributions (Six goals, three assists).
Charlotte FC’s fourth place finish in the Eastern Conference table set up a Round One matchup against New York City FC in the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs. The Crown will host Game 1 of the Best-of-Three series on Tuesday, October 28 at Bank of America Stadium, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. ET (MLS Season Pass/Apple TV/FS1/Fox Deportes).
See below for the full Team of the Matchday:
F: Anders Dreyer (SD), Victor Olatunji (RSL), Lionel Messi (MIA)
M: Kerwin Vargas (CLT), Evander (CIN), Djordje Mihailovic (TOR), Amahl Pellegrino (SD)
D: Osaze Urhoghide (DAL), Jackson Ragen (SEA), Andrés Herrera (CLB)
GK: Kristijan Kahlina (CLT)
Coach: Eric Quill (DAL)
Bench: Michael Collodi (DAL), Kaick (DAL), Jonathan Osorio (TOR), Dániel Gazdag (CLB), Niko Tsakiris (SJ), Miguel Almirón (ATL), Andrew Moran (LAFC), Philip Zinckernagel (CHI), Joseph Paintsil (LA)
NEXT AT HOME:
OCTOBER 28 // CHARLOTTE vs. NEW YORK CITY FC
Playoffs are here at the Fortress! The Crown take on New York City FC for a first round matchup on October 28th at 6:45 p.m. as CLTFC kick off their Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 series.
