Last night in front of 3,715 spectators at Blackbaud Stadium, the Charleston Battery rallied once again to defeat the Harrisburg City Islanders 2-1.
The Battery gave up another early goal in the 6th minute, when Jose Angulo headed in a David Schofield cross into the back of the net.
The Battery would stay off the board until the 60th minute, when it got interesting.
Dane Kelly chased down a ball in the box and collided with the Islanders goalkeeper Chase Harrison. The Battery were rewarded with a PK, but a scuffle ensued and two players were ejected. For the Islanders, Stephen Basso and Charleston's Dane Kelly were both sent off. Stephen Armstrong would step up and slot the equalizer in.
Nicki Paterson used a Seedy Bah assist to get the game winner in the 86th minute.
Coming back from early deficits is becoming a theme in the Battery's season, and it would make me nervous if they weren't winning.
The scrap that went on in the 60th minute was interesting to say the least. A rivalry is budding between these two teams, and it will be interesting to see what happens when the Battery travel up to play the Islanders on their home turf.
Man of the Match: Nicki Paterson
Paterson has really been rock-solid this whole year, and another good performance gets him the nod from me for Man of the Match. The goal, the passing, all quality.
Charleston's next match will be on Friday at FC New York, and then they will head on down to Harrisburg for a match on Saturday night. That will be interesting. Both matches can be heard on 1340 AM in Charleston and on the Battery's website.
Here are highlights from the match versus Richmond on Tuesday night:
If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Battery Rally Again and Lamar Neagle
Alright the Battery came back once again to defeat Harrisburg 2-1. Recap tomorrow.
Lamar Neagle finally got on the board out in Seattle, check it out:
If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.
Lamar Neagle finally got on the board out in Seattle, check it out:
If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Battery End Scoring Drought, Hand Richmond First Loss
Well we can all take a breather now.
Tuesday night the Battery scored their first goal (plus another as a bonus) in 500+ minutes to defeat the undefeated Richmond Kickers. The Kicker's goal came from Matthew Delicate, while the Battery's pair came from Dane Kelly and Jon (apparently now JD?) Gruenwald.
I'm going defer this recap, and post the Battery's, and No Quarter's.
Man of the Match: JD Gruenwald
This is a tough decision, but I'll have to go with Gruenwald simply because he scored the goal that gave Charleston the win. Honorable mention definitely goes to Dane Kelly for finally putting the Battery on the board, as well as Nicki Paterson for setting up Gruenwald on the second goal.
Sorry to have such a poor recap here. I was going to release this with some highlights, but USL Live isn't putting the Battery's matches in the archives very quickly. As soon as that comes out I'll have some though.
The Battery will face the Harrisburg City Islanders this Saturday in a home fixture at Blackbaud Stadium. The match will kick at 7:30 PM and 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.
Tuesday night the Battery scored their first goal (plus another as a bonus) in 500+ minutes to defeat the undefeated Richmond Kickers. The Kicker's goal came from Matthew Delicate, while the Battery's pair came from Dane Kelly and Jon (apparently now JD?) Gruenwald.
I'm going defer this recap, and post the Battery's, and No Quarter's.
Man of the Match: JD Gruenwald
This is a tough decision, but I'll have to go with Gruenwald simply because he scored the goal that gave Charleston the win. Honorable mention definitely goes to Dane Kelly for finally putting the Battery on the board, as well as Nicki Paterson for setting up Gruenwald on the second goal.
Sorry to have such a poor recap here. I was going to release this with some highlights, but USL Live isn't putting the Battery's matches in the archives very quickly. As soon as that comes out I'll have some though.
The Battery will face the Harrisburg City Islanders this Saturday in a home fixture at Blackbaud Stadium. The match will kick at 7:30 PM and 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.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Charleston-Wilmington Recap and Charleston-Richmond Preview
Wilmington Defeats Charleston
The Battery headed up to Wilmington yesterday, and had to come home with a disappointing 3-0 loss to the Hammerheads. This loss drops Charleston to 5th place in the American Division with only 11 points in 9 matches.
Wilmington dominated the first 30 minutes or so, getting 3 corners and putting 2 shots on goal. They broke through in the 27th minute when Luke Mulholland knocked it in the back of the net off a pass from Andriy Budnyy.
Charleston would get a couple of chances, but they were few and far between. The best chance of the half came when JC Mack took a shot from outside of the eighteen that would sail just wide. This gave Wilmington the slight advantage at the half.
