Success!: Charleston Playoff Bound

Well they did it, and a little more handily than the scoreboard would show at the end of the match. Charleston defeated Charlotte 4-3 and are headed to the playoffs.

A great crowd of 4,773 (Largest of the year) at the 'Baud would see the Battery score the most goals they've scored all season in one match. The goals came from Zach Prince, Mike Zaher (2), and Dane Kelly. Zach Prince scored his first goal of the season, while Zaher scored his first and second of the season.

The Battery will face Orlando City next Saturday night at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Orlando has only lost one match at the Citrus Bowl this season, and the Battery came home with zero points in their two matches played in Orlando.

This is the Battery's fourth straight season of making an appearance in the playoffs. So even if the run is short lived, it is still a great accomplishment for the club.

Preview friday. My playoff predictions is also a possibility at some point this week.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog. 

So It All Comes Down to This: Charleston-Charlotte Preview

Well the Battery have had a long season. They've had a five game goal-less streak, they've traveled high and low, they've played two games in two nights, and it all comes down to one match. One match with a familiar foe: the Charlotte Eagles.

The Battery have played the Eagles twice this year, winning both matches 1-0 at home and 2-1 away. This is also a Southern Derby match, even though that will take a backseat to the race for the playoffs that the two sides are in.

This will be a very interesting match, because no other match in the league has this kind of do-or-die position. The added intensity of this rivalry also just adds coal to the fire.

Starting XI:

Dykstra

Marples Falvey Wilson Zaher

Peverley Paterson Caskey Armstrong

Kelly Coleman

In my opinion, this is the strongest line-up by far. This accumulates everyone's season performances, and their current form, and I really think this would be a winning combination. But will just have to wait and see.

This is all the Battery could ask for in the end: Control of their own destiny.

Here are the previews from the Battery, and No Quarter.

The match will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel, and first kick is set for 8:00 at Blackbaud Stadium. You can also follow the Battery on Twitter @Chas_Battery, for constant updates from the match.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog. 

Preview: Charleston-Rochester

This will be a short preview, as I'm not using my own computer, so if there are any grammatical errors or errors in facts, I apologize in advance. And with that said, Charleston hosts the Rochester Rhinos this Saturday night, and here's your preview:

Rochester Rhinos:
This Season: The Rhinos come into Charleston after a win at Charlotte on Friday night. They currently sit in first place in the National Division, 1 point in front of second place Harrisburg.
Who's Playing Big: Andre Hoxie and Kendall Jagdeosingh both lead the team in goals with 5, though Tony Donatelli could be considered the most effective with 3 goals and 4 assists. The Rhinos have had no trouble finding scorers, with 13 players having at least one goal this season.
Who Needs to Step Up: The Rhinos are playing well, and there's not one thing you can really single out that they need to work on. Keeper Neal Kitson has one of the best GAA in the league with a .0894.

This is a crucial point in the Battery's season. They sit one point behind the Kickers (who have a game in hand) and three points in front of 5th place Charlotte. The Battery have two matches at Orlando City left, so they need to win the rest of their home games if they're planning on making the playoffs.

The match will as usual be on USL Live, at 7:30 and the match is at the 'Baud, so if you're in the area head to the stadium and support the Battery.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.

A Short Update

Alright so my computer has been down for almost a week now, so there's your reason for the blog being so slow lately. I'm trying to get it fixed, but it might be a while. So right now I'm using my friend's computer to give you all this update.

Last night the Battery had a friendly match with Portsmouth FC, and the match ended with a pretty good result for the Battery, a scoreless draw. The match was not on USL Live, but it looks like they might post it in the archived games at a later date.

I'm not making any promises on how quickly I'll be back. It could be tomorrow, it could be a week. So until then just keep checking back.

