The USL Championship announced Tuesday that Charleston Battery players Graham Smith, Maalique Foster, and Miguel Berry, and Head Coach Ben Pirmann were named to the league’s Week 26 Team of the Week.
The quartet of honors puts a bow on the Battery’s dominant week, where they secured all six points in a pair of victories.
Coach Pirmann earns his third Coach of the Week honor of the year after his side outscored opponents 7-0 across the wins over Miami FC and Las Vegas Lights FC. Charleston improved their league-leading goal total and goal differential to 46 and +19, respectively. The win over Las Vegas was particularly notable for Coach Pirmann as it came in his 200th career match coaching in the Championship.
Smith was productive on both sides of the ball in the two victories while playing all 180 minutes during the week. The center-back scored his first goal of the year against Miami and accumulated eight clearances, nine duels won, four interceptions, four recoveries and two blocks. His block against Las Vegas in the 45th minute was decisive in maintaining the Battery’s lead at that moment.
Foster set a new career-high for goals scored in a single season after tallying three goals during the week, bringing his total to 11 across all competitions and a team-high nine in league play. Foster’s goal against Miami opened the scoring that night, and his brace against Las Vegas powered Charleston in the victory. The second goal against Las Vegas was a complete effort in both phases of the game, as his defensive intervention at midfield forced the turnover that resulted in a counterattack, which was capped off by Foster’s goal.
Berry was a key scorer and provider after kicking in two goals and two assists across both victories. The striker tallied two goals and one assist in the rout of Miami, and his assist in the Las Vegas game during the counterattack with Foster helped put the game out of reach for the hosts. Berry’s pair of performances has been part of a recent hot streak where he has amassed three goals and three assists in his last five matches, averaging a goal involvement every 67.5 minutes of play in that span.
Charleston’s set of accolades brings their total to 19 Team of the Week/Round selections in 2026.
Nathan Messer earned an honorable mention to the Team of the Week Bench with his assist against Miami, which put him into a tie for the lead in the Championship Golden Playmaker race.
Charleston’s next match will be on Wed., Sept. 2, against Hartford Athletic, as the club hosts Pups at the Pitch at Patriots Point. Fans will be welcome to bring their dogs with them to the game, and tickets for the match are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
USL Championship Team of the Week – Week 26
GK – Dane Jacomen, FC Tulsa
D – Graham Smith, Charleston Battery
D – Noah Dollenmayer, El Paso Locomotive FC
D – Adrián Diz Pe, Hartford Athletic
M – Sebastian Anderson, Hartford Athletic
M – Peter Mangione, Brooklyn FC
M – Gabriel Torres, El Paso Locomotive FC
M – Barry Coffey, Hartford Athletic
F – Rubio Rubín, El Paso Locomotive FC
F – Miguel Berry, Charleston Battery
F – Maalique Foster, Charleston Battery
Coach – Ben Pirmann, Charleston Battery
Bench – Kendall McIntosh (OAK), Nathan Messer (CHS), Jordan Scarlett (HFD), Omari Glasgow (MB), Florian Valot (OAK), CJ Olney (BKN), Romario Williams (BHM)
