Andrew Privett stood over the ball deep in overtime. It was October 2021. Privett’s Penn State Nittany Lions had clawed back from a 2-0 deficit against No. 7 Maryland to force the extra period.
Privett, a junior box-to-box midfielder, had gained a reputation for nailing free kicks dating back to his time at McDonogh School, where the Fallston native graduated in 2018. Among his teammates, they called it “Priv Range.”
“He was the best free-kick guy in years,” said Brandon Quaranta, Privett’s coach at McDonogh. “Anywhere within 25 yards, he was banging it in.”
Against Maryland, Privett’s free kick found the back of the net off a deflection, putting Penn State in the driver’s seat to eventually win the Big Ten regular-season title and propelling Privett to the Big Ten Golden Boot.
When he was picked 69th in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft by Charlotte FC, Privett was quickly converted to center back in the preseason, a position he had never played before. The move was a challenge, as he tried to win the support of Charlotte’s then-manager, Christian Lattanzio.
“From the beginning, just being drafted as a midfielder out of college, I’d kind of played the front six positions, but never really played in the back line, let alone center back,” said Privett, who did play wing back for his club team, Baltimore Celtic, but only briefly.
“You’re at the bottom of the totem pole and you’re just trying to survive in preseason,” he added. “You’re trying to learn a lot, show yourself and build any sort of confidence you can.”
As he embarks on his third MLS season, Privett has more than proven himself a valuable part of Charlotte’s defensive setup, logging 30 starts at center back in 2024 and 11 more the year before. Lattanzio did have Privett operating in a hybrid role that saw him occasionally venture into the midfield, but his role was simplified to just center back when Dean Smith was appointed to replace Lattanzio in December 2023.
Through six games this season, Privett has helped Charlotte FC get off to its best start in franchise history, sitting in fourth place in the Eastern Conference (4-2-1) entering play on April 12. The team, which was formed as an expansion franchise in 2022, is seeking its third straight MLS Cup Playoffs appearance.
Quaranta was not surprised that his former player has adapted so quickly to a notoriously difficult position and thrived against the tough competition of MLS.
“It speaks to No. 1, his natural ability and gifts to play the game, but also just a knowledge and soccer IQ, being able to drop back in there at that level and handle the best forwards in MLS consistently. It just says a lot,” Quaranta said. “I think he’s honestly a kid you could play anywhere and be effective.”
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Privett was a do-it-all offensive powerhouse at McDonogh. A storied soccer program that’s won 11 MIAA A Conference titles, Quaranta’s team has produced numerous high-level players.
“He did everything well and I don’t say that lightly,” Quaranta said. “There wasn’t really a weak spot in his game.”
By the end of his high school career, Privett had scored 32 goals — probably half from free kicks, he estimated — and assisted on 27 more, playing on three championship teams.
Jacob Murrell was a freshman on the 2018 team. He had watched in awe as Privett led the Eagles as a senior.
“I just remember how much influence Priv had on me. I looked at him every single day, wanted to be like him,” said Murrell, who would eventually etch his name in McDonogh lore by notching 41 goals and 20 assists as a senior in 2021. But as a wiry newcomer, all Murrell wanted was to be like Privett.
“I wanted to do the things he did, wanted to run like him, wanted to shoot like him, wanted to pass the ball like him, wanted to act like him off the field,” he said.
That tradition of older players mentoring younger ones is a keystone of the McDonogh program, Quaranta said.
“We never talk about an individual team or an individual year,” the coach said. “We constantly talk about our program and those standards and that being at the top of it. So the guys that we try to get here fit that mold and we believe can grow into leaders.”
That experience led Privett to pick a college program at Penn State with similar traditions. He was in a recruiting class of 10 players brought in by first-year head coach Jeff Cook. The group stuck together for four years, helping the Nittany Lions capture the 2021 Big Ten regular-season and tournament crowns and advance to a third straight NCAA Tournament.
In 2021, his junior season, Privett used the free-kick winner against Maryland to finish as the team leader in points (22) and goals (9) and added 4 assists, all career bests. He was named second-team All-Big Ten. In all, he contributed 14 goals and 13 assists during his college career.
“It was great to be part of that class,” Privett said. “That group staying together for four years was pretty special and it was great to be that first class [of Cook’s] and turn the program around a little bit.”
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After Charlotte selected him in the third round in 2023, Privett hoped he could find his way back into a midfield role, but Lattanzio and later Smith had other ideas. He played eight games at center back for Charlotte’s MLS NEXT Pro affiliate, Crown Legacy FC, before being called up to the first team and logging 12 more starts, including an MLS Cup playoff match against the New York Red Bulls.
“It was definitely an interesting transition. I found myself at times, especially at the beginning, I was like, ‘Oh man, I want to be back in the midfield,'” Privett said. “And then there were also times where I started to enjoy [playing defense], and it felt natural and felt like a place where I could really grow and excel.”
By last season, Privett had cemented himself in Smith’s starting 11 along with another young center back, Adilson Malanda, a 23-year-old Frenchman. The two anchored a much-improved Charlotte defense in 2024 that logged 13 clean sheets across all competitions. In May, Privett was rewarded for his consistent play, signing his second contract with the club that runs through 2028.
“When we were first paired together, when I started playing games, he was great and kind of even mid-game, during practice as well, just giving me little tips, talking through what we see, what we did well or what we did wrong in certain instances,” Privett said of Malanda. “And that really just grew into an understanding of our tendencies together, and also being able to move and communicate and defend as one unit. So I feel like that chemistry kept on growing and I feel like we have a great mutual respect for one another.”
In 2024, Privett twice reunited with Murrell, his former McDonogh teammate, this time as opponents. Murrell, a 21-year-old forward from Forest Hill, played two years at Georgetown before D.C. United selected him seventh overall in the 2024 SuperDraft. He appeared in 27 games with six starts last season, totaling one goal and three assists.
Privett got the better of Murrell on both occasions. During the match in Charlotte, both players were in the starting lineup and swapped jerseys after the final whistle.
“That was super cool and super surreal for me,” Murrell said. “Because this is the guy five years ago that I looked up to and just wanted to be like, and now we’re playing in the same professional league and against each other.”
The pair will play two more games against each other this season, July 16 in Charlotte and Oct. 4 in Washington, D.C.
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During a training session this spring, Privett was tasked with doing something he hadn’t done in a game since college.
The center back took shots from outside the box during a defensive drill to help his fellow defenders react to different shot angles. Privett received the ball, turned and fired at goal, beating the keeper. Yet another Priv Range goal.
Smith joked that he should put Privett on free-kick duty. Little did Smith know of Privett’s mastery of the craft.
“I’m just getting back to my college days,” Privett told Smith. Through his first two seasons, Privett had taken 15 shots, three on target, all from inside the penalty area. He has yet to take a free kick.
“I do miss it,” Privett added. “Hopefully I get a chance here soon to take one.”
Photo Credit: Taylor Banner/Charlotte FC
Originally published April 16, 2025