-Andy

Two Late Goals Give the Battery a Victory over Wilmington

On Thursday night, the Wilmington Hammerheads ventured to Blackbaud Stadium for a match with the Battery, and Charleston sent the Hammerheads and their fans back to North Carolina with a 2-1 loss. Goals from Brandon Massie and Dane Kelly would seal the victory for the Battery. Here are my thoughts:

• Caskey is Playing Extremely Well: This was Caskey's third straight start, and he's playing like a starter. He makes smart runs, he moves the ball well, and he's by far the fastest player on the team. We should see him starting in the next few matches.
• The Back Four Continues to Play Well: Credit to Wilmington on the one goal that they scored. They mucked up things in the box and good plays were made by both Chris Spendlove and Manny Guzman to put the ball in the back of the net. Outside of that, the legitimate chances for Wilmington were few and far between.
• Dane Kelly Might Be Starting to Come Around: We've seen two sides of Dane this year. The invisible Dane, and the Dane who is constantly moving off the ball and making good runs. We saw the latter last night, and that's how the Battery need it to stay for the rest of the season if they want to make the playoffs.
• Hat's Off to the Port City Firm: The Hammerheads supporters group brought a good contingent of fans for a week day match. This was a prime example of how fans should act towards each other, as the Port City Firm set up shop in the section (E9) beside the Regiment and there were no problems.
• Having JC Mack on the Broadcast Was Great: For those of you who watched the match on USL Live, you were able to hear the currently injured JC Mack sit in with Andrew Bell for the match. It was great to have two people doing the match, and I think that the Battery should do that more often with their injured players.

Man of the Match: Dane Kelly
Kelly played well for the majority of the match. The run he made for his goal was just beautifully timed and executed. The headed finish was good as well.

Here are the recaps from No Quarter and the Battery.

The Battery's next match is at the Dayton Dutch Lions and will be broadcast on USL Live and for those of you in the Charleston area, it will be live on the radio on 1340 AM.

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Southern Derby Part III: Wilmington @ Charleston

On Thursday night the Wilmington Hammerheads will come to Charleston for the Battery's third match in the Southern Derby. Here's your preview:

Wilmington Hammerheads:
This Season: The Hammerheads currently sit 4th in the American Division table after two straight wins against the quickly falling Antigua Barracuda FC last week. The Hammerheads are just a point behind the Battery, and have three games in hand.
Who's Playing Big: Both Luke Mulholland and Chris Banks lead the team in goals with 5 each, and they also both have 2 assists a piece. Banks will not be available for this match after receiving a red card in his last match. The Hammerheads have had 12 different players score during this USL Pro season.
Who Needs to Step Up: The Hammerheads have given up multiple goals in 5 out of the last 6 matches, so I'll go ahead and say that new GK Kyle Polak will need to step up and keep more out of the net if the Hammerheads want to win this match.

What to Expect:
Starting XI:

Dykstra

Marples Falvey Wilson Zaher

Peverley Paterson Caskey Armstrong

Kelly Coleman

Dykstra should once again get the start in goal, as he hasn't given up a goal in the last 2 matches. And the back four should also stay the same as the last few matches.

In the midfield I give you what I think is our best four at the moment. Peverley hasn't gotten a start in a while, and the reason for that is beyond my knowledge. Paterson is obviously one of the best players on the team, if not the best. Caskey has started the last few matches, and is in good form. Not to mention the great headed goal he had against City. And finally, when Stephen Armstrong is in the game, the Battery click on all levels and fire on all cylinders. Call him a leader, call him a game- changer, I just call him the man.

Alright let me make something clear: Dane Kelly and Seedy Bah do not play well together. I have absolutely no explanation for this, but Kelly and Bah just don't seem to click together even though I feel like they should. So play Coleman up front and solve this problem.

The game will be broadcast on USL Live at 7:30 on Thursday night. Its "Thirsty Thursday" at Blackbaud Stadium, so $2 Miller Lite Drafts all night.

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After the Rain: Charleston 1-0 Orlando City

After a rain delay pushed the start of this match to 9:30, the Battery got their biggest win of the season; a 1-0 defeat of league-leading Orlando City SC.
This was another classic 2011 Battery victory, where the possession stayed with the opposition for most of the first half, but the Battery survived without getting far behind. And then the Battery adjusted and struck in the second half to pull a victory out in the end.

Here's No Quarter's recap, and the Battery's as well.

Man of the Match: Alex Caskey
I'll give the match ball to Mr. Caskey for scoring his first professional goal. Well done Alex.

A shout out to Orlando's supporters group, "The Ruckus," for a great showing in Section E1 of Blackbaud Stadium. Definitely one of the best supporters groups in the USL.

Hopefully the Battery will be able to continue their good form in a home fixture with the Wilmington Hammerheads at the 'Baud on Thursday. This is a Southern Derby match and not to mention is a match with a team who is right behind Charleston in the standings.