The Battery would put pressure on Wilmington in the second half, and thought they had equalized in the 72nd minute when Nicki Paterson volleyed a ball in from close range, off a scramble from a long throw in. After looking at the replay on USL Live, it is definitely not offsides. Paterson was even with one of the Wilmington players, and behind another. If you're interested in watching it yourself, go to the archived game on USL Live and the disallowed goal is around the 1:33 mark.
After John Wilson was sent off for a reckless tackle, the Battery's hopes were dashed. Wilmington would add two goals in the 85th and 90th minutes. The first was scored by Luke Mulholland and the second came from Jack Avisyan.
Goals will come, goals will come.
PS: Great showing by both the Wilmington fans, and the Regiment which made a bus trip up to Legion Stadium and the presence in the stadium was felt.
Charleston-Richmond Preview:
The Battery will again try to break their scoreless streak, this time at home against the Richmond Kickers.
Richmond Kickers:
This Season: The Kickers are still undefeated through seven matches, and have earned 19 points, which is good enough for 2nd place in the American Division. The second place standing is a little misleading, considering that league-leading Orlando City has played nine games to Richmond's seven.
Who's Playing Big: Matthew Delicate is still playing big, and is second in the league in goals. Other contributors such as Shaka Bangura and David Bulow (Each has 3 goals) have been contributing as well.
Who Need's to Step Up: Let me be blunt. This a well-oiled machine, and is they have the best side in the league. Goals come easy, defending comes even easier, we should be seeing Richmond go very far this year.
What to Expect:
Once again, it is looking like the old 4-4-2:
The Battery headed up to Wilmington yesterday, and had to come home with a disappointing 3-0 loss to the Hammerheads. This loss drops Charleston to 5th place in the American Division with only 11 points in 9 matches.
Wilmington dominated the first 30 minutes or so, getting 3 corners and putting 2 shots on goal. They broke through in the 27th minute when Luke Mulholland knocked it in the back of the net off a pass from Andriy Budnyy.
Charleston would get a couple of chances, but they were few and far between. The best chance of the half came when JC Mack took a shot from outside of the eighteen that would sail just wide. This gave Wilmington the slight advantage at the half.
The Battery would put pressure on Wilmington in the second half, and thought they had equalized in the 72nd minute when Nicki Paterson volleyed a ball in from close range, off a scramble from a long throw in. After looking at the replay on USL Live, it is definitely not offsides. Paterson was even with one of the Wilmington players, and behind another. If you're interested in watching it yourself, go to the archived game on USL Live and the disallowed goal is around the 1:33 mark.
After John Wilson was sent off for a reckless tackle, the Battery's hopes were dashed. Wilmington would add two goals in the 85th and 90th minutes. The first was scored by Luke Mulholland and the second came from Jack Avisyan.
Goals will come, goals will come.
PS: Great showing by both the Wilmington fans, and the Regiment which made a bus trip up to Legion Stadium and the presence in the stadium was felt.
| Scoring Summary | Goal (Assist) | Minute | |
 Wilmington Hammerheads | Mulholland (Budnyy) | 27 | |
| Wilmington Hammerheads | Mulholland | 85 | |
| Wilmington Hammerheads | Aviyson | 90 | |
| Team Summary | Wilmington Hammerheads | ||
| |||
| Team Summary | Charleston Battery | ||
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The Battery will again try to break their scoreless streak, this time at home against the Richmond Kickers.
Richmond Kickers:
This Season: The Kickers are still undefeated through seven matches, and have earned 19 points, which is good enough for 2nd place in the American Division. The second place standing is a little misleading, considering that league-leading Orlando City has played nine games to Richmond's seven.
Who's Playing Big: Matthew Delicate is still playing big, and is second in the league in goals. Other contributors such as Shaka Bangura and David Bulow (Each has 3 goals) have been contributing as well.
Who Need's to Step Up: Let me be blunt. This a well-oiled machine, and is they have the best side in the league. Goals come easy, defending comes even easier, we should be seeing Richmond go very far this year.
What to Expect:
Once again, it is looking like the old 4-4-2:
Wiggans
Marples Falvey Flatley Wiltse
Paterson Walsh Taylor Armstrong
Bah Mack
With Dykstra still out, Wiggans will get another start between the pipes.
