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."

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

Recap: FC New York and Harrisburg Matches

Alright I hate to do his again, but I didn't see either of the matches, so there's not much I can really comment on. So here are the recaps from the Battery's website: Harrisburg FCNY. Here are a few of my thoughts:

• No red cards or injuries, and if anybody has any minor knocks, they can be healed up during this two week break we will have here.
• It's nice to see Andrew Dykstra back in goal after missing about 80% of this season. It will be interesting to see who gets the gloves for the match against Dayton on the 17th.
• Dane Kelly is playing very well. Even though I didn't see either match, I can tell that Kelly is getting forward and getting more chances as he has in the past month or so. The goals will start falling here for Kelly and we could see him be a prolific scorer in the second half of the season.

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

Weekend Wrap-Up: Battery, Cobras, MLS, EPL, and Andrew Dykstra for President?

Well a lot went down this past weekend in the soccer world. The Battery played two matches, history was made down in Columbia, among other things.

First off we had the Battery. Their first match this weekend ended in a scoreless draw with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, while the second was a 1-0 loss to the Rochester Rhinos.

The Central SC Cobras played their first match on Friday against the Charlotte Lady Eagles. Though the Cobras lost the match, it was considered a success for many reasons. The turn-out was great, the players now have something to gage the rest of the upcoming matches on, and not to mention that it was the first professional women's soccer match in South Carolina history.

In MLS action, two matches were nationally broadcast this weekend, both of which I caught.

On Friday we had the Portland Timbers playing host to the Philadelphia Union on Fox Soccer Channel. Portland continues to have amazing crowds, and the Timbers Army (which got its start in the USL) still creates one of the best atmospheres in North American soccer. Portland would win the match 1-0.

Late on Saturday night, the New York Red Bulls travelled across the States for a fixture with the Los Angeles Galaxy. And who else could have gotten the goals in this 1-1 draw besides Landon Donovan and Thierry Henry?  It was a great match.

And not to mention that Man U basically clinched the EPL title, and what is up with all these injuries in the MLS?

And apparently Andrew Dykstra is running for president:

I don't know about Dykstra's policies, but we definitely need to see one of these over in E10 for Dykstra's next start.

A bit of a rambling today, but thanks for reading if you've gotten this far!

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

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.

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

Charleston Adds Three to Roster

The Charleston Battery have added three new players for the upcoming USL Pro season; goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra, defender Graham Dugoni, and forward Seedy Bah.

Our first new addition, 25 year old Andrew Dykstra, is coming off two seasons as back-up goalkeeper for the Chicago Fire. He made 17 appearances for the Fire, making this save during his two seasons with the club. Dykstra played in college for Virginia Commonwealth University.

Dykstra comes in as one of only two keepers that are signed with the Battery, the other being Keith Wiggans. We will see who gets the starting position for this upcoming season.

Defender Graham Dugoni was one of the trialists for the Battery, and played in the Carolina Challenge Cup. He played for Duke University and with the 2010 PDL Champion Portland Timbers U23. He also played with MjÃndalen IF in Norway.

Here's a quick highlight of Dugoni.

The third and final signing of the day is Gambian forward Seedy Bah. Bah has played in many of the Battery's preseason scrimmages, scoring a goal in the match with Clemson.

He also played for the Gambian U17 team, as he grew up in Bakau, Gambia.

Bah is only 18 years old, adding to the Battery's young set of forwards. The front needs some development, but our midfield is strong and experienced enough to score while our young front line gets adjusted.

These three players bring the Battery's roster up to a total of 19 players, and more signings are sure to be coming in the next couple of weeks.

The Battery kick off their 2011 USL Pro season on April 9th at home to the Charlotte Eagles.

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