The match will be broadcast on USL Live as usual, and is at 7:30 on Thursday.

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Charleston-Orlando City Preview

Well the league-leading Orlando City Soccer Club is coming to Chucktown, here's you preview:

Orlando City:
This Season: City will come into this match posting a 11-2-5 and a league-leading 38 points. 11 ahead of second place Richmond. This team is a well oiled machine, and have 17 GF and 8 against, which is also is league leading. They are on a 5 game unbeaten streak in USL Pro play.
Who's Playing Big: Maxwell Griffin has a league-leading 9 goals, and also leads in points, even though he has 0 assists. The team leader in assists is Jamie Watson, who has 3 on the year and just scored a goal against Rochester last week.
Who Needs to Step Up: N/A. This team should finish first, even though Richmond has three games in hand.

What to Expect:
Starting XI:

Dykstra

Marples Falvey Wilson Zaher

Taylor Peverley Paterson Armstrong

Bah Kelly

Not to many changes to the lineup. Andrew Dykstra will again get the nod between the pipes.

Nigel Marples got the nod last week, as he has been playing well. Falvey and Wilson should take over the central defense, with Zaher out wide.

Evan Taylor didn't play in last week's match, and I really am not sure why. Taylor keeps possession well, but I feel he works better in a 4-2-3-1 and working as a defensive midfielder. Peverley, Paterson, and Armstrong should round up the midfield.

Levi Coleman has recently been coming off the bench, so I assume that Seedy Bah will once again get the starting spot up top along with Dane Kelly.

Orlando City is a quality side, and they have only two losses the whole year. The advantage that Charleston has is that Orlando City will be playing Dayton at home on Friday night, and then making the trip up to Charleston for the match on Saturday.

The match will be on USL Live at 7:30 on Saturday at Blackbaud Stadium. This is family night for the Battery, so 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, and 4 sodas for $30.

A large group of the Orlando City supporters group "The Ruckus" will be coming to Blackbaud Stadium, and will be taking up residency in section E1.

The Regiment will also be collecting money and clothes for the Andrew Pascoe family. Andrew is a big Battery and Regiment supporter who's house was loss to a fire on Wednesday morning. Everyone in the family made it out safely but they lost everything in the fire.

Please come by and put something in the jar at the tailgate. If you can't make the tailgate, The Regiment will be raffling off an autographed Battery jersey and proceeds from the raffle will also go the Pascoe family. Raffle tickets are $1 or 6 for $5 and will be available under the West Stands before the match and during half-time.
-From No Quarter

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.

 

 

Charleston-Los Angeles Recap

On Friday night, the Battery faced the Blues and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. For a full recap I recommend the Battery's recap.

Here are some of my thoughts on the match:

• Charleston Probably Deserved the Three Points: After a bit of a shaky first half where they couldn't get consistent possession, the Battery came around in the second half and got so many scoring chances, but they just couldn't find the back of the net. Dane Kelly got plenty of chances in the box where he would get plenty of space, but his ball distribution and decision making were poor.
• The Crowds at Blackbaud are Increasing: After a few matches around 3,000 fans in the stands (which is nothing to sneeze at), the crowds are starting to pick up. The match with the Blues drew around 3,500, while the match with Pittsburgh last week drew 4,000. Keep it up Battery fans!
• Bah and Kelly Doesn't Work Up Front: As good as I think Kelly and Bah are, I still tend to lean towards a Kelly and Coleman, or Bah and Coleman front 2. It seems like Bah and Kelly are two of the same card, and either of them with Coleman seems to work the best. The one counterpoint to that is the Wilmington match, where they both played in front and both found the net.
• Charleston Needs to Start Winning: Now a single point against LA isn't necessarily a bad result, but if the Battery have playoff plans they need to start winning. The road isn't easy, but if they win their home matches and get a point here and there on the road, they should get in.

Man of the Match: N/A
It was tough here, but I ended up not finding anyone to hand the award. Kelly definitely had a decent game, but didn't finish well enough for my taste. Dykstra played well in goal, and there were some other standouts, but in the end I'll leave it at "N/A."

