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WILMINGTON, NC – The Charleston Battery drew, 1-1, with the Wilmington Hammerheads in North Carolina Saturday night. The match started on a 30 minute weather delay and came to a strange and abrupt end, again due to weather, in the 89th minute.

Wilmington opened the scoring in the 35th minute after a physical first half. The Hammerheads earned a free kick in a dangerous area at the top of Charleston’s box. As three Wilmington players stood over the ball, pushing and shoving occurred in several places across the penalty area. After the referee calmed things down, Michael Binns struck the free kick that deflected off the Battery wall and beat Alex Tambakis at his near post.

O’Brian Woodbine scored a cracker in stoppage time of the first half to level the scoring. A Justin Portillo corner kick was cleared to Woodbine who took a touch to bring it down, another to beat an on rushing defender, then smashed a right-footed volley past Wilmington goalkeeper Eric Atti. The goal was Woodbine’s third of the year.

The two teams traded chances through a physical second half, but neither could find the go-ahead goal. Both teams had shots cleared off the line in the dying moments of the final 45 minutes.

The two coaches and officials elected to call the game in the 89th minute after lightning was spotted in the area. The Battery left Wilmington with a point and a 2-0-1 record against the Hammerheads this season.

Charleston returns to MUSC Health Stadium next Saturday, August 27th to take on the surging Charlotte Independence. The Battery will honor its 1996 squad at the match against the Independence and celebrate the 20 year anniversary of the Club’s first USL Championship.

Box Score:

CHARLESTON BATTERY: Alex Tambakis, O’Brian Woodbine (yellow card, 29th) (goal, 45th), Forrest Lasso, Shawn Ferguson, Emmanuel Adjetey, Maikel Chang (Quinton Griffith, 77th), Justin Portillo, Neveal Hackshaw, Zach Prince (yellow card, 33rd) (Dante Marini, ), Romario Williams (Heviel Cordoves, 68th), Chris Tsonis (Atualla Guerra)

Unused subs: Odisnel Cooper, Ricky Garbanzo, Jeffery Otoo 

WILMINGTON HAMMERHEADS: Eric Atti, Pedro Doue (Logan Miller, 68th), Michael Mecham, Bruno Perone, Ashani Fairclough, Justin Moose (Ferrety Sousa, 76th), Liam Miller, Stephan Defregger (Austin Martze, 59th), Michael Binns, Matt Barnes-Homer (Qudus Lawal, 85th) Jermie Lynch (Kyle Parker, 71st)

Unused subs: Same Williams, Tom Parratt 

RICHMOND, VA – The match between the Charleston Battery and Richmond Kickers Wednesday night was suspended in the 21st minute due to weather. After a hundred minute delay, officials elected to postpone the match to a later date, which has yet to be announced.

The Battery looked the better side prior to the lightning break. Charleston appeared to have put the tough result against FC Montreal behind them, finding their usual rhythm on the ball and quickness on the counter that was missing last Saturday. Justin Portillo had the best chance of the short 20 minute “game”, striking a hard shot on frame just as the referee called for the weather break. The two teams will pick up in the 21st minute on whatever date is chosen for the make-up match.

With the trip to Virginia temporarily behind them, the Battery will turn their attention to Wilmington on Saturday. The team leaves for North Carolina on Friday, seeking their third win against the Hammerheads this season.

Charleston won the first match-up between the Carolina rivals, 2-1, in dramatic fashion. Taylor Mueller flicked a corner kick past goalkeeper John Smits in the 85th minute to earn three points for the Battery at MUSC Health Stadium. Despite the what the scoreline indicates, Charleston dominated the match, outshooting the Hammerheads 12-2.

The second game of the three-game series was much more tightly contested. After a first half Shawn Ferguson goal, the Battery bunkered down defensively and walked away from Legion Stadium with three hard-earned points. Charleston’s back four played very well in both wins over Wilmington, the Battery goalkeepers were not forced to make a save in either match.

