Preview: Wilmington-Charleston

Tomorrow night, the Battery will head up US-17 to try to break their 3 1/2 game scoreless streak against the Wilmington Hammerheads. Here's a quick preview:

Wilmington Hammerheads:
This Season: Wilmington has been one of the biggest surprises in the USL Pro this season. The Hammerheads have 3 out of their first 4 games (losing the other the Richmond), and have scored a solid nine goals in those four matches. They currently stand 5th in the American Division and only one place behind the Battery, which is amazing considering that they have played half of the games.
Who's Playing Big: The goals have been coming from everywhere for the Hammerheads, as 7 players have scored, while only Chris Banks has scored multiple goals. Goalkeeper Brock Duckworth has a 1.000 GAA (Goals Against Average) this season, which is solid.
Who Needs to Step Up: The whole team is playing well, and the one loss against Richmond is the best loss you could possibly have. Again, having a 1.000 GAA as a team is very good.

What to Expect:
Charleston should come out in the usual 4-4-2:

Wiggans

Marples Wilson Falvey Zaher

Paterson Peverley Mack Armstrong

Coleman Kelly

Andrew Dykstra is still injured, and may not come back for a couple more weeks, so Wiggans will be between the pipes this week.

The back has been playing very well, the 'O is just not producing the way that the Battery need. Marples, Wilson, Falvey, Zaher. Pretty standard stuff.

Paterson, Peverley, and Armstrong continue to play quality ball, but Kevin Jackson played somewhat poorly last week. I'll slide JC Mack into his position and keep the rest of the midfield the same.

Even thought the finishing has been poor lately, I think that Anhaeuser sticks with Coleman and Kelly up front. These two are good players, but they're just having some trouble finding the back of the net. I have no doubt that they will in the future.

This is the Battery's second match of this year's Southern Derby, and it is their first competitive match with the Hammerheads since the 2004 edition of the US Open Cup.

The match is at 7:30 and is at Legion Field in Wilmington. The match will be broadcast on USL Live. The Regiment is taking a bus up their, so the Battery will have strong fan support at this match.

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