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Expansion Franchise LA Blues Coming to Town

Tomorrow the Battery will get their first look at the Los Angeles Blues, a team that's first season has been a great success. Here's your preview:

Los Angeles Blues:
This Season: The Blues have gathered a 5-3-3 record this season, and those 18 points have been good enough for a 3rd place standing in the National Division. With a few games in hand, the Blues are looking to make a run for a playoff spot late in the season. On Tuesday their U.S. Open Cup run ended in a 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy, and their last USL Pro result ended in a 2-1 result as well, this time to the Harrisburg City Islanders.
Who's Playing Big: 34 year old Walter Gaitan is leading the team in goals, but he hasn't scored since April. He's also tallied 3 assists which is good enough for first on the team. The Blues have had 11 different scorers this season, with 6 having one goal, 3 having two, and 1 having three, and 1 having four.
Who's Need's to Step Up: The team seems to play pretty well together from what I've seen, and this could be a team that makes a run in the playoffs. The schedule for LA will be tough for the rest of the season. Anytime you have to fly across the country to play, it will take a toll on your team. The Blues will make three more cross country trips during the remainder of the season, including the one to Charleston.
What to Expect:
My prediction for the Starting XI:

Dykstra

Wiltse Wilson Falvey Zaher

Peverley Paterson Taylor Armstrong

Kelly Coleman

Dykstra should again be in goal, especially since Wiggans go the start against Pittsburgh on Saturday and didn't fair too well in the 2-0 loss.

The back line went through some changes last week, but most of them were just to give everyone an appropriate amount of rest. The back should be back to normal this week, with one exception. I really liked Wiltse's play at RB last weekend, and I feel that he should get the nod. He got forward really well, and I could easily see him getting the start.

This is our strongest midfield in my opinion. Peverley, Paterson, and Armstrong are no question our best three midfielders, while the last spot is up for some interpretation. I decided to got with Evan Taylor.

Up front should be Dane Kelly and Levi Coleman. Kelly is in his best form of the season, and his goal against Wilmington was brilliant. If you have it recorded on your DVR, I recommend you go have a second look at it.

Now something of note is that last week in the Pittsburgh match, the Battery played one man up front and played more of a 4-2-3-1. They kept Levi Coleman up front, and later would put in Dane Kelly. Charleston has done this multiple times this year, and they have had some success off it (see the Richmond match on 5/24). It will be interesting to see what they come out in.

The Battery only have eight matches left, and three of them are with league-leading Orlando City. Charleston needs to continue this good slide of games in these last matches if they want to keep their spot in the play-offs.

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Charleston Defeats Dayton 1-0

Last night Dayton came to town, and the Battery played the Dutch Lions in front of a crowd of 3,054 at Blackbaud Stadium.

The Battery added three points to their season total after Levi Coleman slotted home a shot on an open net off a pass from Evan Taylor which brought the keeper off his line. The 77th minute goal would prove to be enough, and the Lions would earn two red cards on their way to a 1-0 defeat.

The first red card came in the 49th minute when Maeiur VanderPluljm head-butted Colin Falvey, earning a straight red. The second came in the 89th minute when Evan Schwarz made a harsh tackle, and being the last man this gave him a straight red as well.

The game was one of the slower that the Battery have played this season, and it wasn't their best outing as well. The pace was slow, and this caused the chances to be few and far between. Charleston managed only 7 shots to Dayton's 3.

Man of the Match: Nicki Paterson
Paterson is playing the best of all the Battery players right now. You can just tell that he sees the game well, and this match was no different than the rest of his matches. Even in a sloppy match, Paterson shined through.

Honorable Mentions:
Levi Coleman: Came on as a sub in the 71st minute, and scored the only goal. There has to be something said for that.
Diego Walsh: Walsh has really brought a spark to the Battery's offense, and this match he was just so active. It seemed that every other touch was him on the ball.

Next week the Battery have another edition of everyone's favorite game show "Two Games in Two Days!" Okay bad joke. Anyway, Friday the Battery face the Wilmington Hammerheads at Wilmington, and this match will be nationally televised on Fox Soccer Channel. Then the Battery head back to Charleston for a match with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. This match will be broadcast on USL Live.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.

Charleston Defeats Charlotte in Their Season Opener

Last night, in front of 4,083 spectators at Blackbaud Stadium, the Charleston Battery opened up their 2011 USL Pro campaign with a 1-0 win over the Charlotte Eagles.

The first 10 minutes of the match was dominated by Charlotte. Most of the possession was in Charleston's half, and the Eagles managed a couple of shots.

