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.

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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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Charleston Heads North for Two Weekend Matches

The Battery will once again head north for two matches in two days. They'll start with FC New York on Friday night, followed by a match with Harrisburg on Saturday night.
FC New York:
This Season: The expansion side started out slowly, earning only 5 points in its first seven matches, but they have been hot of late, earning a 2-2 draw at Richmond, and a 2-1 home win over Rochester.
Who's Playing Big: Graciano Brito leads New York in goals with 4, besides that no one has more than 1. Besides that there's not a lot of bright spots.
Who Needs to Step Up: The back line isn't giving the goalkeeping committee (FC New York has featured 4 men between the posts), much help, and the team has given up 14 goals in the nine matches they have played.

Harrisburg City Islanders:
This Season: The City Islanders have earned only eight points in their first seven matches, leaving them in fifth place in the National Division, but they have played at least two less games than every team above them.
Who's Playing Big: Jose Angulo is their leading scorer with 4 goals, and he also has dealed out 1 assist. He has also taken 26 shots, which is only eight less than the rest of the team combined.
Who Needs to Step Up: The team is clicking well of late, and the lack of points is a little misleading, since they have faced their toughest bit of schedule that they will face this year. A 4-2 win over rival Pittsburgh on Tuesday helps too.

What to Expect:
You would think that the Battery's good form of late would make predicting the Starting XI easy, but its not:

Wiggans/Dykstra

Marples Falvey Wilson Zaher

Paterson Taylor Mack Armstrong

Coleman Bah/Kelly

Andrew Dykstra will be returning for this weekend's set of matches, but I could easily see Keith Wiggans starting one, with Dykstra starting the other.

The back should still be steady with the usual boys as the Battery's last line of defense. No red card's to prevent any defenders from taking the field in this match.

The midfield is playing well lately, last week's game-winning goalscorer Nicki Paterson should get the nod along with Evan Taylor, JC Mack, and Stephen Armstrong.

Levi Coleman will play up front for at least one full match, along with Seedy Bah getting a start on Friday night while Dane Kelly sits out after that red card against Harrisburg last Saturday. Kelly will be able to face the team that put him out for a match on Saturday though.

Firday night's match with FC New York will be broadcast on 1340 AM in the Charleston area, and Saturday night's fixture with the City Islanders will be available on USL Live.

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Preview(s): Charleston-Pittsburgh and Charleston-Rochester

After gaining 4 points in 2 matches last weekend, the Battery now head north for another two game spell against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Rochester Rhinos. Here's what to expect:

Pittsburgh Riverhounds:
This Season: The Riverhounds have only earned 4 points in their first four matches. They defeated Harrisburg 1-0, lost to Richmond 2-1, and lost to Wilmington 3-1. Last Saturday the Battery and the 'Hounds played to a scoreless draw at Blackbaud Stadium.
Who's Playing Big: Forward Jason Yeisley and Midfielder Shintaro Harada have been providing the offense for Pittsburgh, though the goals have been few and far between. Yeisley has a huge physical presence, and Harada has been playing well from what I have seen.
Who Needs to Step Up: The back line has been playing mediocre at best. The performance against the Battery may look good when you look at the stats, but when you look at the chances that the Battery had, at least one goal should have been up on the scoreboard.

Rochester Rhinos:
This Season: Last week the Rhinos finally notched their first points of the season in a 3-2 victory against the Dayton Dutch Lions. This was after opening their first two matches with two 1-0 losses to Richmond and Wilmington.
Who's Playing Big: Rochester is an interesting situation, because in last week's match with Dayton their back line played poorly, and their forwards played well. While in the previous two matches, the back has played well while the forwards couldn't put a single goal on the scoreboard.
Who's Needs to Step Up: Rochester will just be looking to get some consistent play from their whole squad. If they can start to get some goals consistently, they will be fine this season, as they have gotten more quality than poor play from the back.

What to Expect:
Charleston looks to come out in the usual 4-4-2 (Keep in mind that this is the best possible Starting XI as of right now, and will probably not be the line up for both Matches):

Wiggans

Wilson Falvey Zaher Marples

Paterson Peverley Mack Armstrong

Coleman Kelly

Keith Wiggans will continue to be in goal for the Battery while Andrew Dykstra tends to that injury.

