Presented by MUSC Health
The Charleston Battery are set to host Louisville City FC on Sat., Nov. 4, in the Eastern Conference Final. Kickoff at Patriots Point is 7:30 p.m. ET.
Charleston and Louisville meet for a third time after the previous two contests ended in draws. The sides tied 0-0 at Patriots Point back in April and 1-1 at Lynn Family Stadium in August. The Battery and LouCity have met twice before in the playoffs, with the Kentucky club winning both matches.
Silverware is at stake on Saturday. The winners will lift the trophy as Eastern Conference Champions after the match in addition to punching their ticket to the USL Championship Final.
No. 3 Charleston enter the Conference Final after defeating No. 7 Birmingham Legion FC in the semifinals, 2-1. Emilio Ycaza scored his second goal in as many playoff games and a late winner knocked in by Derek Dodson made the difference on the night. The Battery have reached the final four of the playoffs for the first time since 2013 and will look to make the final for the first time since 2012.
No. 5 Louisville arrive in the Lowcountry following their knocking out of No. 8 Detroit City FC in the semifinals, 4-0. LouCity overwhelmed Detroit throughout the match and denied the Michigan club a chance to continue their Cinderella story as the 8 seed. Louisville have made a habit of reaching this stage in the playoffs and have done so nine consecutive times.
Robbie Crawford is a player to watch for the Battery. Crawford has big game experience from his appearances in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League qualification rounds, in addition to other playoffs and tournaments around the globe. Look for his leadership to play a role in guiding the relatively young Battery side on Saturday.
Brian Ownby is one to keep an eye on for Louisville. The veteran was part of LouCity’s two titles in 2017 and 2018, and has nine goals and six assists across 22 career playoff matches with Louisville.
Saturday’s match will feature the two goalkeepers with the most shutouts across the regular season and playoffs in the Championship this season. Trey Muse and LouCity’s Oliver Semmle both lead the way with 13 clean sheets.
This weekend will mark the 18th all-time meeting between Charleston and Louisville; third in the postseason.
The victors of Saturday’s match will face the winner of the No. 1 Sacramento Republic FC vs. No. 6 Phoenix Rising FC Western Conference Final. The USL Championship Final will take place on Sun., Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. ET. The location is TBD based on the results of the Conference Finals, Sacramento currently hold the advantage to host the final.
FROM THE TRAINING GROUND
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and goalkeeper Trey Muse addressed the media prior to the Conference Final, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on the theme of training this week…
It’s still about having a growth mindset and constantly improving. Third round of the playoffs, playing for a trophy against the top team, the focus is just improving ourselves. Making sure we’re ready to play, making sure we’re good in our rhythm on the ball. Out of possession, making sure we’re aggressive and prepared in both of the transition moments. So, we’re ready to go and we know Louisville will be ready to go.
Coach Pirmann on what to watch for with LouCity…
They’re the champions, they’ve been [to the Conference Final] nine times in a row, they’ve got experience, they got loads of talented players, they’re very well coached, they’re well drilled. I think it’s gonna be a 50-50 game. They’ve been very good out of possession and pressuring their opponents. They’re Louisville, they’ve always been good in the build-up phases.
Muse on the mentality of the squad heading into the Conference Final…
We’ve had a good week of training so far. We’re trying to continue to implement what we want to do in the game, preparing for what we might face come Saturday. I would say we’re excited, but we understand we’ve got a tough opponent and those are all things that we’ll have to factor in.
Muse on the influence the home support could have on the game…
It’s great for us. I think our energy within the stadium, and more specifically behind the goals, it makes it really difficult to hear, to organize, to communicate and then you’ve got cheering throughout the game. For me and the team, we feed off of that, we use that to try to push us on. I hope we can use that to our advantage, to push for a good game against Louisville.
MATCH INFO
Eastern Conference Final
Charleston Battery vs. Louisville City FC
Saturday, November 4 – 7:30 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.