The Battery did have their chances though. Zaher and Coleman showed good chemistry in the 8th minute, when Zaher came down the left wing and had a good give and go with Coleman to give himself some space. He then crossed to Coleman, who was just outside of the 18 yard box, for a shot, but he couldn't get it on goal.

Charleston's arguably best chance of the first half came in the 13th minute, when Stephen Armstrong stepped up to take a free kick from about 20 yards out. His shot was deflected off the wall, but came out to Kevin Jackson for a volley that was saved by Eric Reed. Reed couldn't get a clean handle on the powerful shot, and it came out to Kelly who was caught offside.

Kelly and Coleman showed good chemistry with each other in the first half, and this would lead to some early opportunities that they couldn't capitalize on.

The first half was highlighted by Charlotte's opportunities on the counter attack. Charleston lost many balls in the midfield that led to quick counters by the Eagles, but they couldn't find the back of the net.

In the 41st minute came the Eagle's chance to take the lead.

After a scrum just outside of the 18, the ball came down to Moore who found Dykstra off his line. He attempted to chip Dykstra, but the Battery's John Wilson was on the line to make a jumping headed save. This was the play of the game.

Going into the half, the Battery showed some signs of promise, but Charlotte seemed to dominate possession. The play by Wilson gave Charleston some real momentum going into the half.

No teams made any changes to the line up coming out of the half.

Charleston went on the attack in the second half, getting some early crosses in. Zach Prince tried to receive one of these crosses, but committed a handball and got a yellow card.

Nicki Paterson came in for Zach Prince in the 56th minute, just as the game started to open up.

Finally, in the 58th minute the Battery broke through, when Dane Kelly got around his man on the right and ran onto goal. His attempted cross for Levi Coleman was deflected by Charlotte's Mark Bloom and into the net.

After the goal, Kelly really stepped his game up after playing poorly in the first half. The one thing that Kelly did that I didn't like was after he shot the ball off Bloom and into the net, he went over to the crowd pointing to his name on the back of his jersey.

Now I think that celebrating your goals in soccer is perfectly fine, but when you cross in a ball that hits off a defender and into the net, pointing at your name just makes you look like a cocky moron. I was happy that Charleston scored nonetheless.

Charleston and Charlotte would continue to make substitutions, and the Battery's defense held strong. They had many younger players step up and make crucial tackles in the last 30 minutes of the game to preserve this victory.

Charlotte's last chance was in the 88th minute, when a ball was crossed in from the right and into second half substitute Miguel Ferrer.

Ferrer had what looked to be an open shot on net, but he shot the ball off one of his own players and it went wide.

After 4 minutes of added time, the whistle blew and Charleston attained their first 3 points of this young USL Pro season.

Player Reviews:
Starters:
Forwards:
Dane Kelly: Kelly created the only goal for Charleston, and after a slow start played he was very effective in the second half. In the first half he had trouble keeping the ball, and took some shots that were speculative to say the least. He showed how fast he is, getting around Charlotte's back multiple times, but being caught offsides a few times as well.
Levi Coleman: You could tell that Coleman had been playing with some of the veterans for awhile now, as he had some good passing with the experienced midfield. He showed his great pace throughout the 70 minutes he played, and earned Charleston multiple free kicks and throws in the attacking third.

Midfielders:
Zach Prince: Prince showed a lot of confidence on the ball in the early goings, but trickled off towards the end of the first half and the time he played in the second half. I wanted him to be a little more effective on his passes, and he had trouble gathering a couple long balls that were supplied for him.
Kevin Jackson: Kevin showed that he still has it today. He didn't play outstanding, and lost a couple of balls in the center of the midfield (which seemed to be the theme of the night for the whole team), but he played well enough to stay in the starting eleven for next week.
Cole Peverley: Peverley was very effective in getting the ball forward from the back, and showed that he could cross the ball well. He had a couple of diagonal balls from near the half-way line that resulted in some chances for Charleston, and made some nice tackles as well.
Stephen Armstrong: Armstrong, as usual, had the best performance by a midfielder today. He was all over the place, making tackles in our own third, moving the ball forward down the wings, as well as supporting Coleman, Kelly, and Bah well up front.