The back line has stayed consistent all year, and should stay for these matches. Last week the defense only gave up 6 shots and no goals were scored.

The Midfield will have some changes from last week. We can expect Paterson and Peverley to play, as they have been playing quality ball and should be able to build on their previous performances this year. Armstrong should be back in the line up after a week off. My one "wildcard" if you will, is JC Mack. Mack played great in last weekend's matches.

Levi Coleman and Dane Kelly are no doubt the best two candidates for the forwards. Coleman played possibly his best match of the season last week (and should have scored), and Kelly is also peaking right now, and the chemistry between him and Coleman has been wonderful in recent matches.

The match with Pittsburgh on Friday night will not be available on USL Live, but will be on 1340 in Charleston and on the Battery's website. The Rochester match will be broadcast on USL Live, and coverage will start at 7:00.

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Preview: Charleston Battery-Dayton Dutch Lions

Last Saturday, the Charleston Battery won their 2011 USL Pro season opener 1-0 against the Charlotte Eagles. This Saturday they will begin a three-game road trip with a fixture with the Dayton Dutch Lions, who are playing their first game of the season. Here's what to expect:

Dayton Dutch Lions:
Last Year: In 2010, the Lions played their first season in the Great Lakes Division of the USL's Premier Development League. They finished 3rd in their division, missing the PDL playoffs. They were knocked out in the 1st round of the US Open Cup.
Who's Back: Since they are moving from the PDL (which is an amateur league) to the USL Pro, they couldn't bring all of the players from last year's team back for the 2011 season. They did keep a few, among these were Julius Wille, who was part of the FC Twente youth system, and Brett Jones who played formerly played for the Cincinatti Kings.
Who's New: The Lions obviously had to pick up a lot of player's for this season, and they were fairly successful in bringing some talent in. The back line looks solid, as they brought in the 2010 PDL Defender of the Year, Joe Tait, into Dayton. As well as Bahamian defender Happy Hall and Evan Schwartz, who was highly touted by many MLS teams, including Toronto FC. They picked up forward Kolby LaCrone, who looks to be a promising young prospect.

What to Expect:
The Battery will, again, come out in a 4-4-2. The Starting XI will probably look something like this:

Dykstra

Marples Wilson Zaher Dugoni

Prince Peverly Paterson Armstrong

Coleman Kelly

We should see Dykstra in goal this Saturday. He played fair against Charlotte, but got caught way off his line once, but luckily John Wilson was their to save the day (and Dykstra's starting job).

The back line should stay the same as last week. Marples and Zaher both had solid performances in the back and both got forward well. Wilson was the man of the match last week. He showed that he really hasn't lost a step, and honestly if we didn't have him to anchor our back, we'd be very shaky. Dugoni played well in his debut for the Battery, showing he could defend crosses well, and I see him starting again today. Colin Falvey is back for this match, I could see him coming in for Dugoni later in the game, but it wouldn't surprise me if he got the start.

Not many changes to the midfield. The only change I have from last week is Nicki Paterson for Kevin Jackson. Jackson just didn't play effectively enough for me, and Paterson had some great diagonal balls into the box late in the game. Armstrong, Prince, and Peverly all played well enough to get spots in the starting XI.

I was really pleased with Coleman's performance last Saturday. He kept the ball well, and showed that he could use his physical presence to make himself space. Kelly played well, creating some pressure throughout the game and showing off his speed, but seemed to have bad stretches occasionally where he couldn't keep the ball. A little more help coming from behind him, instead of the wings could help him a lot.

For Dayton, it looks like some variation of 4-4-2, possibly a diamond:

Leerdam

Copier Tait Hall Schwartz

Jones

Magill         Wille

Van der Pluijm

Davis IV Lacrone

We're looking at a fairly young team hear. The back line looks good, but inexperienced. The midfield should be strong with Wille and Magill working the ball forward. The diamond 4-4-2 will naturally open up the passing triangles for these young players to work it forward to Lacrone and Davis IV.

For more information on Dayton and their roster, check out this link.

Bottom line: Charleston could easily win this game. Playing your first road game of the season is always a learning experience, but with a young Dayton team (plus this being their opener), we could easily out-match and out-class them.