Wilmington enters Saturday’s match in desperate need of a win. The Hammerheads haven’t earned three points since July 9th, going winless in their last six matches. Similarly the Battery haven’t won since they beat New York Red Bulls II on July 23rd. Matches between the rivals are always hotly contested, but with both teams scrapping for points to move up in the standings, expect fireworks on Saturday night.

CHARLESTON, SC – The Battery (10-5-7) departed for Virginia following training on Tuesday morning in preparation for the team’s match with the Richmond Kickers (11-6-6) Wednesday night.

The match, which kicks off at 7:00 at City Stadium, has major implications on the Eastern Conference playoffs: Richmond currently has a two point lead on Charleston for fourth place, but the Battery have a game in hand. The top four teams in each conference earn the right to host a playoff game, the top eight teams make the playoffs.

The Battery saw its eight-game unbeaten streak come to a grinding halt on Saturday night, losing 3-1 to last-place FC Montreal at MUSC Health Stadium. Maikel Chang scored Charleston’s only goal in the match, continuing his run of good form. The hosts created several quality scoring chances, but couldn’t capitalize. Montreal goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau played well throughout the match, leading his side to its fourth win of the season.

Richmond comes into the match against the Battery riding a seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1) that includes wins over New York Red Bulls II at home and Rochester Rhinos on the road. During that seven game run, the Kickers have only given up two goals. Richmond’s last loss was on July 2nd at MUSC Health Stadium.

The Battery won that match comprehensively, jumping out to an early lead and never relenting. Taylor Mueller and Heviel Cordoves scored first-half goals seven minutes apart to help Charleston to three points.

Yudao Imora has led the way for Richmond through the hot streak, scoring six goals in seven games. Imora’s nine goals this season has him tied with Charleston’s Romario Williams and two other players for seventh in the USL.

Following the match in Richmond, the Battery will briefly return to Charleston before leaving for Wilmington for the third of three matches with the Hammerheads this season.

CHARLESTON, SC – The Charleston Battery lost, 3-1, to FC Montreal Saturday night at MUSC Health Stadium ending the team’s eight-game unbeaten streak.

In what was a sloppy first 25 minutes, FC Montreal looked the better side. The visitors pressed high early on and the Battery, coming off a 10-day break, looked a little rusty. Charleston’s passing lacked its usual consistency and its typically razor-sharp counter attack looked dull.

The visitors opened the scoring in the 39th minute through Anthony Jackson-Hamel. A tight one-two played at the top of Charleston’s box sprung Ballou Jean Yves Tabla free inside the Battery penalty area. Tabla took a touch towards goal, forcing Shawn Ferguson and goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper to collapse on him, and played a ball across to Jackson-Hamel who tucked it into the empty net.

Charleston came out of the halftime break on the front foot, searching for an equalizer. Montreal goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau made several big saves throughout the match to help his side to three points.

Just as the field seemed to be tilting in Charleston’s favor, Montreal scored another goal to double its lead. A Battery turnover in the defensive third resulted in Tabla getting free at the top of the box. The 17-year old found himself with time and space made no mistake, smashing the ball past Odisnel Cooper in the 64th minute.

Following the goal, Charleston pressed hard and threw numbers forward searching for a chance to cut into the deficit. The Battery finally broke through in the 77th minute. Substitute Dante Marini played a long looping cross to the back post, forcing Crepeau to tip it on. The goalkeeper’s tip fell to Maikel Chang who had two chances at it, but ultimately finished, cutting the visitor’s lead in half.

Down one goal at home and feeling the momentum against a Montreal team that played five games in 15 days, the Battery looked primed to grab an equalizer in the final ten minutes, but it was the visitors who found the back of the net again. Charleston failed to clear a ball near its penalty area and Louis Beland Goyette picked it up and slotted it past Cooper, putting the game out of reach.