Defenders:
Nigel Marples: Not much to say about Marples. The whole back line played outstanding, but Marples didn't do anything to special. A couple of decent clearances, and one or two crosses after getting forward.
Graham Dugoni: For his debut, Dugoni played very well. He did really well defending corners and crosses, having some great headed clearances to preserve the Battery's lead late in the game. He also came up for corners and got one shot on goal.
John Wilson: Wilson played magnificently. He had many tackles inside the 18, moved the ball forward the best of any of our defenders, and had that goal-stopping save off the line in the 41st minute. Wilson showed that he can still stand tall on the back line.
Mike Zaher: Zaher played very attacking today. The highlight of his play was a nice give-and-go with Coleman, on one of the few times that he got far forward.

Goalkeeper:
Andrew Dykstra: Dykstra played pretty well today. Obviously, anytime you keep a clean sheet, your play will be considered a success, but Dykstra looked like a true keeper today. He had one major mistake, when he came off his line in the 41st minute, but Wilson saved him from giving up the goal.

Substitutes:
Nicki Paterson: Paterson made his debut today, and took the half of an hour he played to put forward a couple of good long balls, and he fed Coleman well once, but Coleman took a shot that was well wide.
Seedy Bah: Bah came in for Coleman, and was quiet. He showed some decent play when teamed up with Kelly up front. Had one or two shots on target.
Brandon Massie: Came in for Stephen Armstrong and did well enough. He had one nice clearance to clean up a mess in Charleston's 18 yard box in the 81st.
Alex Caskey: Caskey replaced Jackson. He got very few touches, and didn't do anything of note.
Mark Wiltse: Wiltse was brought in for Kelly to add another defender to the group to preserve the Battery's lead late in the game. He had a fair clearance in added time.

Man of the Match: John Wilson
Wilson was the biggest player for either side today. The play he had to prevent the goal was huge, and gave the Battery so much momentum going into the second half. He moved the ball forward very well, and really led the back line.

Stats:
Charleston:
Players: Andrew Dykstra, Nigel Marples, John Wilson, Graham Dugoni, Mike Zaher, Zach Prince (Nicki Paterson 57), Kevin Jackson (Alex Caskey 79), Cole Peverley, Stephen Armstrong (Brandon Massie 72), Dane Kelly (Mark Wiltse 89), Levi Coleman (Seedy Bah 69)
Shots (on goal): 13(6)
Saves: 2
Fouls: 8
Offsides: 5
Corners: 2
Cards: Prince 52nd (Yellow)
Charlotte:
Players: Eric Reed, Mark Bloom, Jo Connor, Josh Rife, Luke Williams (Chad Smith 79), Alan Sanchez (Diego Matrins 60), Jorge Herrera, Walter Moore (Miguel Ferrer 72), Juan Guzman (Ben Page 66), Darren Toby, Sallieu Bundu (Chris Salvaggione 69)
Shots (on goal): 12(2)
Saves: 6
Fouls: 7
Offsides: 2
Corners: 5
Cards: Moore 70th (Yellow)

Charleston plays next Saturday, April 16th away, at the Dayton Dutch Lions.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com.

Charleston Battery 1-0 Charlotte Eagles

Tonight the Charleston Battery defeated the Charlotte Eagles by a score of 1-0 at Blackbaud Stadium. Josh Rife scored an own goal off a Dane Kelly cross in the 58th minute. The Battery then held on for the remaining time to gain their first 3 points of the season.

Come back to SC Soccer Blog tomorrow for a full recap, player ratings, and more.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com.

Preview: Charleston Battery-Charlotte Eagles

Well the Charleston Battery are returning for their 18th season of soccer in the Lowcountry.

The Battery start off their 24 game USL Pro season with a home fixture against their long time rival, the Charlotte Eagles. Here's a lowdown on what to expect from this game:

Charlotte Eagles:
Last Year: In 2010, Charlotte finished 4th in the USL Second Division, missing the playoffs by one spot. They were 7 points behind third place, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, and 16 points behind Charleston who was in first.
Who's Back: Charlotte returns all 11 starters (plus 5 others) from last year's team, so chemistry should not be a problem. Greg Dalby and Josh Rife return to keep the midfield strong, along with a solid back line returning for the Eagles.
Who's New: One of the best pick-ups for Charlotte was the 2006 PDL Goalkeeper of the year Eric Reed. Reed helped the Cleveland City Stars win the 2008 USL-2 Championship, and he was with the Carolina Railhawks last year when they advanced to the USSF D2 championship. Forwards, Chris Salvaggione and Sallieu Bundu were also picked up in the offseason.

