Ashley Westwood entered the Charlotte FC record books with a historic performance that earned him MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra honors for Matchday 26.
Westwood assisted on all three Charlotte goals in a 3-1 statement victory at Supporters' Shield-leading FC Cincinnati, becoming the first player in club history to record three assists in a single match.
Charlotte's captain pulled the strings Saturday at TQL Stadium, reaching a team-high 36 key passes on the season while leveling Jere Uronen's five assists for a share of the club lead. Additionally, all three assists were for players 23 years old or younger: Iuri Tavares (23), Liel Abada (22) and Kerwin Vargas (22).
The English midfielder's offensive display helped boost Dean Smith's side, which is first in MLS in clean sheets (nine) and second in goals allowed (24).
Westwood is Charlotte's fourth-ever Player of the Matchday and their first since Brandon Cambridge in Matchday 13 of 2023. The Crown are one of five clubs to have four different players named MLS Player of the Matchday since 2022.
Charlotte look to make it back-to-back wins on Wednesday night when visiting reigning MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew in Matchday 27 (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
The MLS Player of the Matchday is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an X (formerly known as Twitter) fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
