CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte FC's Brecht Dejaegere fouled Philadelphia Union's Olivier Mbaizo in the penalty area, leading to a stoppage-time penalty kick goal for the away team and a demoralizing draw for the home team.
Dániel Gazdag scored on the penalty kick for Philadelphia (14-8-6) in the sixth minute of stoppage time to force the game to end in a 2-2 draw. The goal eliminated a lead that Charlotte had held for over 40 minutes.
Charlotte (7-9-12) would have been just one point out of a playoff spot in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings if they had held for the win for a few more minutes. Instead, Charlotte is in 12th place, three points behind with six games remaining.
Midfielder Justin Meram scored the match's first goal in the 55th minute after Philadelphia defender Alejandro Bedoya lost possession of the ball in the box. Meram made a quick strike after gaining possession to give Charlotte the lead.
Just five minutes later, Karol Swiderski finished off a deep cross from Brandt Bronico to give Charlotte a huge 2-0 advantage midway through the second half.
Philadelphia's Quinn Sullivan fired in a goal that seemingly caught Charlotte's goalkeeper by surprise to make the score 2-1.
Charlotte held onto the lead for the remainder of the game until Dejaegere slid into Mbaizo's legs and drew the foul.
Philadelphia's shocking comeback leaves the team in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Charlotte FC's next match is on the road against FC Cincinnati (17-4-8), the top team in MLS, on Saturday.