Historically, the Union have never played well in visits to Charlotte FC. Here’s why.

Not only have the Union never won at Bank of America Stadium, but they’ve played remarkably badly in both of their games there so far.

Dániel Gazdag (left) on the ball in front of Brandt Bronico during the Union's 2-2 tie at Charlotte FC last year.Read morePhiladelphia Union

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published May 24, 2024, 2:20 p.m. ET

It admittedly doesn’t make much sense to consider a stadium a house of horrors when a visiting team has been there only twice — and when the home team is in only its third season of existence.

But when it comes to the Union and Charlotte FC, the title isn’t a stretch. Not only have the Union never won at Bank of America Stadium, but they’ve played remarkably badly both times: a 2-2 tie last year and a 4-0 rout in 2022.

The Union were the better team on paper each time, too, and by a long way in the standings. There was an eight-place, 15-point gap last year (3rd and 48 to 11th and 33), and a 10-place, 33-point gap two years ago (1st and 64 to 10th and 41).

That 2022 game was especially painful because it was the next-to-last game of the season. The Union were neck-and-neck with Los Angeles FC down the stretch, and had they gotten even a point in Charlotte, they’d have won the Supporters’ Shield for the best regular-season record — and hosting rights for the championship game.

“We got smacked by them,” Union manager Jim Curtin said. “Mr. Ríos, the Union killer, got us pretty good on that day.”

That’s a reference to Daniel Ríos, the former Charlotte striker who scored all four goals that day and again in this year’s season opener in the Union’s 2-2 draw at Atlanta.

Last year, the Union rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit (sound familiar?) with a Quinn Sullivan goal in the 70th minute and a Dániel Gazdag penalty kick in the 97th, on what was effectively the game’s last play.

“We stole a point last time we were out there on the turf,” Curtin said.

Is it that artificial surface? The big crowds? Bad karma? Something personal for Ríos?

“The reality is AstroTurf does make it different for sure,” Curtin said, though let the record show it’s FieldTurf, which is different (but still not great). He noted that the Union have practiced their free kick and corner kick plays on the turf fields at their practice facility to prepare for it.

“But you give credit to their crowd,” he continued. “They have a great crowd, great atmosphere. It’s tough to play down there.”

That should be the case again this time. Charlotte has MLS’s second-highest average attendance this year, over 37,000, and there will be loads of people in town for NASCAR’s famed Coca-Cola 600 race on Sunday night. If they’d like to go to a show on Saturday, the local soccer team would surely be thrilled to have them.

What matters most, though, is that Charlotte is good this year: 6-5-3 (21 points), and two places above the Union (4-4-5, 17 points). New manager Dean Smith, formerly of England’s Norwich City, has done a great job tightening up the defense. His team is tied for the league’s second-stingiest defense with 13 goals conceded, and has pitched four straight shutouts.

“Extremely well-coached, well-organized, difficult to break down,” Curtin said. “Can beat you a lot of different ways. They can open up and pass through you, they can play very direct, and have some real athletes up front that are dynamic, can go 1-v-1 at you.”

And there’s that history, which will matter until the Union wins in Charlotte — and it doesn’t matter anymore.

“Yes, that is in my mind,” Curtin said. “We’ve only played them a few times in that building, [but] not a lot of great memories, for sure. And certainly, the one that sticks out the most is in the year where everything went really well for us, they gave us a humbling.”