Charleston's back is leaking oil, and will be much different from matches past. Wilson is out because of the straight red he received on Saturday. Zaher and Dugoni did not make the trip to Wilmington on Saturday, so they are both out. So Marples and Falvey stay on, while Flatley and Wiltse get rare starts.
The midfield is ailing as well. Peverley has been called up by the New Zealand National Team (We're very proud!), so he won't be available. New addition Diego Walsh played well Saturday, and should get the start along with Paterson, Taylor, and Armstrong.
Levi Coleman and Dane Kelly did not make the trip to Wilmington, so, barring a pair of surprise returns, we won't be seeing either of them. Looks like we'll see Seedy Bah and the versatile JC Mack will slide into those positions.
This may very well be Charleston's toughest match of the year. They're up against the best team in the league and have 6 players out. Hopefully they can find a point some how, but it's not looking to good.
The match will be broadcast on USL Live, and the Charleston Battery's twitter will be giving constant updates as well.
If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Preview: Wilmington-Charleston
Tomorrow night, the Battery will head up US-17 to try to break their 3 1/2 game scoreless streak against the Wilmington Hammerheads. Here's a quick preview:
Wilmington Hammerheads:
This Season: Wilmington has been one of the biggest surprises in the USL Pro this season. The Hammerheads have 3 out of their first 4 games (losing the other the Richmond), and have scored a solid nine goals in those four matches. They currently stand 5th in the American Division and only one place behind the Battery, which is amazing considering that they have played half of the games.
Who's Playing Big: The goals have been coming from everywhere for the Hammerheads, as 7 players have scored, while only Chris Banks has scored multiple goals. Goalkeeper Brock Duckworth has a 1.000 GAA (Goals Against Average) this season, which is solid.
Who Needs to Step Up: The whole team is playing well, and the one loss against Richmond is the best loss you could possibly have. Again, having a 1.000 GAA as a team is very good.
What to Expect:
Charleston should come out in the usual 4-4-2:
Wilmington Hammerheads:
This Season: Wilmington has been one of the biggest surprises in the USL Pro this season. The Hammerheads have 3 out of their first 4 games (losing the other the Richmond), and have scored a solid nine goals in those four matches. They currently stand 5th in the American Division and only one place behind the Battery, which is amazing considering that they have played half of the games.
Who's Playing Big: The goals have been coming from everywhere for the Hammerheads, as 7 players have scored, while only Chris Banks has scored multiple goals. Goalkeeper Brock Duckworth has a 1.000 GAA (Goals Against Average) this season, which is solid.
Who Needs to Step Up: The whole team is playing well, and the one loss against Richmond is the best loss you could possibly have. Again, having a 1.000 GAA as a team is very good.
What to Expect:
Charleston should come out in the usual 4-4-2:
Wiggans
Marples Wilson Falvey Zaher
Paterson Peverley Mack Armstrong
Coleman Kelly
Andrew Dykstra is still injured, and may not come back for a couple more weeks, so Wiggans will be between the pipes this week.
The back has been playing very well, the 'O is just not producing the way that the Battery need. Marples, Wilson, Falvey, Zaher. Pretty standard stuff.
Paterson, Peverley, and Armstrong continue to play quality ball, but Kevin Jackson played somewhat poorly last week. I'll slide JC Mack into his position and keep the rest of the midfield the same.
Even thought the finishing has been poor lately, I think that Anhaeuser sticks with Coleman and Kelly up front. These two are good players, but they're just having some trouble finding the back of the net. I have no doubt that they will in the future.
This is the Battery's second match of this year's Southern Derby, and it is their first competitive match with the Hammerheads since the 2004 edition of the US Open Cup.
The match is at 7:30 and is at Legion Field in Wilmington. The match will be broadcast on USL Live. The Regiment is taking a bus up their, so the Battery will have strong fan support at this match.
If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.
Monday, May 16, 2011
USL Derby's: Are There Any True Rivalries in the League?
I've been wanting to write this piece for awhile, but with the Portland Timbers-Seattle Sounders match this previous Saturday, it seemed like the perfect time.
Let's start with a fact: Rivalries are crucial to all sports.
Major League Baseball has the Yankees and the Red Sox, the NBA has the Celtics and the Lakers, college football has Michigan-Ohio State, and the list goes on and on. But in soccer, there is something special.
The derby (pronounced darby) is something that is unique to soccer, and is exhibited in leagues all around the world. Barcelona-Real Madrid, Manchester United-Manchester City, Celtic-Rangers, I could name them all day, but that's not the point I'm trying to make.
