The Battery earned their first win in eight matches Saturday night, beating the Rochester Rhinos, 1-0, at Capelli Sport Stadium. Saturday’s win was the first time the Battery took all three points in Rochester since 2012.
Justin Portillo scored the game’s only goal late on in the second half, firing a free kick past goalkeeper Dan Lynd to notch his sixth goal of the year. Portillo is now second on the team in goals, behind league-leader Romario Williams, and first in assists with six in each statistical category.
Consistent with the Battery’s run of form of late, goal scoring chances were difficult to come by Saturday night in Rochester. With the scoring opportunities limited, Charleston’s defense stepped up to earn their ninth clean sheet of the season.
Captain Taylor Mueller led the way for the Battery defensively, making several vital tackles and interceptions. Atlanta United center back Miles Robinson did well next to Mueller in his fifth appearance of the season for Charleston.
Following Saturday’s win, the Battery will remain on the road for two consecutive matches. Charleston heads to Richmond next weekend (8/26) before traveling to Louisville on September 2nd. The Battery will return home to MUSC Health Stadium on September 9th to take on the league-leading Charlotte Independence.
CHARLESTON: Odisnel Cooper (yellow card, 90), Quinton Griffith, Taylor Mueller, Miles Robinson, Skylar Thomas, Kotaro Higashi (Jarad van Schaik, 69), Justin Portillo (goal, 83), Neveal Hackshaw (yellow card, 21), Maikel Chang, Ataulla Guerra (Nico Rittmeyer, 90), Romario Williams (yellow card, 25; Heviel Cordoves, 88)
Unused substitutes: Joe Kuzminsky, Forrest Lasso, Laurent Kissieduo, Ricky Garbanzo
ROCHESTER: Dan Lynd, Joe Farrell, Ryan Feliz, Ryan James, Brad Kamdem, Wal Fall, Mike Garzi (Sergio Campbell, 85), Sofiane Tergou, Brandon Beresford (Jochen Graf, 65), Jalen Brown, Darius Madison (yellow card, 45; Julian Bucher, 65)
Unused substitutes: Tomas Gomez, Stefan Defregger, Christiano Francois, Ryan Lee
