Charleston
On a short week, the Charleston Battery will be looking to capitalize on the momentum generated by Heviel Cordoves’ 84th minute game-winning goal scored against the Richmond Kickers last Saturday. Cordoves’ near post flick lifted a 10-man Battery to three points at home and into third place in the Eastern Conference in the team’s last contest.
In the match against the Kickers, Romario Williams was sent off in the 37th minute after kicking out at a Richmond defender. Despite playing down a man for nearly 60 minutes, Maikel Chang and Cordoves connected on a corner kick late in the second half to steal three points for the Battery. The goal was Cordoves’ third of the season. The Cuban striker will likely get the start Wednesday against Charlotte with Williams serving the first of a three game suspension.
While the Battery stole three points at home last weekend, Rochester dropped points on the road, drawing, 1-1, with Pittsburgh. The results allowed Charleston to leapfrog the Rhinos and move into third place in the Eastern Conference. The Battery are now one point ahead of Rochester and just four points behind second-place Charlotte. Charleston and Charlotte will meet again on the final day of the season in North Carolina.
A win or draw against Charlotte will push the Battery’s home unbeaten streak to thirteen games with one left to play. Charleston haven’t lost at MUSC Health Stadium since suffering a 2-1 defeat to Pittsburgh on April 8. Charlotte have never won at MUSC Health Stadium, going 0-2-2 in their four matches in Charleston.
Charlotte
Similar to Charleston, Charlotte will be carrying momentum from final minute heroics in their previous match. After falling behind to Ottawa Fury FC early, Lewis Hilton scored an 89th minute equalizer to rescue a point for Charlotte at home last Saturday. The goal was the USL rookie’s fourth of the year.
The Independence currently sit in second place in the USL Eastern Conference and are within striking distance of first-place Louisville. After a tough start to the 2017 season, Charlotte put together a very impressive run of games over the summer to take them to the top of the table. The Independence went unbeaten in twelve straight games, seven of which were on the road. That stretch of matches included six straight wins leading to an 8-0-4 record.
Charlotte are one of the best attacking teams in the USL. With 51 goals, they sit atop the Eastern Conference in scoring, just behind Reno 1868 for the USL lead. The Independence have two players with double-digit goals; Enzo Martinez has 16 goals and is currently tied for the league-lead and Jorge Herrera has twelve goals. Martinez did not play in the Battery’s 2-0 win over Charlotte on April 1.
Previous Meeting(s)
Last time the two teams met:
April 1, 2017 – TransAmerica Field – Charleston Battery (2) – Charlotte Independence (0)
- Scoring Summary – Romario Williams (70); Forrest Lasso (77)
Last time at MUSC Health Stadium:
August 27, 2016 – MUSC Health Stadium – Charleston Battery (1) – Charlotte Independence (0)
- Scoring Summary – Maikel Chang (50)
Game Notes
Records
- Charleston: 12-7-8; goals 43; goals against 29; GD +14
- Home: 8-1-5; goals 28 ; goals against 12 ; GD +16
- Away: 4-6-3; goals 15; goals against; 18; GD -3
- Charlotte: 13-5-9; goals 51; goals against 32; GD +19
- Home: 7-2-5; goals 27; goals against 14; GD +13
- Away: 6-3-4; goals 24; goals against 18; GD +6
Form
- Charleston: D | W | L | L | W
- Charlotte: W | D | L | W | D
Statistical Leaders
- Charleston
- Goals: Romario Williams (15)
- Assists: Justin Portillo (6)
- Points: Romario Williams (32)
- Minutes: Taylor Mueller, Justin Portillo (2,430)
- Charlotte
- Goals: Enzo Martinez (16)
- Assists: Jorge Herrera, Enzo Martinez (5)
- Points: Enzo Martinez (37)
- Minutes: Cody Mizell (2,340)
