CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte FC is coming off of a big win over New York Red Bulls, 2-0 at home last weekend.
It was the team's first match under Christian Lattanzio as interim coach.
This Saturday, the team seeks its first road win of the season, with a match at Columbus Crew.
Through 15 matches, the expansion side currently sits in an Eastern Conference playoff spot, with a record of 6 wins, 8 losses and 1 draw.
No. 1 SuperDraft pick Ben Bender has been solid in his rookie campaign, scoring three goals and assisting on three more.
After each score, he unleashes his patented corner flag kick celebration.
Bender sat down with WCNC Charlotte Sports Director Nick Carboni for a 1-on-1 interview.
NC: Is any corner flag in the MLS safe right now?
BB: No, definitely not. I'm going for every one I see. After my first goal at my sophomore season at Maryland, I just instinctively went over to the corner flag and kicked it. One of my former teammates told me to keep kicking corner flags.
NC: How has your rookie season measured up to what you thought it would be?
BB: My expectations were to come in and work as hard as possible and try and make an impact right away. It's tough to do that. I've been given some opportunities, but I'm just going to keep working hard and hopefully be really consistent.
NC: What is it like to score a goal in front of 30,000 fans?
BB: Maryland has one of the best fanbases, "The Crew." Seven to eight thousand people every Friday and Saturday night game, so that was amazing. Coming here is a whole 'nother level. Their really the 12th man for us, they give us so much energy. Scoring (at home) is a really surreal feeling. It's an awesome feeling.
NC: Was Miguel Ángel Ramírez's firing jarring at all and how did you process it?
BB: It definitely was a shock to me. I wasn't expecting it. My teammates told me, this happens a lot in professional football. It's still kind of a shock to me.
NC: What have training sessions been like under interim coach Christian Lattanzio?
BB: They've been super intense. He loves to keep the intensity high and lets us compete. He's a very attacking coach and that's something I've enjoyed. He's very clear in what he wants from us.
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NC: What has made this team successful relative to external expectations?
BB: The ability to compete every game. We're such a competitive group. Every game moving forward we're going to have a lot of energy when we step out on the field. We want to fight to make that playoff spot.
NC: Is the U.S. Men's National Team a dream for you and do you think this season has helped showcase you for a potential spot?
BB: A little bit. I think it would be an awesome experience to get a national team call-up because I never had that going through the youth system. That's something I'd love to make.
NC: Do you think you've proven something this year?
BB: Maybe. But I'm not satisfied, I have a lot of work to do. For however long I play I'm going to have more work to do to get better and to find more ways to attack and be dynamic and hopefully score more goals.
NC: Is not having a road victory something the team thinks about?
BB: We usually don't discuss it the week before the game. But in the locker room it's something that we talk about. It's something that's super frustrating because we haven't gotten that win. But this week has been really intense and having a really good performance against Red Bulls is something that we need to take into the Columbus game because they're a good side. I think we have really good energy moving in to that game.