What I'm trying to get at here is; Are there any real derby's in the USL? And the answer is a challenge.
You may be wondering, "Why the USL? What about the MLS? There are plenty of clubs that have a hatred for each other in the top league."
Well a couple of reasons. First off, its the league I cover, so I know the more about it than a lot of other leagues, and also the USL has been around longer than the MLS, so they've had more time for the rivalries to develop.
Plus their are only two real rivalries in the MLS, the Rocky Mountain Cup between Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids, and the Cascadia Cup which involves the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, and Vancouver Whitecaps.
The latter laid its ground in the NASL in the 70's and 80's, but developed in the USL in the late 90's and early 2000's. So its obvious that the USL can support rivalries, and that they aren't always friendly.
Right now the rivalries are a little more laid back, and are a lot more likely to be discussed between the sides over a couple of drinks in the parking lot before the match than in previous years. But inside the stadium and within the various forms of internet taunting we still see some bad blood between a couple of teams.
The Battery are involved in the Southern Derby, which currently also includes the Charlotte Eagles and Wilmington Hammerheads. Other teams that have participated in the past are; the Raleigh Express, Atlanta Silverbacks, and the Carolina Railhawks. This derby was completely fan-started and fan-based. Here's an article on No Quarter about it.
Most of the others are pretty obvious, but not really official. You have the North Carolina Derby between the Eagles and the Hammerheads, and a brand new one up in Pennsylvania that's contested between the Harrisburg City Islanders and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
Another rivalry/derby of note, is the most historic USL rivalry of all time. The Richmond Kickers and the Charleston Battery have played each other 42 times dating back to 1993. It couldn't be any closer, as both teams hold the same record (19-19-4) in this rivalry. They will face one more time this season to decide who will take the edge.
Luckily for the fans in Chucktown, we have a few matches to look forward to every year that can be considered "derby's" or "rivalries." They may not be what they have over in Europe, but its our own little slice of what the rest of the world gets to enjoy.
(Sorry about the formatting issues if there are any, Blogger seems to be having some technical difficulties.)
If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.
Let's start with a fact: Rivalries are crucial to all sports.
Major League Baseball has the Yankees and the Red Sox, the NBA has the Celtics and the Lakers, college football has Michigan-Ohio State, and the list goes on and on. But in soccer, there is something special.
The derby (pronounced darby) is something that is unique to soccer, and is exhibited in leagues all around the world. Barcelona-Real Madrid, Manchester United-Manchester City, Celtic-Rangers, I could name them all day, but that's not the point I'm trying to make.
What I'm trying to get at here is; Are there any real derby's in the USL? And the answer is a challenge.
You may be wondering, "Why the USL? What about the MLS? There are plenty of clubs that have a hatred for each other in the top league."
Well a couple of reasons. First off, its the league I cover, so I know the more about it than a lot of other leagues, and also the USL has been around longer than the MLS, so they've had more time for the rivalries to develop.
Plus their are only two real rivalries in the MLS, the Rocky Mountain Cup between Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids, and the Cascadia Cup which involves the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, and Vancouver Whitecaps.
The latter laid its ground in the NASL in the 70's and 80's, but developed in the USL in the late 90's and early 2000's. So its obvious that the USL can support rivalries, and that they aren't always friendly.
Right now the rivalries are a little more laid back, and are a lot more likely to be discussed between the sides over a couple of drinks in the parking lot before the match than in previous years. But inside the stadium and within the various forms of internet taunting we still see some bad blood between a couple of teams.
The Battery are involved in the Southern Derby, which currently also includes the Charlotte Eagles and Wilmington Hammerheads. Other teams that have participated in the past are; the Raleigh Express, Atlanta Silverbacks, and the Carolina Railhawks. This derby was completely fan-started and fan-based. Here's an article on No Quarter about it.
Most of the others are pretty obvious, but not really official. You have the North Carolina Derby between the Eagles and the Hammerheads, and a brand new one up in Pennsylvania that's contested between the Harrisburg City Islanders and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
Another rivalry/derby of note, is the most historic USL rivalry of all time. The Richmond Kickers and the Charleston Battery have played each other 42 times dating back to 1993. It couldn't be any closer, as both teams hold the same record (19-19-4) in this rivalry. They will face one more time this season to decide who will take the edge.
