Pep Biel has 12 MLS goals this season. So did Karol Swiderski in 2023, and nobody in Charlotte FC history has scored more in a regular season. One more and the record is Biel's alone.
His first chance is Saturday, Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium, against the Chicago Fire. The last time Charlotte played Chicago, on Aug. 1, Biel scored in the 18th minute and Charlotte still lost 2-1.
Biel is a Spanish midfielder and one of the club's designated players. His 12th goal came in the 17th minute of a 3-3 draw at FC Cincinnati on Sept. 12. According to the club, it also moved him past Swiderski, a former Charlotte forward, for the most goals and assists combined in club history, 49: 24 goals and 25 assists. He did not score in the 2-1 win at D.C. United on Sept. 19. Charlotte has eight league matches left, starting Saturday.
There is a second record, for goals in all competitions, including cup matches. Swiderski holds that one too, with 15 in 2023. All 12 of Biel's goals this year have come in league play, so he is three from tying it.
One of the league's best
Biel is not just scoring for Charlotte. In Montreal on Sept. 9, he became one of three MLS players to reach 10 goals and 10 assists this season; the other two were Lionel Messi and Evander. He now has 12 goals and 10 assists.
On July 25, with his winner at Red Bull New York, he became the first Charlotte player to reach 20 career goals and 20 career assists. It took him 52 matches, which the club says ties him with Hany Mukhtar, a former MLS MVP, as the 13th fastest player in league history to get there.
His 10th goal of this season, against Columbus on Aug. 15, came in his 19th match, the fewest matches any Charlotte player has needed to reach double digits, per the club. He held the old mark himself, at 23 matches, from last season.
He has scored in 11 different league matches this season, twice in a 3-1 win over Austin on March 7. Two of his goals were penalties; he has taken two and made both. He also leads the club's all-time list in game-winning goals, with nine, and game-winning assists, with eight.
Biel has eight matches to break it. The first is against the last team to beat Charlotte in the league.