The Charleston Battery claimed a thrilling 3-2 victory over Louisville City FC in front of a sold-out crowd at Patriots Point on Tuesday. After conceding an early goal, the Battery rallied from behind to score three goals in the first half via MD Myers (10’) and Nick Markanich (22’ and 30’). Charleston dealt Louisville their first loss of 2024 and simultaneously replaced them in first in the Eastern Conference standings.
The sold-out crowd in Charleston paired with the thrilling contest put an exclamation mark on the USL Championship’s debut on CBS Sports Network.
The battle of the unbeatens began with Louisville striking first in the 9th minute via Jorge Gonzalez off a corner kick.
Charleston immediately responded in the 10th minute by applying heavy pressure during the restart. MD Myers was Johnny on the Spot and scored off Chris Allan’s shot that hit the woodwork, beating goalkeeper Damian Las with his return service. The goal was Myers’ second of the season.
The Battery continued to put LouCity under pressure and were awarded a penalty in the 22nd minute for a handball by Kyle Adams. Nick Markanich took the spot attempt a minute later and buried it to give Charleston a 2-1 lead.
Markanich wasn’t done there and would add to the Battery’s lead at the half-hour mark. Juan David Torres picked out Markanich with a perfect switch pass across the field to initiate the play. From there, Markanich settled on the ball and delivered a sublime strike off the volley and into the back of the net. The brace after a half-hour brings Markanich’s goal tally on the year to five.
Charleston took a commanding 3-1 lead into halftime. The Battery out-shot LouCity 13 to two and held over 61% of possession.
Play resumed with both sides eager to leave their mark in the second half. The visitors managed to pull a goal back in the 52nd minute via Taylor Davila off a corner kick.
After Louisville’s goal, the intensity only ramped up as play went on. The Battery were awarded another penalty in the 84th minute following a violent collision between Las and Emilio Ycaza in the box. Aaron Molloy took the following spot attempt but his strike was saved by Las, who made an additional save on Myers’ follow-up shot off the rebound.
Charleston’s defense turned in a strong performance in neutralizing the threat of Wilson Harris, the reigning Championship Player of the Week, who was on a four-game scoring streak until facing the Battery.
The Battery would hold off LouCity’s late advances and secure the 3-2 victory. The win extended Charleston’s undefeated streak to six matches while also dealing Louisville their first loss of the year and snapping their four-game winning streak.
Tuesday’s victory also propels Charleston (3W-0L-3D, 12pts) to first in the Eastern Conference table, replacing the now-third place LouCity.
Charleston have now come back to win six points from losing positions this year. As of writing, no other team has recovered more points.
Markanich’s five goals through six games currently place him for the second most in the league this season.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward Nick Markanich discussed the victory after the final whistle, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his assessment of the night…
I thought it was a really great performance, to be honest. Especially the first half, we dominated. That was a silly corner to concede, that was bad coaching by me. That was a great first half performance, we deserved to be up.
Then a little bit of a foot off of our gas, but I think you’ve got to give credit to Louisville for coming out as strong as they did. They put on some fresh legs, they had that advantage on us. Then we settled in and we picked it back up and saw the game out. We had the better of the chances as well. Great, great performance, we deserved three points. I thought we played a great game.
Coach Pirmann on what he learned from this team following the victory…
It was a really tough trip to Rhode Island with the travel and the conditions and some injuries. Then to turn around quickly without really any preparation and have such a strong performance, we trust these players. We believe in them. For me, you learn that they can battle and they can fight.
But Louisville and these teams, they’re strong and they’re never going to back down no matter what the score is. It was a great display for our league, two high-end teams played really high-end football. It was entertaining. I’m proud of our team, proud of the players. Happy for the performance and glad our club can celebrate it.
Markanich on his brace in the first half…
Going down a goal is always tough to come back. In Miami, we went down to goal and we came back right away. We did the same thing here. Coming back is a great feeling. MD with a rebound [too], so it was pretty good.
Me and Juan David, it was off a corner so he was already on the right, so me and him switched spots. I was on the left and he found me on a great switch and then I just took it down off the chest and just hit it far post. It’s just happening. I’m getting in good spots and my team’s helping me out for sure. I think I’m just in the right spot at the right times.
Markanich on what this win means for the team…
It was a great win. We just played Saturday, so we’re coming off a tie and a good performance too. Coming [home] two days later and getting a win and then going out to Indy Eleven this weekend, we just have to rest up and be ready for Saturday. Louisville, they’re hot right now. They’ve been doing really well so far this season. They’ve got a lot of great players and we knew it was going to be a tough game. We’re at home, so the fans were great and we took it to them. I’m happy with the win.
Charleston hit the road again for two matches, the first on Sat., April 13, against Indy Eleven and the second on Sat., April 20, at FC Tulsa. The Battery return to Patriots Point on Sat., April 27, to host Las Vegas Lights FC on Community Superhero Night. This match will honor local heroes of police departments, firefighters, frontline workers and more everyday heroes. Tickets for the game are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups:
CHS: Grinwis, Segbers, Dossantos, Archer, Smith, Molloy, Ycaza (Crawford, 90 +2’), Torres (LaCava, 75’), Allan, Markanich (Gutierrez, 54’), Myers (Drack, 90 +2’)
LOU: Las, Adams, Ordonez, Dia (Morris, 75’), Charpie, Serrano (Showunmi, 86’), Moguel (Wynder, 45’), McFadden (Wilson, 45’), Davila, Gonzalez (Perez, 45’), Harris
Scoring Summary:
LOU – Gonzalez (Moguel), 9’
CHS – Myers, 10’
CHS – Markanich, 22’
CHS – Markanich (Torres), 30’
LOU – Davila (Ordonez), 52’