Luckily for the fans in Chucktown, we have a few matches to look forward to every year that can be considered "derby's" or "rivalries." They may not be what they have over in Europe, but its our own little slice of what the rest of the world gets to enjoy.
(Sorry about the formatting issues if there are any, Blogger seems to be having some technical difficulties.)
If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Battery's Scorless Streak Stretches to 405 Minutes in a Loss to FCNY
Last night, the Battery faced the expansion FC New York in front of 3,328. Up to that point New York had earned two points in 4 matches, had scored just 2 goals, and had earned a fifth place spot in the National Division. The Battery, who hadn't scored a goal in 3 matches, but hadn't lost a home match since the 2009 season would host them.
When you look at it that way it looks pretty even. One team that's apparently not very good, and one team that's been struggling. Seems like a fair fight to me.
But let's be honest, everyone and their grandma expected the Battery to win this. Even I, maybe the most critical person of all, suspected that the Battery were just in a bit of a slump. But this is not so.
Now its not time to panic yet, that's not what I'm saying. All I'm saying is that the Battery aren't as good as many, including myself, thought. There are some good pieces, Armstrong, Dykstra, Wilson, etc., and I do believe that they will make the playoffs, maybe they won't finish first or second, but they'll make it.
The point is, the Battery won't be winning by any huge margins, or going on a road trip and cleaning house, or having the league's leading scorer. None of that is going to happen.
What we will see for the rest of the season, is a team that will fight as hard as it can to find itself, find a scorer, and find some points.
Anyway onto last night's match. By the way I wrote the series of paragraphs above, you should realize that the match did not go in the Battery's favor.
The match started out well enough, defenders Marples and Falvey had a couple of chances in the first 30 minutes, and we saw the Battery dominate the first 30 minutes in both shots and possession.
New York would strike in the 35th Graciano Brito galloped onto a long ball and shrugged off tackles from John Wilson and Colin Falvey to put it in past Wiggans from about 10 yards out.
The Battery put in Dane Kelly for Seedy Bah up front, and Kelly made an immediate impact, getting some shots on goal, receiving some crosses, and passing decently.
Still the Battery couldn't equalize.
In the 90th minute, the Battery had their last chance to find an equalizer. Prince got the ball over on the left, and found a left footed shot on goal, but Steven Diaz saved it to deny the Battery a single point.
This is a disappointing loss, but the Battery just need to work on finishing. The Battery had 10 shots to New York's 3 and the passing was fine, they just need to tweak our boots a little bit.
If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.
When you look at it that way it looks pretty even. One team that's apparently not very good, and one team that's been struggling. Seems like a fair fight to me.
But let's be honest, everyone and their grandma expected the Battery to win this. Even I, maybe the most critical person of all, suspected that the Battery were just in a bit of a slump. But this is not so.
Now its not time to panic yet, that's not what I'm saying. All I'm saying is that the Battery aren't as good as many, including myself, thought. There are some good pieces, Armstrong, Dykstra, Wilson, etc., and I do believe that they will make the playoffs, maybe they won't finish first or second, but they'll make it.
The point is, the Battery won't be winning by any huge margins, or going on a road trip and cleaning house, or having the league's leading scorer. None of that is going to happen.
What we will see for the rest of the season, is a team that will fight as hard as it can to find itself, find a scorer, and find some points.
Anyway onto last night's match. By the way I wrote the series of paragraphs above, you should realize that the match did not go in the Battery's favor.
The match started out well enough, defenders Marples and Falvey had a couple of chances in the first 30 minutes, and we saw the Battery dominate the first 30 minutes in both shots and possession.
New York would strike in the 35th Graciano Brito galloped onto a long ball and shrugged off tackles from John Wilson and Colin Falvey to put it in past Wiggans from about 10 yards out.
The Battery put in Dane Kelly for Seedy Bah up front, and Kelly made an immediate impact, getting some shots on goal, receiving some crosses, and passing decently.
Still the Battery couldn't equalize.
In the 90th minute, the Battery had their last chance to find an equalizer. Prince got the ball over on the left, and found a left footed shot on goal, but Steven Diaz saved it to deny the Battery a single point.
This is a disappointing loss, but the Battery just need to work on finishing. The Battery had 10 shots to New York's 3 and the passing was fine, they just need to tweak our boots a little bit.
If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.
| Scoring Summary | Goal (Assist) | Minute | |
| New York | Brito | 35 | |
| Team Summary | Charleston Battery | ||
| |||
| Team Summary | New York | ||
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