The Charleston Battery lost, 1-0, to Louisville City FC at Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky Saturday night.
The Battery stood tall defensively through the first 75 minutes of the match, with Alex Tambakis making several impressive saves early on. However, Charleston’s strong defensive effort was undone in the 78th minute by a Guy Abend goal. Abend collected a loose clearance at the top of the box and hit a low shot that skipped off the harsh surface at Slugger Field and beat Tambakis at the near post.
Abend’s first goal of the season was enough to seal the result and take all three points for the home side. Following their second consecutive loss, the Battery will finally return home next Saturday for another crucial match, this time against the Charlotte Independence. The match against the Independence will be the Battery’s first at MUSC Health Stadium since their 1-1 draw with New York Red Bulls II on August 12.
CHARLESTON: Alex Tambakis, Skylar Thomas, Taylor Mueller (yellow card, 79), Miles Robinson, Jarad van Schaik (Patrick Okonkwo, 83), Maikel Chang, Neveal Hackshaw (yellow card, 76), Justin Portillo (yellow card, 87), Kotaro Higashi (Nico Rittmeyer, 82), Ataulla Guerra, Heviel Cordoves (Forrest Lasso, 67)
Unused substitutes: Odisnel Cooper, Laurent Kissiedou, Tah Brian Anunga, Ricky Garbanzo
LOUISVILLE: Greg Ranjintsingh, Sean Totsch, Sean Reynolds, Paco Craig, Oscar Jimenez, Guy Abend (goal, 78), Paolo DelPiccolo, Brian Ownby (Luke Spencer, 57), George Davis IV (Tarek Morad, 85), Ilija Ilic, Niall McCabe (Richard Ballard, 72)
Unused substitutes: Micah Bledsoe, Cameron Lancaster, Tim Dobrowolski