You can watch the game live on USLLive.com. The kick off is set for 7:30 this Saturday, April the 16th.

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 Falls to the Islanders 1-0 in Final Preseason Match

Today, the Charleston Battery took on the Puerto Rico Islanders in their final preseason match of the season, at Blackbaud Stadium.

The Battery's Starting XI in the 4-4-2 was: Dykstra started in goal, with Wilson, Marples, Zaher, and Dugoni on the back, Armstrong, Jackson, Pervely, and Prince in the midfield, and Coleman and Kelly up front.

That is definitely a possible starting line up for the season opener this Saturday.

The game went into halftime with a 0-0 score line. One substitution was made in the first half, and that was Seedy Bah coming in for Levi Coleman late in the second half.

Keith Wiggans would come in for Andrew Dykstra, and Nicki Paterson would come in for Zach Prince.

Charleston's best chance would come in the 60th minute, when Dane Kelly would have a goal called back for offsides.

In the 63rd minute, Brandon Massie, unsigned Mark Wiltse, JC Mack, and Alex Caskey would come in for Dugoni, Kelly, Jackson, Wilson, and Armstrong. Evan Taylor would also come in for Peverly in the 70th minute.

In the 76th minute Matt Bouraee would score a goal for the Islanders, which would end up being the only goal of the game.

A disappointing result for the Battery, but not necessarily a bad loss. Charleston was looking to get as many players as possible, some playing time before their season opener this Saturday, when they will play host to the Charlotte Eagles. And in that sense it was successful.

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Weekend Wrap-up: Armstrong Announced as Player-Coach, US 1-1 Argentina, and More

Sorry that I haven't made a post in a while, as I have been on vacation. But here's a wrap of the weekend's events:

On Thursday, veteran Battery midfielder, Stephen Armstrong, was announced as a player-coach for the 2011 USL Pro season. He will be in the role of an assistant coach to Mike Anhaeuser.

Armstrong has been with Charleston since the 2006 season, and has 24 goals and 11 assists in 113 games with the Battery. He is fifth all time in both goals and assists, and sixth in games played.

The native South African has been with the Battery for their most recent accomplishments. These being the team's run to the 2008 US Open Cup Final, where they lost to DC United, and the 2010 USL Second Division Championship.

Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser had this to say, “Stephen brings us a wealth of experience on and off the field; he has been an important part of the club for the past six years. This experience will be more beneficially this season as Stephen has assumed the role of player/assistant along with keeping his high level of play on the field.”

On Saturday night, the United States Men's National Team took on the Argentina National Team in match at the New Meadowlands Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Playing for Argentina, was who many consider the world's best player, Lionel Messi.

The first goal would come from Esteban Cambiasso in the 41st minute of the game. The goal came off a scramble right in front of the goal, which Messi started.

In the 59th minute, the US would pull level with a goal from, who else but, Juan Agudelo. Landon Donovan would launch a free kick into the box where Bocanegra headed the ball on goal, and the rebound came to Agudelo who put it in the back of the net.

The game was highlighted by Argentina dominating possesion in the first half, followed by the US making it a little more even in the second half, as well as another great performance by Tim Howard.

The USMNT will play Paraguay in a friendly on Tuesday, March 29th at LP Field in Nashville.

Mikey Buytas, president of The Regiment, will be on a podcast by Feuerstein's Fire tonight at 8:00. They will be doing a preview of the 2011 USL Pro Season. Make sure to check it out.

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

Battery Defeat College of Charleston, Battery-Silverbacks Match Canceled

Today the Charleston Battery had a preseason scrimmage with the College of Charleston Mens Soccer Team at Blackbaud Stadium. Charleston won the match 2-0.

The Starting XI for the Battery was; Wiggans, Wiltse, Marples, Wilson, Flatley, Prince, Jackson, Caskey, Armstrong, Coleman and Bah.

The first half went without any goals and the two sides went into the locker room tied at 0-0.

The second half started off well for the Battery, with Stephen Armstrong netting an unassisted goal in the 50th minute.

In extra time, newcomer JC Mack scored a goal to put the Battery up 2-0, which would end up being the final.