“Our focus coming off the break was to start well, but we conceded early in the first half,” said Battery Captain Shawn Ferguson following the loss. “We had decent scoring opportunities, but unfortunately those chances didn’t go our way tonight. Definitely a frustrating night for everyone.”

The Battery will look to rebound on Wednesday when the team travels to Richmond.  The clash with the Kickers is vital in terms of top four positioning; following tonight’s results, Richmond has a two-point jump on Charleston for fourth place.

Box Score:

CHARLESTON BATTERY: Odisnel Cooper, Quinton Griffith, Shawn Ferguson, Forrest Lasso (Chris Tsonis, 77th), O’Brian Woodbine, Zach Prince (Heviel Cordoves, 69th), Justin Portillo, Ataulla Guerra, Maikel Chang (goal, 78th), Romario Williams (Dante Marini, 77th), Ricky Garbanzo (yellow card, 11th) (Jeffery Otoo, 58th)

Unused subs: Emmanuel Adjetey, Alex Tambakis, Neveal Hackshaw

FC MONTREAL: Maxime Crepeau, Zachary Sukunda (yellow card, 12th) (Fabrice Mbvouvouma, 90th), Kyle Fisher, Janouk Charbonneau, Louis Beland Goyette (C) (goal, 85th), Marco Dominguez-Ramirez (Jems Geffrad, 90th), Mastanabal Kacher, Ballou Jean Yves Tabla (goal, 64th) (Philippe Lincourt-Joseph, 73rd), Alessandro Riggi (Heikel Jarras, 83rd), Anthony Jackson-Hamel (goal, 39th)

Unused subs: David Paulmin, Nevelo Yoseke, Pierre Lamouthe 

CHARLESTON, SC – The Charleston Battery scored early and hung on for a draw against the Charlotte Independence Wednesday night at MUSC Health Stadium.

Coming off of its toughest stretch of games this season, Charleston started its first home match in over two weeks on the front foot. The Battery had Charlotte under constant pressure for the first ten minutes and jumped out to an early lead.

Romario Williams scored his team-high ninth goal of the season in the eighth minute to open the scoring. Maikel Chang started the move, slicing through the heart of Charlotte’s midfield and driving at the back four. The back-to-back Team of the Week honoree slotted a through ball into Williams’ path who calmly finished first-time under goalkeeper John Berner. The assist was Chang’s third in as many games and fifth of the season.

Charleston kept the pressure on Charlotte after a dream start in the comfort of its home stadium through the opening 25 minutes, but then the tide began to turn. The Independence got on the ball a bit more in the latter stages of the first half, forcing the Battery to recede into its own half, but couldn’t find an equalizer.

“We took our foot off the pedal a bit. We scored a great opening goal then started to do things a little differently and move away from what was successful in the early part of the match,” said Battery Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser. “You have to give them credit, they moved the ball on us. They passed it really well and got us back on our heels a little bit. They didn’t create that many chances in the first half, but they wore us down and it took its toll over the course of the game.”

Charlotte continued to turn the screw after the halftime break, playing the majority of the second 45 minutes in the Battery’s end of the field. The breakthrough finally came in the 65th minute when Enzo Martinez played a ball across the penalty area that bounced kindly for Caleb Calvert. The Colorado Rapids loanee smashed the riquochet into the net, leveling the score at one.

A heavy-legged Battery team struggled to keep possession as the match wound down and goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper made several big saves to preserve a point. The match was the Cuban goalkeeper’s first start since the Battery’s 0-0 draw with Orlando City B on July 13th.

Cooper and Charleston’s back four defended well down the stretch to lead the Battery through its eighth straight match without a loss. Charleston will enjoy much-needed ten day break before returning home to play FC Montreal on August 13th.

“In the end, coming off of the road stretch we had, we’ll take the point,” Anhaeuser said of the result. “Charlotte didn’t gain any ground on us in the table. Of course we want to get three points here at home and we want to attack, but the way the game was going forced us to play a little more defensive. We’ll take our break now and try to recover.”

