Charleston
The Charleston Battery enter Saturday’s season finale against the Charlotte Independence with the opportunity to take sole ownership of second place in the East. A second place finish would clinch home games in the quarter and semifinals.
The Battery are coming off of a 4-0 demolition of Harrisburg last Saturday. With three of their best players suspended and nothing to play for, the City Islanders did very little to stop the Battery attack. Heviel Cordoves continued his scoring form, finding the back of the net twice against Harrisburg. The Cuban forward has now scored eight goals in his last eight games and nine during the 2017 season.
Maikel Chang also stood out against the City Islanders last week, assisting three of the Battery’s four goals. Chang now has ten assists on the season, which leads the Eastern Conference and is second in the USL.
Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser will have lineup decisions to make this Saturday. His team put up four goals and a shutout without key players Forrest Lasso and Romario Williams. Both Lasso and Williams return this weekend, Lasso from suspension and Williams from international duty, for this weekend’s finale. Skylar Thomas and Cordoves did well in place of Lasso and Williams, leaving Coach Anhaeuser with several options at the back and up front.
Charlotte
With just one point from their last five matches, Charlotte Independence enter Saturday’s finale with the worst five game form in USL. After a blistering run from June through August that took them to the top of the Eastern Conference, the Independence have struggled to find results. Their last win was on September 2, a 3-0 victory over Richmond at home.
Losers of four straight, Charlotte have managed to score just two goals in in their last five games. Despite the tough run of form, the Independence are still very much in the race for a spot in the top four. Charlotte are currently in fifth place with 48 points, two points behind Rochester and Tampa and three points behind the Battery. The Independence would need to win by three goals or more on Saturday to move above the Battery in the table, but could move above Tampa and Rochester with a win of a lesser margin if either of those teams drop points. A draw or a loss would leave Charlotte in fifth place, meaning they would have to go on the road in the first round of the playoffs.
The Independence have been tough to beat at home this season, losing only three times one of which was to the Battery. Charlotte have failed to score in both of the two meetings with Charleston this season, but Enzo Martinez and Jorge Herrera will pose a threat to the Battery defense on Saturday. The attacking tandem have scored 28 of Charlotte’s 52 goals this season and assisted ten.
Previous Meeting(s)
- April 1, 2017 – University of Charlotte – Charleston Battery (2), Charlotte Independence (0)
- Scoring summary – Romario Williams (70), Forrest Lasso (77)
- September 20, 2017 – MUSC Health Stadium – Charleston Battery (3), Charlotte Independence (0)
- Scoring summary – Heviel Cordoves (13, 80); Ricky Garbanzo (73)
Game Notes
Records
- Charleston: 14-8-9; goals 52; goals against 33; GD +19
- Home: 10-1-5; goals 35 ; goals against 12 ; GD +23
- Away: 4-7-4; goals 17; goals against; 21; GD -4
- Charlotte: 9-9-13; goals 52; goals against 39; GD +13
- Home: 7-3-5; goals 28; goals against 15; GD +13
- Away: 6-6-4; goals 24; goals against 24; GD 0
Form
- Charleston: W | W | L | D | W
- Charlotte: D | L | L | L | L
Statistical Leaders
- Charleston
- Goals: Romario Williams (15)
- Assists: Maikel Chang (10)
- Points: Romario Williams (33)
- Minutes: Taylor Mueller, Justin Portillo (2,790)
- Charlotte
- Goals: Enzo Martinez (16)
- Assists: Enzo Martinez, Jorge Herrera (5)
- Points: Enzo Martinez (37)
- Minutes: Cody Mizell
Previous Match
- Result: Charleston Battery (4), Harrisburg City Islanders (0) [MUSC Health Stadium]
- Charleston goal(s): Heviel Cordoves (15, 58), Ataulla Guerra (28), Quinton Griffith (89)
- Harrisburg goal(s): None
- Result: Charlotte Independence (1), Louisville City FC (2) [Slugger Field]
- Charlotte goal(s): Caleb Calvert (66)
- Louisville goal(s): George Davis IV (57), Kyle Smith (77)
