Charlotte holds off Orlando City 2-1 for first win of season

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Enzo Copetti and Kerwin Vargas scored first-half goals and Charlotte FC snapped a three-match skid to open the season with a 2-1 victory over Orlando City on Saturday night.

Copetti scored in the 26th minute with a lengthy assist from homegrown defender Jaylin Lindsey to give Charlotte (1-3-0) the lead. Vargas took a pass from Harrison Afful and scored a deflected goal 11 minutes later to make it 2-0. It was the first career goal for Vargas.

Martín Ojeda halved the deficit for Orlando City (1-1-2) with a goal in the 57th minute. Duncan McGuire, who scored in his debut with Orlando City last week, had an assist.

Charlotte opened last season with three straight losses before rebounding to post a 4-2-1 mark over its next seven matches.

Orlando City had a 19-8 advantage in shots and a 7-4 edge in shots on goal.

George Marks totaled six saves for Charlotte. Pedro Gallese saved two shots for Orlando City.

Orlando City beat Charlotte twice last season by 2-1 scores.

——

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports