The Charleston Battery completed a 2-1 comeback win over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Saturday at Patriots Point. After going into halftime down 0-1, Charleston fired back with goals in the second half by Aaron Molloy and Cal Jennings to secure the three points. It’s the second consecutive victory for the Battery and it was a just result after the hosts dominated the majority of the match.
There was a rather cagey start to the night against two teams who came into the game neck and neck in the Eastern Conference standings. Augi Williams appeared eager to score against his former club with two shots in the first 10 minutes of play, only the second one required a save from goalkeeper Luis Zamudio.
Charleston found more of a footing in the game as the half wore on and applied more pressure to Pittsburgh. Emilio Ycaza tested goalkeeper Eric Dick and forced a save in the 23rd minute and Aaron Molloy’s free-kick moments later went just wide of the frame.
The Battery nearly found an opening goal in the 32nd minute when Ycaza played a brilliant ball up the field to Cal Jennings, who then charged forward into the box. Jennings’ shot was deflected by Dick, and the rebound was at just a tight enough angle where MD Myers was unable to put the ball in the net on his follow up strike.
Pittsburgh managed to score first in the 40th minute via Bradley Sample after the Hounds’ free-kick was not fully cleared out.
Charleston were quick to respond and looked to find an equalizer before the break. Their best opportunity of the half arrived in stoppage time when Jennings was taken down in the box by the Pittsburgh goalkeeper. Jennings stepped up to the spot to convert the penalty he won, however his attempt went wide of the frame.
The Battery trailed 0-1 going into halftime, despite totaling more shots, shots on target and a higher xG (expected goals) of 1.74 to Pittsburgh’s 0.15.
Charleston came out of the interval with the same pressure they applied at the end of the first half as they looked to find an equalizer. However, the hosts were unable to record a shot in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
The Battery’s breakthrough moment came in the 67th minute when Aaron Molloy struck with a sensational goal from just outside the box to the top corner of the net, leveling the score 1-1. The play was initiated by Juan David Torres with a pass forward to Myers, who then laid off the ball to Molloy with a clever no-look backheel pass. From there, the Irish midfielder took a few touches forward and then fired a right-footed dipping shot to the top corner.
The goal and assist were the first for Molloy and Myers, respectively.
With momentum in their favor, the Battery began to overwhelm Pittsburgh in search of a second goal. Torres nearly did that just minutes after Molloy’s strike with a shot on target off a free kick that was barely saved off the post, and Johnny Klein’s follow-up attempt off the rebound was able to be saved.
Charleston took the lead in the 80th minute when Jennings scored the breakthrough goal, a bit of redemption for the forward to fire the Battery ahead, 2-1. Torres again pulled the strings to create the opportunity with a perfect pass to Jennings, who was charging into the box. From there, Jennings delivered a decisive strike to the far post, his fourth consecutive game with a goal.
The goal was Jennings’ fifth of the season and the assist was Torres’ second. It was also Jennings’ 70th career goal in the USL Championship regular season, the 10th-most all-time in league history.
A noteworthy moment occurred in the 91st minute when Mark Segbers entered the game off the bench to record his first appearance of 2025.
In the final 10 minutes plus stoppage time that remained, Charleston tightened their grip on the game to see out the result. After the score went to 2-1, Pittsburgh only managed two last-ditch shots that were both blocked before the final whistle.
Charleston secured the 2-1 win over Pittsburgh in the 45th all-time meeting between the clubs, the second consecutive victory for the Battery. It was a deserved three points for the Battery, who outshot Pittsburgh 18 to six (eight to two on target) and controlled 63% possession.
The completed comeback advances the Battery’s record to 3W-2L-0D (9pts), ascending the side to third in the Eastern Conference standings, as of writing.
Jennings’ five goals keep him in a tie for the league’s Golden Boot race, alongside Abdellatif Aboukoura of Loudoun United FC, as of writing.
Torres had a productive day on both sides of the ball, with an assist, four chances created, four successful dribbles and eight duels won.
Molloy led the match with 66 completed passes in addition to his equalizer.
Charleston’s win gives them a leg up in the Old Guard Shield, where the winner will be decided in the reverse fixture on August 16.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann, defender Leland Archer and midfielder Aaron Molloy addressed the win after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his assessment of the overall match…
I thought we played an excellent game. I know we were down 0-1 at halftime, but that first half was about as good of a half against probably the best defending team in the league, and we dominated.
