Charlotte FC were eliminated from the Major League Soccer playoffs on Saturday night, losing to Orlando City FC on penalty kicks. It was a dramatic and disappointing exit for Charlotte, which led at the end of the game and for 12 minutes of stoppage time, before Orlando tied it up and sent that match to penalties. After the game, Charlotte head coach Dean Smith congratulated Orlando but pointed to the refs on several borderline calls.
"I don't believe our journey should have ended today. This season, I thought we had to defend well, but some decisions that that went against us, you know, weren't good enough, in my opinion. And, you know, that's probably... I've complained at times about some of the officiating and what the MLS has to get right, and I think tonight was a show of that," he said.
Charlotte FC lost the best-of-three series after splitting the first two games.