CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a true match of two halves, Charlotte FC and New York Red Bulls played to a draw with both teams scoring their goals in separate spans of less than six minutes.
Charlotte (6-8-5) went up 2-0 with early goals in the first half before New York (4-6-8) tied up the game with two quick goals of their own in the second half. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.
The scoring started in the 13th minute for Charlotte in the first half when midfielder Ben Bender made an elusive move around a Red Bulls defender and tapped in a goal. The goal came almost instantly after a cross-field pass from Kristijan Kahlina, Charlotte's goalkeeper.
Bender doubled his efforts just six minutes later when he took a loose ball in the box and converted it for a top-corner score that gave Charlotte a big 2-0 lead. The move was made possible by an aggressive Charlotte attack that put the pressure on to move the ball into the penalty area.
Charlotte looked to be in control with a 2-0 lead at halftime but New York found two quick scores of their own just minutes into the second half.
A textbook cross from New York's Elias Manoel to Dante Vanzeir allowed the latter to slam in a goal in the 53rd minute and cut the deficit in half.
New York's Cameron Harper squeezed in another goal just five minutes later during the aftermath of a corner kick to tie the match.
Neither team was able to break the tie after that. Charlotte did not have another attempt on goal until stoppage time, meanwhile, New York's last six shots either missed or were blocked.
The draw secures a valuable road point for Charlotte in the standings but they will be left without a crucial win that would have elevated the team's playoff hopes. Charlotte sits in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, level with D.C. United on points (23) but are behind on goal difference.
The Red Bulls sit 12th in the Eastern Conference standings with 20 points.
Charlotte's next match is on Saturday against CF Montreal (8-9-1) at Bank of America Stadium. New York next faces Atlanta United (7-4-8).