What to Expect:
The Battery will most likely come out in a 4-4-2. My prediction for the line up would be something like this:

Dykstra

Wilson Marples Zaher Falvey

Prince Peverley Jackson Armstrong

Coleman Kelly

Dysktra looks to be the number one option for goal right now. Wiggans is just going to have to wait and see how Dykstra performs. He'll get his chance eventually.

Not much to argue about on the back. That group is the most experienced, and best for that matter. Dugoni did play in the last preseason match against the Puerto Rico Islanders, but I give the edge to Falvey.

The midfield returns a lot of experience with Stephen Armstrong and Jackson, and Zach Prince and Cole Peverley have something to prove. Prince scored 1 goal in 16 appearances with the Battery, and is looking to capitalize on some consistent playing time this year. Peverley will be coming into his first season with the Battery, and is looking to be successful.

Up front we have Levi Coleman and Dane Kelly. Coleman is entering his second season with Charleston. Last year he scored 2 goals and had 2 assists in 16 appearances. Dane Kelly looks like the brightest young star on the Battery this year. The 20 year old was very successful in the preseason, scoring 2 goals (and drawing a crucial penalty against Toronto) in the preseason.

Charlotte will look to come out in a a 4-4-2 as well:

Reed

Bryant Bloom Smith Moore

Bryant Dalby Rife Herrera Page

Salvaggione Bundu

Newcomers Chris Salvaggione and Sallieu Bundu are look to be a dangerous duo up top, but Charlotte's main goal scoring threat seems to be Jorge Herrera, who had 22 goals for the Eagles in the last few seasons.

For more information on the Eagles roster, check out this link.

Now the Battery haven't lost a home game since September 6th, 2009, and I don't see that streak being broken by the Eagles. But it's a new season, so it's hard to tell what will happen.

You can watch the game on USLLive.com tomorrow at 7:30, or attend the game at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com.

Charleston Battery: The Week Ahead

The Charleston Battery will be very busy this week, with their preparations for the beginning of their 2011 USL Pro season.

It starts tomorrow, Tuesday, April 5th, when the Battery will host last year's USSF Division 2 Professional League Champions, the Puerto Rico Islanders, in the final preseason match of the season for the Battery.

The Battery have some history with Islanders, including a 2006 2-leg playoff series which the Battery won on a 3-2 aggregate. That included this amazing goal by Stephen Armstrong.

The game will be played at 5:30 PM at Blackbaud Stadium, and admission's free. Make sure to come out and support the Battery.

Then on Saturday, April 9th, we have Charleston's opening match of the 2011 USL Pro season, against the Charlotte Eagles. This game will also be played at Blackbaud Stadium, and kick off is set for 7:30 PM. The game will be broadcast live on usllive.com.

I'll be posting a preview of the game later this week, so watch out for that.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog.@gmail.com

DC Defeats Charleston 2-1, Fire Down TFC

In the opening set of games of the 8th edition of the annual Carolina Challenge Cup, was played Saturday night DC United defeated the Charleston Battery. Charleston went down early after Chris Pontius scored a goal in the 4th minute on after breaking on goal and with a clinical finish put it in the back of the net. In the 15th minute, the Battery got their equalizer when Brandon Massie was brought down in the penalty box. Stephen Armstrong was elected to take the penalty and putting in the bottom right to tie it up. United controlled most of the game and got a majority of the chances, and they finally got the eventual winner in the 71st minute after Josh Wolf assisted Joseph Ngwenya for a goal to put United up 2-1.

In the end, the boys put up a good fight. Honestly I didn't expect to win, but to score the opening goal of the season against an MLS side is a great accomplishment. We definitely got outplayed, and that was to be expected, but we should go away from this with their heads held up.

Before the DC and the Battery played, Chicago Fire SC played the Canadian side, Toronto FC. The only goal of the game was scored in the 6th minute by the Fire's Marco Papa, assisted by Davis Paul. The Fire's Logan Pause was sent off in the first half, forcing Chicago to play the rest of the game with 10 men. Pause is the Fire's captain.

This was a successful first night of the week long round-robin tournament. A great crowd was on hand to watch the two games, and hopefully the crowds will be just as good for the next couple of sets of games.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com.