The one thing that I will take away from this game, as well as the other preseason games, is that Stephen Armstrong is playing great. This season we are going to need an experienced player to be a leader on the team, and Armstrong is not only stepping into that role, but being one of our main goal scorers.

The Battery were set to play a preseason friendly this Saturday, March 26th against the NASL's Atlanta Silverbacks at Blackbaud Stadium, but this game has been canceled.

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

Charleston Battery: Possible Starting XI

With the Carolina Challenge Cup coming up in less than a month, the Battery roster should be coming together. But it really isn't. On the Battery website the roster only lists 12 players:

• Goalkeepers: Or should I say goalkeeper. The only keeper listed is the recently signed Keith Wiggans, who is a 6 year veteran for the Battery and I'm perfectly confident in his ability. His GAA (goals against average) is solid at 1.08.
• Defenders: Colin Falvey, Mike Zaher, Nigel Marples, and Brandon Massie round out the current defenders on the Battery roster. Falvey is obviously a solid defender, barring an occasional sloppy challenge like at the USL-2 Championship last year. Zaher is also good and has some MLS experience. Marples also has some experience and logged many useful minutes for the Battery last year. Massie is playing his second season with Battery, and is listed on the Battery's website as a defender though he was brought to the team as a striker/midfielder.
• Midfielders: If there is one position I feel good about, it's at midfield. The midfield will consist of Stephen Armstrong, Alioune Gueye, Kevin Jackson, Nicki Paterson, and Jon Gruenewald. Stephen Armstrong has been in Charleston since 2006 and has become a staple at the Battery's games. He has scored 24 goals and dished out 11 assists in his career. His 24 goals is fifth all time in the Battery's history. It was interesting to see how he adjusted last year, when he was put into less of a goal scoring role. He did well and had 3 assists along with one goal from a PK in the 2010 season. Alioune Gueye scored only 2 goals with no assists last season, but brings a flair to the games that I've enjoyed watching. Kevin Jackson is arguably the most experienced player on the so far 12-man roster. He played for the Battery from 2003 to 2005 before taking a four year break. Last year he returned to the Battery and scored 1 goal and had 2 assists in 17 appearances last year. Nicki Paterson, one of the Battery's newest signings, will be joining the Battery for the first time this season. Last year with Real Maryland Monarchs he scored no goals in 19 appearances. Jon Gruenewald is the least experienced player in the midfield joining the Battery for his second pro season. Last year he appeared 9 times for the Battery, with 3 starts.
• Forwards: Only two forwards are listed on the roster and they are Zach Prince and Levi Coleman. Zach Prince will be returning for a second season with Charleston. He was used a lot last year, usually as a sub. He made 16 appearances with 3 starts. In all of his appearances he scored one goal with no assists. Levi Coleman is also coming back to Charleston for a second season. And he is tall, standing at 6-2. He scored 2 goals and had 2 assists in 2010. Prince and Coleman could play similarly up front as Heinemann and Neagle played last year (Probably not as good though, let's face it Tom and Lamar tore it up), with Prince playing the role of Neagle as the speed and Coleman playing the role of being huge (though not as big as Heinemann who was 6-4) and knocking people around inside the box.

Overall not too bad. The roster is obviously thin and leading up to the CCC we should see Charleston sign some more players, and hopefully find some young players to give a shot at playing professionally. We have no depth at all, and we need to fill holes at every position. The current roster suffers from some inexperience, but has enough veterans to survive. At worst we need to get:

• A back up keeper for Wiggans
• Three more Defenders
• Three more Midfielders
• One preferably two forwards. Getting one striker, and one that we can put at midfield would be helpful.

Right now our starting XI would look like this, assuming we come out in a 4-4-2:

This is just my best guess (and I'm sorry Jon Gruenewald somebody had to be left out). But a couple of things, I can assure you of. Wiggans will start in goal, and Armstrong, Falvey, Gueye, and Zaher all look to be locks for starting positions, but we'll see where we're at before and after the Carolina Challenge Cup.

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

Stephen Armstrong Highlight Video

A quick little highlight video I made of the Battery's Stephen Armstrong. Its on my youtube channel; USABattery. You can check my channel for highlights of the Battery.