Smith says focus remains on Charlotte after recording 50th victory

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Dean Smith intends to continue winning at Charlotte FC after claiming his 50th victory in charge of the Crown in all competitions, last time out against D.C. United. 

Smith replaced Christian Lattanzio at Charlotte in December 2023 and has gone on to manage 112 matches for the club, with their results improving year-on-year under him.

Charlotte have finished fifth and then fourth in the Eastern Conference with Smith at the helm, while they find themselves fourth in the division so far this season. 

However, they have failed to go beyond the first round of the playoffs while Smith has been at the club, something they will be hoping to rectify by the end of the 2026 campaign. 

Ashley Westwood and Allan Saint-Maximin were on target in Smith’s 50th win with Charlotte, with their goals sealing a 2-1 victory over D.C. at Bank of America Stadium. 

Charlotte meet the Chicago Fire this weekend, and while Smith was thrilled with his personal achievement, he said that his main focus remains on the team’s aspirations. 

“[I’m] just pleased,” Smith said. “I mean, it’s 50 wins in 112 games. It’s a good record, but we just want to keep winning them.  

“It’s not about my records, it’s about the club. Every win, you probably don’t enjoy them as much as you should because you’re always thinking about the next game. 

“So, hopefully we can get to the end of the season, and I’m enjoying the win for a special reason. I think we’re getting there. 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.”

The best is yet to come pic.twitter.com/f2TI7usUcP

— Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC) September 20, 2026

Chicago are just four points behind Charlotte heading into this weekend’s meeting, and they will be seeking a return to winning ways following a 3-0 defeat to Nashville SC.

Sam Surridge’s 33rd-minute opener was followed up by second-half strikes from Cristian Espinoza and Hany Mukhtar to seal a comfortable triumph for the Eastern leaders. 

The Fire were only able to register an expected goals (xG) total of 0.91 from their nine shots, only one of which was on target, with Gregg Berhalter conceding after the match that his team were simply beaten by stronger opposition. 

“I don’t look at it as if the result was unfortunate for us. We just lost to a better team. It’s really simple,” Berhalter said. 

“I think the most important lesson from this evening is that Nashville are a benchmark for us. This is a team that we want to reach and with which we want to be able to compete. 

“At the beginning, we were a little too conservative. We held on, then we lost a goal. We got back into the game, but then we lost another one.

“For us, the conclusion is that as a team, we have to improve.”

The Fire’s task against Charlotte will be made even more difficult, with Noah Allen, Chris Brady, Anzor Mekvabishvili, Puso Dithejane, Robert Lewandowski and Robin Lod all joining up with their respective national teams for the extended international break. 

Charlotte FC – Allan Saint-Maximin

Since making his debut for Charlotte, only Cavan Sullivan (30), Kristoffer Velde (25) and Guilherme (23) have completed more dribbles in the MLS than Saint-Maximin’s 22. 

The former Newcastle United star also has five assists and one goal for Charlotte in that time, and he will be hoping to make his mark once again for Smith’s side. 

Maxi’s first goal hits different from field level pic.twitter.com/WLnEtfabyS

— Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC) September 20, 2026

Chicago Fire – Maren Haile-Selassie

Haile-Selassie has scored eight goals this season for Chicago, the most among players currently on the Fire’s roster.

Five of those goals have come in road matches this season, including four goals in his last four road matches.

Chicago earned a 2-1 win over Charlotte in the first meeting between the two teams this season back in August. It was the third straight win in the series for the Fire, after they had lost five straight in the fixture entering last season.

The Fire were shut out for just the second time this regular season in their road loss to Nashville, tied for the fewest games being held scoreless this season with Inter Miami.

That ended a 21-game run with a goal in league play, as it was the first time Chicago had failed to score since March 7, against the Columbus Crew. 

Charlotte, meanwhile, have recorded their two longest regular-season unbeaten runs in club history from July onward, with a 10-game streak in 2025 and a current eight-match run.

Over the past two seasons, the Crown have averaged 2.24 points per match from July to October, compared to 1.31 in March through June. 

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