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.

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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.

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Charleston Battery: Bits of News

The Battery have been pumping out the news in the past few days, here's a quick recap:

• 2 Spring Scrimmages Announced: On Tuesday, at the montly Regiment meeting, games against a pair of South Carolina colleges were announced. The first is to be played just after the Carolina Challenge Cup at Blackbaud Stadium against the Clemson Tigers. The game will be played on March 16th. The second game will be against the College of Charleston Cougars on March 22nd at the College of Charleston. These are both good teams to get the Battery warmed up for the upcoming USL-Pro season. Clemson has been an improving side in recent years, after having a few bad years after having such stars as Oguchi Onyewu and Stuart Holden. The Tiger's 2010 season was highlighted by a win over 18th ranked Duke. College of Charleston had a great year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to the eventual runners up, Louisville.
• Battery Resign Three: On Thursday three players from last year's USL Second Division championship team, we're resigned for another year in Charleston. Colin Falvey, Zach Prince, and Keith Wiggans will all be returning to play for the Battery. Falvey, a midfielder, played in New Zealand during the offseason with Youngheart Manawatu, and played with the Wilmington Hammerheads, who are on the Battery's schedule this year. Prince, who is also a midfielder, will be playing his second season with the Battery. The Battery is the only pro team he has played with, but he played with the College of Charleston. Keith Wiggans, a keeper, will be returning for a sixth season with the Battery. Wiggans also played at the College of Charleston. These are all good signings, I like having experience with Wiggans and Falvey, and Prince should give the midfield some depth.
• Plus, the Carolina Challenge Cup is less than a month a way. Time to get very amped up for the tournament!