The Charleston Battery fell 1-2 to El Paso Locomotive FC on Friday at Patriots Point. It was Charleston’s second game of the week after playing 120 minutes against Atlanta United on Tuesday and the team played down a man the whole second half. Jackson Conway scored a late equalizer but a stoppage time goal by El Paso made the difference.
The defeat ended Charleston’s 11-game unbeaten run in league play but the Battery remain atop the Eastern Conference table.
Charleston began the match on the front foot, an admirable start considering the squad went 120 minutes in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup just three days earlier. The Battery made meaningful progress into the final third but were missing the finishing touch on the chances.
Graham Smith nearly scored the game’s opening goal in the 33rd minute with header that just flashed just across the face of goal and went wide.
Charleston’s defense remained rigid and held El Paso to zero shots on target in the whole first half.
The Battery were reduced to 10 men after Chris Allan was shown a pair of yellow cards in a span of three minutes after light contact with Tumi Moshobane as both went for the ball.
Both sides went into the break scoreless. Charleston had more shots (11 to five) and held more possession (55%) in the opening 45 minutes. Seven yellow cards were issued in the first half.
The Battery came out of the break eager to find the opening goal. They recorded five shots in the first 15 minutes but were unable to put one in the back of the net.
El Paso took advantage of the one-man difference in the 69th minute to score the opening goal via Amando Moreno.
A noteworthy milestone was achieved in the 77th minute when midfielder Robbie Crawford entered the game off the bench. The appearance marked Crawford’s 100th match for the Battery and his 100th game in the USL Championship regular season. Crawford first joined the Battery in 2020.
Down 0-1, Ben Pirmann adjusted the lineup with more offensive firepower by bringing on forward Jackson Conway for defender Mark Segbers in the 81st minute.
Conway almost immediately delivered, scoring the equalizer in the 87th minute to make the score 1-1. Aaron Molloy’s corner kick bounced in the box off Graham Smith and Conway spun to shoot the ball off the volley. The goal was Conway’s second of the year for the Battery.
Charleston began to feel more momentum in the final moments of the match and threw numbers forward while getting good looks inside the box. However, this commitment led to El Paso springing a counterattack in the 92nd minute to reclaim the lead through Moreno.
The Battery recorded four shots in the final minutes of stoppage time, including a header by Nick Markanich that hit the woodwork, but were unable to level the score again. El Paso took home the 1-2 victory in the second all-time meeting between the two clubs.
Friday’s defeat marked the end of the Battery’s 11-game unbeaten run to start the USL Championship season, a mark that ranks tied the sixth-longest in league history.
Charleston’s record now stands at 8W-1L-3D (27pts), placing them atop the USL Championship and Eastern Conference standings.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward Jackson Conway discussed the match after the final whistle, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his immediate takeaways from tonight’s match…
I was super proud of the group the whole week. We faced some adversity, two really disappointing outcomes, but two incredible performances. Congrats El Paso, they deserve the win. Great game from them [and] e played a great game. I was very proud of our effort, hitting the post with seconds left. I’m really excited about this team.
Everybody hates to lose and I hate it for the fans. Hate it for the club, hate it for the players. But, they bossed it. They worked their tails off. We just got to pick ourselves up because we have got a tough one on Wednesday with tough travel and a player down.
Coach Pirmann on Conway’s late equalizer…
It was great for Jackson. Coming in late, getting the great goal and nearly scoring to make it 2-1. Unfortunately, they made the save and then they go down and win it late. But, we never gave up.
Jackson’s the epitome of a Battery footballer; he just grinds, he works. Whenever it comes available for him, he’s ready to go. He’s one of the best in the league in the box. It’s great to see him get another goal this season, especially after a long injury. I’m so proud of him, proud of the team, just disappointed we didn’t get the points or at least a point.
Coach Pirmann on the support from the home crowd despite the weather…
Unbelievable. Tuesday night was an incredible crowd, incredible atmosphere. Even with delays and a muggy night, we had incredible support again. Love The Regiment, the Lowcountry community. I tell the team it’s an honor to put put that badge on, and I think that our club and our players represented this team with such great integrity and spirit tonight. It didn’t go our way, but that happens in the sport. I’m proud of them, proud of our supporters, proud of what we were able to do.
The good thing about this sport is win, lose or draw, you just move on to the next one. If we won tonight, tied tonight, lose tonight, it doesn’t matter. Monterey is on the clock. It’s a difficult trip accross the country, one of the tougher travel days and one of the better teams in the league. ‘
Conway on the play that led to his goal…..
I knew where the goal was. I saw the ball bounce out, I visualized it, first-time volley top bins. It’s what I visualized, so I made it happen. I wanted to make a big impact. What [Coach] Ben told me before I went in was to get in the box and make things happen. Thankfully, I get to do that for a living. Unfortunate result tonight, but with a man down, the team showed a lot of character. It’s something we can build off of going into next week.
Conway on the undefeated streak coming to a close…
It’s going to happen, it’s the beautiful game that we play. Things are going to happen like that. It is not often that a team goes a full season undefeated. We’re going to pick ourselves up and go at it next week. The coaching staff is really good at telling us that we get to do this again next week. It’s another opportunity for us to share who we are as a team.
Conway on how the goal helps in his return to action…
It’s definitely huge because I’m trying to get the match fitness back. The medical staff and the coaching staff are really good about trying to ease me back into the swing of things. It’s so easy for me to get back in a little too quickly and then maybe things aren’t right. So, I think we did it at the perfect time. I’m happy to be back and happy to get back on the scoresheet.
Charleston travel to California to face Monterey Bay FC on Wed., May 29, in a nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network. The Battery return to Patriots Point on Sat., June 8, to host Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Tickets for the game are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups:
CHS: Kuzemka, Segbers (Conway, 81’), Archer, Smith, Drack (Dossantos, 66’), Molloy, Allan, Gutierrez (Markanich, 46’), Ycaza (Crawford, 77’), Torres (Rodriguez, 66’), Myers
ELP: Waite, Hinds (Nevarez, 60’), Alfaro, Craig, Stauffer (Yuma, 90 +4’), Calvillo, Rose (Dollenmayer, 90 +4’), Rivas (Akinyode, 59’), Moshobane, Moreno, Dhillon
Scoring Summary:
ELP – Amando Moreno, 69’
CHS – Jackson Conway (Graham Smith), 87’
ELP – Amando Moreno (Tumi Moshobane), 90+2’
