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.

Midday Thoughts: US Open Cup USL vs. Sounders

Well, well, well. The Richmond Kickers are the last USL Pro team left in the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. After defeating the Dayton Dutch Lions, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, the Columbus Crew, and Sporting KC, the Kickers will face the Chicago Fire for a chance to play the winner of Seattle/Dallas for the National Title.
So here is where I am torn.

For those of you who don't know, the Sounders are my favorite club, save the Battery. I have family out in Seattle, and have been to many Sounders games while visiting them so it seemed like a natural fit.

Hypothetically, we could have a Seattle Sounders-Richmond Kickers final. This would be my worst nightmare. Well maybe not the worst, but its up there.

Now I would always cheer for the USL against the MLS in every situation, except this. Sorry guys, but I despise the Kickers with a passion, and I love the Sounders (also with a passion). I'm all for an USL side winning the Open Cup, but I can't cheer for the Kickers, and I can't cheer against the Sounders.

Let's just wait and see what happens.

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

Keeping Up With the Cobras: Part I

Okay so first off let me apologize to all of the people who read my blog for the updates on the Central SC Cobras, because honestly I haven't been posting much about them lately. So with that said onto these updates on the Cobras:

• The Cobras Will Officially Play in the W-League: In a press release, the USL announced that the Cobras would officially join the USL W-League for the 2012 season and will be the 28th team in the league.
• Three Friendlies Were a Huge Success: A home and home series with the Charlotte Lady Eagles along with an inter-squad scrimmage gave the Cobras their first few tastes of the pitch. The crowds came out to support the team, and the Cobras have their foot in the door on making an impact on the sports scene in Columbia.
• Meet the Cobras: In three press releases in a four part series, the Cobras started introducing their players to the soccer world: http://wleague.uslsoccer.com/home/543070.html hhttp://wleague.uslsoccer.com/home/541739.html ttp://wleague.uslsoccer.com/home/541137.html

The Cobras will continue to develop the women's game in South Carolina and to keep up with all the news on the Cobras, check out their website, Facebook, and Twitter.

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

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.

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

After the Rain: Charleston 1-0 Orlando City

After a rain delay pushed the start of this match to 9:30, the Battery got their biggest win of the season; a 1-0 defeat of league-leading Orlando City SC.
This was another classic 2011 Battery victory, where the possession stayed with the opposition for most of the first half, but the Battery survived without getting far behind. And then the Battery adjusted and struck in the second half to pull a victory out in the end.

Here's No Quarter's recap, and the Battery's as well.

Man of the Match: Alex Caskey
I'll give the match ball to Mr. Caskey for scoring his first professional goal. Well done Alex.

A shout out to Orlando's supporters group, "The Ruckus," for a great showing in Section E1 of Blackbaud Stadium. Definitely one of the best supporters groups in the USL.

Hopefully the Battery will be able to continue their good form in a home fixture with the Wilmington Hammerheads at the 'Baud on Thursday. This is a Southern Derby match and not to mention is a match with a team who is right behind Charleston in the standings.

The match will be broadcast on USL Live as usual, and is at 7:30 on Thursday.

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