Coming off a breakout brace in just his fourth MLS appearance, Charlotte FC midfielder Brandon Cambridge has been voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire for Matchday 13 of the 2023 campaign.
The 21-year-old burst onto the scene with his first two career MLS goals after entering the match as a 59th-minute substitute, tallying both the equalizer and the game-winner to deliver a 2-1 victory over Chicago Fire FC on Wednesday. The clutch performance made Cambridge the third player in MLS history to score a game-tying and game-winning goal as a substitute within his first four appearances, joining former LA Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the league's only other player to manage the feat.
Cambridge is also the second-youngest player in MLS this season to record a multi-goal game (21 years, 97 days), trailing only Atlanta United homegrown Caleb Wiley (18 years, 79 days). He's the youngest Charlotte FC player to score multiple goals in a match, and the first to do so as a substitute.
Since their 2022 arrival to MLS, Charlotte FC now joins Inter Miami CF and the Philadelphia Union as the only clubs to have three players win MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire honors. Cambridge is the first Charlotte player to win the award since forward Daniel Ríos did so in Matchday 33 of the 2022 season.
Cambridge's heroics continue a strong run of form for Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium, as the Eastern Conference side is now unbeaten across their last five home matches – the longest such streak in club history. They'll look to extend that run in Matchday 14, when they host Nashville SC in a Rivalry Week matchup (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while a Twitter fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