Box Score:

CHARLESTON BATTERY: Odisnel Cooper, O’Brian Woodbine (yellow card, 48th), Forrest Lasso, Shawn Ferguson, Quinton Griffith, Maikel Chang, Justin Portillo, Neveal Hackshaw (Zach Prince, 67th), Emmanuel Adjetey (Dante Marini, 67th), Romario Williams (goal, 8th) (Chris Tsonis, 64th), Heviel Cordoves (Ataulla Guerra, 59th)

Unused subs: Alex Tambakis, Jeffery Otoo, Ricky Garbanzo

CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE: John Berner, Kevin Bilal Duckett, Patrick Slogic, Joel Johnson, Henry Kalungi (yellow card, 28th), Jun Davidson (yellow card, 58th), Lewis Hilton (Jorge Herrera, 45th), Enzo Martinez (Paul Clowes, 75th), Zach Pfeffer (Brian Brown, 45th) , Caleb Calvert (goal, 65th) (Jack Metcalf, 85th), David Estrada (Alex Martinez, 60th, yellow card, 86th)

Unused subs: Cody Mizell, Austin Yearwood 

CHARLESTON, SC – After two weeks on the road, the Charleston Battery returns home to play Charlotte Independence at MUSC Health Stadium Wednesday night.

The match against the Independence is the Battery’s first at home since the 0-0 draw with Orlando City B on July 13th. Charleston just completed its toughest stretch of USL games this season, facing the top three teams in the East away from home in a four week timespan.

The Battery ended a brutal month on a good note last Saturday, coming from behind to draw, 1-1, with FC Cincinnati in front of a massive crowd at Nippert Stadium. The draw capped off a run of five straight matches against teams currently in the playoffs. Charleston finished the month of July with a 2-0-3 record. Nine points through those five matches was enough to keep Charleston in fourth place and firmly in the race for a first-round playoff game at home.

Heviel Cordoves scored the equalizing goal in 70th minute to earn a point for the Battery in Cincinnati. The center forward connected with a ball delivered by Maikel Chang for the second time in as many games to bring the two teams level. Cordoves has done well since returning from a long stint in the sidelines due to injury earlier in the season, scoring three goals in his last five matches.

Charlotte (9-6-4) enters Wednesday’s match in seventh place, only six points off Charleston with a game in hand. The match against the Battery is Charlotte’s third of a four-game road stretch, winning convincingly in Pittsburgh and squeaking by FC Montreal in the first two. The Independence will conclude the road swing in Pennsylvania against Bethlehem Steel FC this Sunday.

The Battery lost, 3-2, in the last meeting between the Carolina rivals on April 16h at Ramblewood Soccer Complex. Charlotte jumped out to an early two-goal lead, then added a third early in the second half before Romario Williams got on the scoresheet for Charleston. Justin Portillo converted a penalty five minutes before the final whistle to bring the Battery within a goal, but the Independence held on, stinging Charleston with its first loss of 2016.

The Battery will be looking to avenge the early season loss and extend its unbeaten streak to eight games Wednesday night. Charlotte will return to MUSC Health Stadium on August 27th for the final regular-season match between the teams.

Cincinnati, OH – The Charleston Battery came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against FC Cincinnati in front of 19,000 fans at Nippert Stadium Saturday night.

Substitute Heviel Cordoves scored a 70th-minute equalizer for the Battery 12 minutes after checking into the match. The center forward rose up to meet Maikel Chang’s inswinging corner, flicking it past Cincinnati goalkeeper Mitch Hildebrandt. The goal was the second time in as many games that the two Cubans linked up to earn points for their side.

After the two teams traded chances back and forth to no avail through the first 45 minutes, Cincinnati broke the deadlock seven minutes into the second half. Shortly after veteran center back Taylor Mueller exited the match due to injury, Omar Cummings received a pass just inside the penalty area and curled a first-time shot around Alex Tambakis to the back post.

