Battery Sign Nicki Patterson

On Friday, January 21st, the Charleston Battery signed midfielder Nicki Patterson. Patterson is of Scottish decent and played in Motherwell's youth academy before coming over to the United States. He came to play at UNLV, where he played for four years. He then played for Harrisburg City Islanders in the 2009 USL-1 season, and Real Maryland Monarchs in the 2010 USL-2 season. This makes the Battery's roster a little more clear, though there's still a lot of work to be done.

Head coach, Mike Anhaeuser, had this to say about Patterson, “Nicki is a solid pro who and player that fits in with the qualities we are looking for. He will bring experience to our squad in the midfield.”

Patterson played for Real Maryland Monarchs last year, making 19 appearances and scoring no goals. He also had a short stint with Scottish third division side, Clyde. Patterson scored 1 goal in 6 appearances. His best season for any club, by far was his 2007-2008 season, when he played for the Des Moines Menace. In 28 appearances he scored 15 goals.

Now if you're expecting Patterson to come on and score a huge amount of goals, you'll be highly disappointed. The main reason that the Battery signed him, is because of his experience. That is one thing you can expect from Patterson; an experienced midfielder who brings solid play to the midfield. Plus its never bad to have more depth at any position.

All together, a good sign for the Battery. One question remains; Will Patterson adjust well to playing his soccer in Charleston? Only time will tell.