Presented by MUSC Health
The Charleston Battery are set to host Monterey Bay FC on Sat., May 20, in an interconference showdown in the Lowcountry. Kickoff at Patriots Point is set for 5 p.m. ET.
Saturday’s clash is the first-ever fixture between Charleston and Monterey Bay. MBFC played their inaugural season last year.
The Battery (5W-2L-3D, 18 pts) will look to bounce back from their previous match, a 0-7 defeat at home to San Antonio FC in a game that was the Battery’s third match in seven days. Despite the loss, Charleston remain atop the Eastern Conference table, one point ahead of Louisville City FC.
Monterey Bay (3W-3L-4D, 13 pts) enter Saturday’s game also aiming to rebound from a defeat in the previous week. MBFC fell 2-1 on the road to New Mexico United after making a late charge to tie the game that ultimately came up short.
Fidel Barajas is one to keep an eye on for the Battery. The youngster got off to a hot start with one goal and three assists in the season’s opening quarter and will look to add to his total on Saturday.
Alex Dixon is the player to watch for Monterey Bay. He leads MBFC with seven goals in 10 games this season and has tallied three goals and one assist all-time against the Battery in 11 appearances.
Robbie Crawford will have an opportunity to face his former club for the first time. Crawford spent the first half of the 2022 season with Monterey Bay before completing a transfer back to Charleston.
Aidan Apodaca is approaching 100 career appearances in the USL Championship regular season, he currently sits at 98.
Augi Williams will look to continue climbing the ranks of the USL Championship’s all-time regular season scoring list. Williams has tallied 58 goals, the 13th-most in league history, and is four away from cracking the top 10.
The club is celebrating Night of Champions where local teams, all sports and ages, will be recognized during the evening for winning their respective competitions.
FROM THE TRAINING GROUND
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and midfielder Robbie Crawford discussed the upcoming match against Monterey Bay, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his message to the team this week…
I think we want a response from last weekend and it’s natural to have a response after a disappointing performance, but we need more than a natural response. We need to go above and beyond; make sure we’re getting things right, both with our attitude and our effort, but also tactically and executing tasks.
We’re a little banged up, like most teams in the league. Monterey Bay, they’ve got as many injuries as anybody else. So for us, it’s about finding some pairings. And, it’s about getting better every single day and then on Saturday enjoying ourselves and pushing for all three points.
Coach Pirmann on his assessment of the season so far…
After Saturday’s game against Monterey Bay, we’ll be just under a third of the way through the season, that’s a very good benchmark to see how things are going. We’ve had a great season so far, with a good run in the Open Cup, and currently we sit in first place in the Eastern Conference, but that doesn’t matter right now. We got to make sure that we’re getting better every single day. It’s always, always, always about improving.
Crawford on the squad’s mindset while looking to bounce back this weekend…
Saturday was really a tough one for everyone, players, staff, fans. We just need to look at the positives from the weeks before that and can kind of forget about [the San Antonio game] as best we can. Learn from our mistakes and the lessons, which I think we have. So, a tough one, but I think we’ve responded really well, the guys have been positive and it’s been a good week so far.
Crawford on playing in front of the large crowd that’s expected on Saturday…
It’s always huge for us as players. That’s what we want. We want big, big crowds, a big atmosphere, those help us push for the three points. We’ve had a few weather issues on the Saturday nights previously, but this weekend will be great and we’re really excited to bounce back and show the fans what we’re all about.
MATCH INFO
Charleston Battery vs. Monterey Bay FC
Saturday, May 20 – 5 p.m. ET Kickoff
Patriots Point
HOW TO WATCH:
Only a very limited number of tickets are still available for Saturday’s match and can be purchased via SeatGeek.com, the Battery’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
All Battery matches will also stream on ESPN+ domestically and through the league’s YouTube channel for free internationally.
