Presented by MUSC Health
The Charleston Battery are set to host Birmingham Legion FC in the USL Championship Eastern Conference Semifinals on Sat., Oct. 28. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET at Patriots Point.
Charleston and Birmingham meet for the third time in 2023, and the second time in two weeks. The southern sides faced off in the regular season finale, a 1-0 victory for the Battery, on Oct. 14. Charleston also defeated Birmingham in the reverse fixture in July, a 1-2 result in Alabama.
No. 3 Charleston advanced to the semifinals after a sensational 5-0 victory over Indy Eleven in the opening round. The Battery had five different goalscorers contribute, with Emilio Ycaza, Arturo Rodiguez, Augi Williams, Fidel Barajas and Nick Markanich all scoring. The Battery became only the second team to have five different players score in a USL Championship Playoffs match after Real Monarchs SLC achieved the feat in 2019.
No. 7 Birmingham made it out of the opening round with a dominant 0-3 road win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Legion FC’s triumph were one of three upsets in the conference that night. Goals from Tabort Preston, Diba Nwegbo and Prosper Kassim powered their dismantling of the Rowdies. Birmingham will look to turn in their best performance against the Battery on Saturday to avenge the previous two defeats.
Fidel Barajas is a player to watch for the Battery. The Mexican youth international tallied an assist and a goal in his USL Playoffs debut.
Tabort Preston is one to keep an eye on for Legion FC. The striker also turned in a one goal-one assist performance in the opening round of the playoffs.
The all-time series between the Battery and Legion FC is an even three wins apiece and one draw. Saturday will mark the first time the sides meet in the postseason.
A number to note for the Battery is 10. Charleston have scored 10 goals inside the opening 15 minutes of games this season, tied for second-most in the league, and have scored 10 goals from corner kicks, also second in the league.
Charleston, winners of four league titles in the club’s history, are looking to reach the final four in the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
The victors on Saturday at Patriots Point will face the winner of the No. 5 Louisville City FC vs. No. 8 Detroit City FC semifinal.
FROM THE TRAINING GROUND
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and midfielder Chris Allan addressed the media prior to the conference semifinal, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on how his message to the team has compared to previous weeks…
Nothing changes, it’s all about being the best version of ourselves, and making sure we outwork our opponent. Training has been good, a day less than last week with the build-up, but we’ll be ready. I know Birmingham will be ready. So, we have to make sure we’re getting better, a little bit of improvement, and then making sure we’re ready for a strong opponent.
Coach Pirmann on facing Birmingham for a third time this year…
They’re one of the most talented teams in the league, we played them two weeks ago. But, it’ll be a totally different game. It’ll be a 50-50 game. I think [Birmingham] will have their defensive pressure ready to go. They’ll have their attacking patterns and movements, there are four or five key guys that we have to be ready to defend. They’re one of the most athletic and, and best attacking teams in the league.
Allan on preparations this week going into Saturday…
It’s been great, we’ve been disciplined, we’re just taking it day by day. We’re taking [the playoffs] in our stride with the prep in getting ready for Saturday. We’re still going to play our game, but of course, we have to adapt to how Birmingham also want to play, especially defensively for us. Certainly working on that side of the film.
Allan on the squad’s mindset going into the next round of the playoffs…
I think we’ll be ready for the task. We’re hungry to win. We just have a desire to take it game by game, press and move forward. To get into that next round is the goal and trying to do it in front of the fans in the best way possible.
MATCH INFO
Eastern Conference Semifinal
Charleston Battery vs. Birmingham Legion FC
Saturday, October 28 – 7 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.