We missed the penalty, we missed four or five chances, [Pittsburgh’s] goalkeeper made some good saves, conceded a second-phase restart, and the message at halftime was just stick to what we’re doing. We had to tweak one or two things, just being a little bit calmer. We were a little rushed when we broke their press, but I’ll say this, we moved the ball selflessly. We were on top of them. The counterpress was incredible, and if you do that a lot of times, you’re going to win.
That’s a good, good team over there. They’re very well coached and they’ve got some high-level players. In no disrespect to them, I thought we made them look pedestrian in a lot of ways and that’s a compliment to our guys. Then, mentally and psychologically, we stuck with it [when we were] down a goal. You don’t want to be chasing the game against Pittsburgh. We just kept going.
Great little play between Juan David and MD to have a class finish from Molloy. Then we just kept pushing. I know we hit the post, I know they made some saves, cleared it off the line, but I thought it was well deserved, really dominant, and I was really proud of that team, our team tonight. We represented this club very well.
Coach Pirmann on his message to the team at halftime…
No, it was simple. There wasn’t shouting, there wasn’t any blame. Sure, you could look back, we don’t need to commit the foul on the restart and the second-phase block. But, against the team who’s top of the table in every data set there is in and out of possession, the message was, ‘keep doing what you want to do.’
Look, Cal’s a striker. He had half a dozen chances tonight, and he buried the one the most important. So, Cal’s a striker, he scores goals. MD is the striker, maybe he missed a pass or two and then he creates the first goal. Like in football, and probably in life in general, you need to have a short memory, right, and just go on to the next one.
But, it goes back to our selflessness, our willingness to run in behind. MD paired with Cal tonight causes a unique look. I thought Emilio [Ycaza] and Juan David did a very good job in their structure to play in the lanes that we needed them. As we get a little bit healthier and a little bit fitter and just a little bit better, then the performances [will] continue to stand out. We got to figure out a way to stop leaking goals, but in the end of it, that was an excellent performance.
Coach Pirmann on the support from the home fans…
We went down a goal, we got back in it with them. They were shouting at us, ‘Hey, keep your head up, you’re playing great.’ They want us to work hard, they want us to be good ambassadors of this club and our players are, and they love playing for them and we love going with them.
Archer on the message to the team at halftime…
It was just kind of keeping our patience with them, breaking them down, because we were getting the chances in the first half, but it just wasn’t sticking. So just stick to our game plan and have some patience. We kind of tweaked a little thing, but nothing too much.
It’s tough going down a goal closer to the end of the half, but we were getting chances, so we just stuck to game plan, and it worked out. We were resilient. [The guys are] used to playing at a high level, and I think they did that throughout the game.
Molloy on what he saw in his goal to level the score…
I think MD later had a good layoff. I’m on the edge of the box, and I just tried to hit the target and hit the ball clean, and was happy it went in. It was a clean layoff from MD. Taking one touch around the defender, another touch to set myself and I just wanted to get the ball on target. I was happy it went in.
We had a lot of momentum, obviously coming from the first half with all the chances that we had. We just wanted to continue what we were doing, maybe put it up a gear, and that’s what we did. The guys were pushing. All started with Luis and the back line pushing us forward and giving the confidence for the lads up top to take chances.
It wasn’t over at that point. When we are at home, we don’t settle for draws. Yeah, had a small bit of emotion. I was happy with the goal, but I just wanted to get the ball back into play and then and go again to get the second goal and get the three points.
Molloy on getting a win at home in front of the fans…
That’s the most important thing, we want to protect this place as much as we can, get three points as much as we can. The fans really do help out an awful lot. We use the crowd. We used their energy, and they definitely helped us tonight.
Charleston’s next match will be at home vs. Tormenta FC on Tues., April 15 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Tickets for the game are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
CHS: Zamudio, Allan, Archer, Dossantos, Houssou, Molloy, Myers (Conway, 90’+1), Akpunonu, Torres (Segbers, 90’+1), Ycaza (Klein, 66’), Jennings (Blackstock, 84’)
PIT: Dick, Biasi, Ydrach (Garcia, 81’), Suber, Etou, Sample (O’Toole, 66’), Walti, Osumanu (Linzoain, 81’), Griffin, Mertz (Bouregy, 82’), Williams (Broughton, 66’)
Scoring Summary
PIT – Bradley Sample, 41′
CHS – Aaron Molloy (MD Myers), 67′
CHS – Cal Jennings (Juan David Torres), 80′
