The Charleston Battery defeated Las Vegas Lights FC, 0-1, on Friday at Cashman Field. Augi Williams’ goal and Trey Muse’s penalty save in the second half were the difference in the end. Williams converted from the penalty spot and Muse notched six saves en route the Battery securing the victory and their return to first place in the Eastern Conference standings.
It was an uneasy start for Las Vegas and Charleston in the opening moments of the match as the teams sized each other up and adjusted to the challenging playing surface at Cashman Field. Goalkeeper Trey Muse made the first save of the night in the 7th minute with a diving stop to deny Cubo Torres.
Derek Dodson registered Charleston’s first shot on target, in the 23rd minute, but goalkeeper Leo Diaz saved it. Lights FC thought they had the night’s opening goal in the 41st minute through Andrew Carleton, however, the referee’s flag was raised for offside. Carleton tested Muse again in stoppage time with a close-range shot and Muse’s reflex save kept the game scoreless into halftime. Charleston held 62% of possession in the first half.
The Battery entered the second half eager to break the deadlock with high pressure from the start. Their efforts paid off in the 58th minute when Augi Williams’ pressing earned him a penalty for a foul inside the box. Williams stepped up and converted the spot attempt a minute later, his strike was too strong for Diaz’s hand to stop it. The goal is Williams’ sixth of the season.
Las Vegas had a chance to tie the match when they were awarded a penalty in the 72nd minute. Muse made a challenge on the ball against Carleton and pawed the ball away, but the penalty was still given. Justice was served a minute later when Muse denied Torres from the spot, preserving Charleston’s 0-1 lead.
Charleston would tighten their grip on the match in the remaining minutes at Cashman Field. Muse continued to be a brick wall in keeping Las Vegas out of his net, he tallied six saves on the night in a sensational performance that matched his season-high.
The Battery secured the 0-1 victory over Lights FC, their first win against the Nevada club, and returned to first place in the Eastern Conference standings as a result. Muse notched his third clean sheet of the season, tied for third-most in the league. The club improved their unblemished away record to 3W-0L-1D.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and goalkeeper Trey Muse discussed the match after the final whistle, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his overall assessment of the night…
Anytime you travel three time zones, especially to an opponent who’s only lost once the whole season, in a very difficult place to play, to get the result is incredible. I’m so proud of the players, they knew it wasn’t going to be pretty but they found a way. They fought and fought. Happy that we could get the result and now we just have to get ourselves ready for Tuesday.
Coach Pirmann on the team bouncing back from last week’s result…
We had a setback and our biggest response was that our effort and our energy were very good. We outworked our opponent and then we wanted to play a little bit better football. We had a really good possession rate but we didn’t have a good enough purposeful possession rate. But, for us to break lines and create as many chances as we did, it was very good. Getting the result means a lot to our club and our community.
Coach Pirmann on the message to the team at halftime…
The biggest concern was that we didn’t do the tactical game plan. I think because of the energy, because of the crowd, because of [Las Vegas’] pressure, we did things that we weren’t supposed to do. Then we calmed down a little bit, we got into those zones and we were able to get turned around. So, it was a good performance. We can’t get too high or too low on a loss last week or win this week; we just have got to get better and go from there.
Muse on the team’s performance tonight…
It was very gritty. I would say we didn’t have our way in the first half. It’s a good team that we were playing against, a difficult place to come play. I thought we handled some things well, I thought we bent a little bit and were flexible to be able to make changes at halftime. We did better in the second half and I think it was that bend-don’t-break mentality that got us through.
Muse on playing at Cashman Field…
It was really fast, it was a little bumpy. There were some difficulties for sure, so we had to be smart and make some adjustments. We had to be more careful on our passes. It was not the easiest field to play on by any means, but that’s sometimes part of it. You’re never going to have perfect conditions, so I think we just figured out a way to pull the result out.
Muse on his penalty save against Torres…
I waited there in the moment. I’ve been working on certain things in training, with penalties and shots, being able to understand where he was going. Then, I think instincts just took over in the moment. I saw him open his hips at the last second and guessed to go to my left and then made the save.
The Battery stay on the road for their next match, on Tues., May 9, against Inter Miami CF in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at DRV PNK Stadium. Charleston return home on Sat., May 13, to play San Antonio FC and celebrate Military Appreciation Night at Patriots Point. Tickets are available now via SeatGeek.com, the Battery’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
