The Charleston Battery secured a comeback 2-1 win over Birmingham Legion FC in the USL Championship regular season finale on Saturday at Patriots Point. After going down 0-1 in the 6th minute, Charleston rallied to level the score before halftime via Houssou Landry, and Cal Jennings’ penalty conversion in the second half proved to be the match-winner. The victory set a new regular season wins record for Charleston in their Championship era.
The Battery started the match on the front foot and were eager to apply pressure right after kickoff. Houssou Landry and Langston Blackstock both recorded shots in the first five minutes, but both went just wide of the target.
Birmingham managed to open the scoring in the 6th minute via Tabort Preston after some miscommunication in the Battery’s defense.
MD Myers looked to level the score in the 17th minute with an audacious attempt off a self volley, but his shot was blocked and went over the crossbar.
Houssou Landry brought Charleston level in the 34th minute. Aaron Molloy sent a one-time cross from just outside the box toward the back post as Houssou crashed in. Houssou beat his marker and struck the ball off the volley inside the six-yard box to make the score 1-1.
The goal was Houssou’s fourth of the season, and the assist was Molloy’s seventh of the year (sixth in league play).
Eager to find the go-ahead goal, Myers connected on a header off a cross from Douglas Martínez in the 42nd minute, but Birmingham goalkeeper Trevor McMullen made the save. Joey Akpunonu almost had the equalizer in the final minute of stoppage before the break, but the attempt was too tall for the goal.
Charleston and Birmingham went into the break tied at 1-1. The hosts outshot the visitors by a margin of nine to two, and Opta xG (Expected Goals) rating favored the Battery 1.79 to 0.09.
The match resumed with all still to play for in the second half.
Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio made a clutch save in the 50th minute to deny Enzo Martinez on a strong shot that was bending away from him.
The complexion of the match changed in the 53rd minute when Phanuel Kavita was issued a straight red card for taking down Cal Jennings in the box, thus awarding the Battery a penalty. Jennings stepped up to the spot in the 55th minute and converted to fire Charleston in front, 2-1.
Jennings’ goal was his 17th of the league campaign, moving him back into the lead of the Championship Golden Boot race, as of writing, due to the assists tiebreakers with Peter Wilson of Oakland Roots SC.
With Birmingham reduced to 10 men for the remainder of the match, Charleston applied heavy pressure in search of a third goal. Rubio Rubín, Martínez and Molloy each recorded shots for the Battery through the 83rd minute.
Charleston held firm and saw out the 2-1 comeback victory, ending the regular season on a positive note.
The win advanced the Battery’s record to 19W-6L-5D (62pts), and therefore set a new regular season club wins record in Charleston’s Championship era. It’s the third consecutive year the Battery reset their own league wins record.
At the end of the match, Cal Jennings found himself in the lead of the Championship Golden Boot race with 17 goals. As of writing, he holds the advantage in the tiebreakers for assists and minutes per goal over Oakland Roots SC’s Peter Wilson.
The Battery ended the regular season as the league’s highest-scoring club with 62 goals across the 30 contests.
Houssou Landry’s four goals in 2025 are a new single-season best for the Ivorian midfielder.
With a combined 32 goals in the regular season, MD Myers and Jennings ended the regular season as the Championship’s top scoring duo.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward Cal Jennings addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on overall takeaways from the match…
It was a sloppy goal to concede, but I was really proud of Joey on his response, he played a good game, just made a little mistake. We outshot them nine to one [sic] in the first half, we were on them from start to finish. You need to get that goal, it lingers and lingers. Then we got the second, and then things got a little bit sloppy. But at the end of the day, a great way to end the regular season.
It’s been a long two weeks with two makeup matches, a lot of guys playing out of position, doing whatever it takes for the club to win games. So, I’m proud of this group, proud of this season that we have, a record-breaking season. It’s incredible. It is probably a top-10 season in this league’s all-time. We’re second place by a mile thanks to Louisville, they’re great. But most importantly, thanks to the fans, they’re incredible. What amazing support we get. And you all here as well, couldn’t be happier, couldn’t be more appreciative. So thank you, all.
Coach Pirmann on looking ahead to playoffs…
Next Sunday, it doesn’t matter, 0-0 for everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re the two seed, the seven seed, the one seed, it doesn’t matter. We got 90 minutes to be hard, be animals, be assertive with our possessions, and try to create goals.
We’ve got to be able to learn from mistakes in the past. It’s an eager group and they’re excited. There’s a lot of good players that want to play for our supporters. They’re ready to go. We understand that we want to win trophies, but you can only win a trophy if you win the next game. So, Sunday, 2 o’clock, we need absolutely everybody, because it’s gonna be a mammoth game.
Jennings on coming back after a 0-1 deficit…
It was a very early goal, and one we don’t want to let up. But, we got a lot of confidence in the group and the attacking ability, and I thought we were patient and created the right chances and ended up coming out on top. The confidence, the momentum, getting this win, going into the playoffs, it’s huge.
Jennings on the momentum going into the playoffs…
We want to have as much momentum as possible, and these last couple of weeks have been difficult, but today’s a great result, and we’ll take that in and hopefully play even better in the playoffs.
Jennings on the 2025 Championship Golden Boot race…
Honestly, it would be a great thing to win, but it’s not my all and all. If it happens this year, that’s awesome. If not, I’ll continue to have drive. I’m happy that I put myself in this position to be here.
Charleston’s next match will be at home in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Sun., Nov. 2, against Rhode Island FC. Tickets for the opening round of the USL Championship Playoffs are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
CHS: Zamudio, Blackstock (Dossantos, 87’), Akpunonu (Rubín, 46’), Archer, Martínez (Segbers, 69’), Houssou, Molloy, Rodríguez, Myers, Kelly (Smith, 46’), Jennings
BHM: McMullen, Paterson, Kavita, Rufe, Travis, Daley (Centeno, 46’), McCartney (Howell, 75’), McIllhatton, Shashoua (Martínez, 20’), Damus (Saucedo, 75’), Etaka Preston
Scoring Summary
BHM – Tabort Etaka Preston, 6’
CHS – Houssou Landry, 34’ (Aaron Molloy)
CHS – Cal Jennings, 55’
