Two of the USL’s top scorers meet this Saturday at MUSC Health Stadium when the Charleston Battery (5-3-6) takes on the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (6-1-6) for the first time this season.
The third-place Riverhounds and seventh-place Battery are set up similarly: veteran head coaches, strong defensive record, and prolific goal scorers leading the lines. Pittsburgh’s Neco Brett is tied for the league lead in goals with eight, while Charleston’s Ataulla Guerra is one behind him with seven. Both Brett and Guerra have had a direct hand in more than 50% of their teams’ goals scored this season.
Brett found the back of the net twice in the Riverhounds’ 3-0 win over New York Red Bulls II last Saturday at Highmark Stadium in Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh earned their league-leading eighth shutout on their way to their sixth win of the season in the match against New York. With a strong defense in front of them, Pittsburgh Head Coach Bob Lilley has rotated goalkeepers Dan Lynd and Kyle Morton throughout the season, much like Mike Anhaeuser has done with Joe Kuzminsky and Odisnel Cooper.
Kuzminsky got the start in the Battery’s 1-1 draw with Charlotte last Saturday. The second-year goalkeeper gave up his first goal in the run of play this season to Charlotte’s Mutaya Mwape in the 79th minute. Mwape’s goal cancelled out Kotaro Higashi’s first-half goal. Guerra created the scoring chance, beating two defenders at the top of the box and playing Higashi through on goal. Higashi calmly tucked the ball away to score his first USL goal of his career.
Mwape’s late equalizer kept the Battery from their first USL win since May 12. Charleston has only lost once during the winless streak, picking up four draws along the way. They’ll be tasked with breaking the winless streak this Saturday against a Pittsburgh team that has only lost once this season.
The Riverhounds’ sole defeat came on May 30 to Nashville SC at home. They’re 2-0-3 on the road in 2018, while the Battery is 4-1-2 at home. Pittsburgh handed the Battery their only home loss in 2017 and will be looking to secure three points again at MUSC Health Stadium Saturday night.
Guerra, Gordon Wild, and the rest of the Battery attack will need to be firing on all cylinders in order to break Pittsburgh down and earn three points this weekend. The Riverhounds have the best defensive record in the league with only seven goals conceded in 13 games.
Despite the distance between the two sides in the table, only three points separate the Battery from the Riverhounds. A win on Saturday would move Charleston into a tie with Pittsburgh near the top of the table.
Following Saturday’s match, the Battery will hit the road again for back-to-back away games against Toronto FC II and North Carolina FC. Pittsburgh will remain on the road after their visit to Charleston; they’ll head to Slugger FIeld to take on defending USL Champions Louisville City FC.
