Preview: Orlando-Charleston (Game 2)

Alright so here's a short preview of tonight's match:

I recommend that you go back and look at my preview for the first match, because much of it holds true for the second match.

After a 1-0 loss on Wednesday night, the Battery control there own destiny for making the playoffs. If they win both matches they're in. Every other scenario will need Charlotte to not win all three matches. (Charlotte and Charleston are tied for 4th, and the top 4 make the playoffs.)

Here is the Battery's preview.

The match will again be on USL Live tonight at 7:30 and the match will be played at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

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

Preview: Orlando City-Charleston (Game 1)

Well after a disappointing loss to Rochester last Saturday, the Battery head down to Orlando, Florida for two matches with Orlando City. The first match is on Wednesday, while the second will be on Saturday night. Both will be played in the Citrus Bowl.

Orlando City:
This Season: Orlando City has the most points in the league, and they are leading the American division by 3 points. Orlando is looking to clinch home field throughout the playoffs in this series with Charleston.
Who's Playing Big: Griffin Maxwell leads the league and Orlando City in goals with 9, while Jamie Watson and Lewis Neal are tied for the most assists with 3. Watson has scored 3 goals, and Neal has scored 4.
Who Need's to Step Up: Not really anyone. City has only lost 3 matches, and have only given up 2 goals in their last 5 matches. City is pretty much a lock to win the league.

Charleston really need to grab at least one win in these two matches. With only three matches left in the Battery's season, its crunch time.

The match will be available on  USL Live, and will be played at 7:30. Orlando has a quality broadcast, so make sure to check that out.

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

Preview: Charleston-Dayton

The Battery head up to Dayton, Ohio for another match with the Dayton Dutch Lions at Miami Valley South Stadium. Here's your preview:

Dayton Dutch Lions:
This Season: The Lions have only 8 points this season which puts them last in the National Division, as well as the league as a whole. Second to last is FC New York with 18 points. So as you can see Dayton is by far the worst team in the league. They have lost their last two matches against LA and Pittsburgh, but before those two matches they earned 3 straight draws. Keep in mind that Dayton has played 12 straight matches on the road, so this will be a bit of a homecoming.
Who's Playing Big: Well to be honest, nobody. The goals aren't plentiful with a team like Dayton, but their leading scorer is George Davis who hasn't scored in a few matches.
Who Need's to Step Up: Tough call here as it seems that there is a lot that the Dutch Lions could improve on. I'll go ahead and say that the back and their keeper need to play big if Dayton wants to finish with a respectable amount of points this season. They have given up the most goals in the league, with 39.

What to Expect:Starting XI:

Dykstra

Marples Falvey Wilson Zaher
Peverley Paterson Caskey Armstrong

Kelly Coleman

Zero changes from last week, and I really don't have too much more to say. I'd like to compliment Alex Caskey on his great performance against Wilmington last week. Caskey is really showing that he has the potential to be one of the top players on the team. Also, JC Mack will be returning from injury this week.

The Battery have played Dayton twice this year winning both matches. The first came in the second match of the season when the Battery defeated the Dutch Lions 2-1, and the second was a 1-0 home victory for Charleston.

Here's the Battery's preview.

The match will be played at 7:30 on Friday night, and will be on 1340 AM in the Charleston area, and will also be 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.

More Stunning MLS Goals: Is the League Improving?

So if you have been keeping up with the MLS this year, you've probably seen the amazing goals of late:

• Eric Hassli-Vancouver Whitecaps
• Carlos Ruiz-Philadelphia Union
• Darlington Nagbe-Portland Timbers
• Juan Agudelo-New York Red Bulls
• Graham Zusi-Sporting Kansas City
• Brek Shea-FC Dallas
• Bobby Convey-San Jose Earthquakes

And I could keep going all day.

The first question that comes to mind after watching these goals and is, "Does this mean that the quality of the MLS and American soccer are improving?" The answer is a resounding, "Yes."

Take another look at the list. If you have a good knowledge of MLS players, you might have figured out that 5 of the 7 players on this list are Americans.

I will admit that 2 of the best 3 goals (in my opinion) were scored by foreigners (Carlos Ruiz and Eric Hassli), but the other (Darlington Nagbe) is an American just like the others. And that leaves something to be said about the development in the United States.

Now take these goals with a grain of salt, because in all levels of soccer you will see sudden strokes of brilliance; In the Premier League, in the MLS, in the USL, and when you're kicking the ball around with your mates.

But these goals are special. They are crackers, thunder bolts, and all have the touches and finishing of the professionals of the world's game.

I think that the MLS is gathering talent both young and old, to put out a product that an increasing number of people are willing to pay to see. Whether that is through the MLS Direct Kick package, MLS Matchday, or going to see the matches live in the venues around the U.S. which just keep getting better and better.

What the rest of the world is going to have to come to terms with, is that the United States will have one of the top ten soccer leagues and will have one of the top ten national teams in the world very soon.

But I'm fine with taking the world by surprise.

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

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.

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