Some games you forget by the next morning. Some you remember for the rest of your life. The night Charlotte FC took New York apart 6-1 at Bank of America Stadium belongs firmly in the second category, and I am not sure my voice has fully recovered.
If you were there, you know. If you were not, let me set the scene. This was a club record for goals and a club record for margin of victory in a single match, and it came on a night when everything this team had been building toward finally clicked at once.
It started early. Pep Biel whipped in a set piece in the 14th minute and Idan Toklomati rose to head it home. From that moment the floodgates were open. Biel later curled in a free kick from outside the box that gave the keeper absolutely no chance, the kind of strike you do not see often in this league. Then Wilfried Zaha, because of course it was Zaha, produced a finish so good it barely felt real. You can relive the highlights over at MLSsoccer.com and I have watched them more times than I care to admit.
What made it special was not just the stars though. It was Archie Goodwin, the backup striker, coming off the bench to bag his first MLS goals in a late brace. That is the moment that told me something about this squad. When your depth players are getting in on a night like that, when the joy is spread right through the team, you are watching a group that actually likes playing together.
I keep coming back to that. The scoreline was historic, sure. But it was the feeling in the building, the sense that this club had finally arrived as an attacking force, that I will carry with me. Nights like that are why we do this. Why we buy the tickets, wear the colors, and put up with the bad weeks. For 90 minutes that night, supporting Charlotte FC felt like the best decision I ever made.