The Battery ramped up the pressure following Cordoves’ equalizer and looked the team more likely to find a game-winner. Chris Tsonis connected with a Quinton Griffith cross immediately after checking into the match, but the forward’s header rocketed off the crossbar. Hildebrandt made several big saves throughout the match and down the stretch to preserve a point for FCC.

The draw extends Charleston’s unbeaten streak to seven games, with the team’s last loss coming on June 11th. The match against FCC concludes the Battery’s toughest stretch this season. In a four game span in July, Charleston played the top three teams away from home, ending the difficult run with six points.

Following back-to-back road matches, the Battery returns home to face Carolina rivals Charlotte Independence at MUSC Health Stadium this coming Wednesday.  Charleston will then get a much-needed ten days rest before its first match this season with last place FC Montreal.

Box Score:
Attendance: 19,229

CHARLESTON BATTERY: Alex Tambakis, Quinton Griffith, Taylor Mueller (Forrest Lasso, 50th; yellow card, 63rd), Shawn Ferguson, O’Brian Woodbine, Maikel Chang, Justin Portillo, Ataulla Guerra , Zach Prince (Dante Marini, 66th), Romario Williams (Chris Tsonis, 83rd), Ricky Garbanzo (Heviel Cordoves, 58th; goal, 70th)

Unused subs: Odisnel Cooper, Emmanuel Adjetey, Neveal Hackshaw 

FC CINCINNATI: Mitch Hildebrandt, Derek Luke, Austin Berry, Harrison Delbridge (yellow card, 68th), Tyler Polak, Corben Bone, Omar Cummings (goal, 52nd) (Luke Spencer, 89th), Andrew Wiedeman, Eric Stevenson (Omar Mohamed, 82nd), Jimmy McLaughlin, Sean Okoli (Francisco Narbon, 71st)

Unused subs: Dallas Jaye, Evan Lee, Pat McMahon, Ross Tomaselli 

CHARLESTON, SC – The Charleston Battery hit the road again last night, heading to Ohio in preparation for Saturday’s match against third place FC Cincinnati.

FCC (11-4-4) have a two point lead on the Battery, meaning they have to earn at least a draw on Saturday to remain above Charleston in the table. Both teams are coming off momentum-building wins last weekend; Cincinnati topping league-leading Louisville City FC at home and Charleston defeating New York Red Bulls II in New Jersey.

Cincinnati earned three points against the first place team with several players missing from their midfield. Corben Bone and Eric Stevenson turned in good performances in place of Kenney Walker and Ross Tomaselli in the derby match.

Similarly, the Battery were without their engine and their sparkplug in the win versus New York. Justin Portillo and Ricky Garbanzo were suspended for the match against the Red Bulls and several players stepped up in their absence. With key players returning, both Mike Anhaeuser and John Harkes have important lineup decisions to make Saturday night.

Maikel Chang and O’Brian Woodbine led the way for Charleston in New Jersey, both earning Team of the Week honors. Chang was voted USL Player of the Week after scoring the game’s opening goal and assisting Heviel Cordoves’ 66th minute game-winner.

Sean Okoli scored his ninth goal of the season for Cincinnati against Louisville, keeping him one ahead of the Battery’s leading-scorer Romario Williams who also found the back of the net last Saturday. Despite being held scoreless, Okoli’s movement up top caused Charleston’s back four a few problems in the first meeting between the two teams.

A Romario Williams 94th minute game-winner clinched the three points for the Battery against the USL newcomers on March 26th at MUSC Health Stadium. The loss was one of only two Cincinnati has suffered on the road this season, also dropping a 2-1 decision in Rochester earlier this month.

Charleston will be looking to jump FCC and move into third place while extending its unbeaten streak to seven games on Saturday. The road has been a haven for the Battery of late, winning five of their last six games away from home and earning 16 of a possible 18 points over the course of that run.

Kickoff at Nippert Stadium is scheduled for 7:00pm. The match can be streamed via the USL Match Center at http://www.uslsoccer.com/game/show/13218452.