When Head Coach Dean Smith was hired in December 2023, one of the factors he said that led to him coming to Charlotte FC was the chance to take advantage of the Club’s infancy.
Smith had a chance to mold and create The Crown’s identity and create history with Charlotte FC, a club that was just about to enter its third season with its third manager.
In Smith’s third season with the Club, he has created history for himself and brought consistency, winning his 50th match in all competitions for Charlotte FC with a 2-1 win against D.C. United on September 19.
“(I’m) just pleased,” Smith said. “I mean, it's 50 wins in 112 games. It's a good record, but we want to just keep winning them. It's not about my records, it's about the Club and the players.”
With 50 wins, it’s hard to pick out a favorite from the bunch, but Smith did – the first one.
On February 24, 2024, the Gaffer stood pitch-side for the first time for Charlotte FC. The Crown faced New York City FC in its first match to open the 2024 season at Bank of America Stadium with a crowd of 62,291 people. The match kicked off the Smith era and allowed Smith to quickly see in-person the culture that its supporters brought to the Club.
After the Poznań to begin the match, former Charlotte FC center-back Adilson Malanda scored the sole goal of the game in the 8th minute. After Malanda’s goal, neither side found the back of the net, giving Smith his first win in Charlotte.
“Always the first one,” Smith said. “Get that first one done quickly and we've done that against New York and had a hell of a crowd at the bank.”
Smith has brought a winning mentality to Charlotte FC since that first win, chaining victories together across his first three seasons in MLS with a 45-31-18 record, the fifth-most wins in league history among coaches in their first three years. Smith could continue to cement himself as one of best coaches in MLS with eight matches left in the season. He can climb as high as second place on the leaderboard behind former LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo.
“Every win, you probably don't enjoy the wins as much as you should because you're always thinking about the next game,” Smith said. “So, hopefully we can get to the end of the season and I'm enjoying the win for a special reason.”
Charlotte FC reaching the end of the season and an MLS Cup would be a major achievement for a fifth-year club that has made the playoffs four times but hasn’t advanced past the first round.
Three of those appearances were teams led by Smith, including leading the Club to its first top four finish in the Eastern Conference last season. Charlotte FC is on that same path so far this season, sitting at fourth place, just three points behind second place New England and third place Miami.
Before May 12, however, The Crown had managed just 15 points out of a possible 39 and were 4-6-3, sitting outside of the playoff picture. Since then, Smith has helped the team find its form. Charlotte FC have gone 8-1-4 (28 points) in the 13 matches since, including an eight-match unbeaten streak where they’ve gone 5-0-3.
A part of the early season slump was The Crown having a hard time finding a way to pick up points on the road, going 1-4-1. Coming out of the World Cup break and going into the second half of the season, Smith had one goal in mind:
On the road after the break, Charlotte FC have gone 4-1-3, including beating Atlanta United 2-0 and picking up a fourth consecutive win in Atlanta. The Crown also went on a three-match road trip from September 9 to September 19, going 2-0-1 and picking up seven points.
That final road win against D.C. United — Smith’s 50th — was just the latest step in Charlotte FC’s latest step toward another strong finish.
From the roar that greeted his debut at Bank of America Stadium in 2024 to the rough start to begin the 2026 season to eight matches unbeaten, Smith’s Charlotte FC journey has been filled with defining moments. The 50 wins that now accompany Smith’s name in the record book aren’t just that, they’re a representation of the culture that he’s trying to build within the Club — one that is still being formed.
“I think we're getting there,” Smith said. “The building blocks have been there. The ideology, everybody knows what is expected of them, so I think that's the easy part. The hardest part is always recruiting good people and good players.”
NEXT AT HOME
SEPTEMBER 26 @ 7:30 PM // POR LA CULTURA NIGHT
Join Charlotte FC on Saturday, September 26, for Por La Cultura Night to celebrate culture, community, and The Crown. The first fans to arrive will receive a limited-edition Giveaway presented by Compare Foods.
Limited quantities are available on a first‑come, first‑served basis and aren't guaranteed.
