The Charleston Battery dominated San Antonio FC in a sensational 4-0 win in front of a packed house for Military Appreciation Night at Patriots Point on Saturday. Birthday boy Cal Jennings tagged San Antonio twice, and additional scores via an own goal and tally by Johnny Klein secured the three points for the Battery. Luis Zamudio recorded his second shutout of the year. The win launched Charleston to the top of the USL Championship standings.
Charleston’s night was off to a fast start, as the hosts applied pressure early to the Western Conference’s top side. Juan David Torres nearly broke the game open in the 3rd minute but his volley went just wide of the goal. Torres and Aaron Molloy both had on-target shots in the first 10 minutes but both were saved.
Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio was called into action in the 7th minute to save Jake LaCava’s shot from inside the box in the 7th minute.
After pressure continued to mount in the middle stage of the first half, the Battery were awarded a penalty after Nathan Dossantos was taken down in the box by Nicky Hernandez in the 23rd minute.
Cal Jennings, celebrating his 28th birthday, stepped up to the spot in the and sent goalkeeper Richard Sanchez the wrong way to give the Battery a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute. The goal extended Jennings’ goal contribution streak to eight games in a row.
Charleston kept up the tempo and were vying for a second goal immediately after Jennings converted.
Arturo Rodriguez was the man who found the Battery’s second goal after Torres picked him out with a sublime diagonal ball from the center circle. Rodriguez then lined up his shot from the edge of the box, and it was deflected by San Antonio’s Mohamed Omar before going into the net in the 30th minute. The tally was officially ruled an own goal by Omar to make the score 2-0.
The Battery’s defense was stifling as the half wore on toward the interval, and San Antonio went without a shot after the 9th minute
Charleston took the 2-0 lead into the break after a dominant first 45 minutes. The hosts had the lion’s share of shots, eight to two (five to one on target), and held roughly 56% possession.
The Battery came out of the gate firing in the second half. Rodriguez tested Sanchez after just 17 seconds into the new half with a shot that was saved.
Charleston’s pressure would pay off again just before the hour mark when their relentless attack on San Antonio’s defense produced the third goal.
Jennings was the man again to knock it in for the Battery to give them a 3-0 lead in the 57th minute. The play was initiated by Torres, who released Dossantos toward the box for a dangerous look. Dossantos played to ball to Rodriguez, and Rodriguez’s first-time shot was saved, but was not secured and fell right to Jennings at the goal line. Jennings then leisurely strolled the ball into the net.
The goal brings Jennings’ total to nine, making him the sole leader in the Championship Golden Boot race.
As the match neared the closing stages, Charleston’s defense kept San Antonio without much of an opportunity. The visitors would not register another shot on target until stoppage time, when Zamudio saved Luco Berron’s attempt in the 92nd minute.
The Battery scored their fourth goal of the night when Johnny Klein came off the bench and went onto the scoresheet in the 90th minute, after entering the match just two minutes earlier. The chance was created when Mark Segbers played a clever ball into the box to Rubio Rubín, and Rubín went the distance to play the ball square to Klein and past Sanchez’s dive. Klein simply knocked the ball in uncontested to firmly put the game to bed.
Klein’s goal and Rubín’s assist were their first of the season, respectively.
Charleston secured the 4-0 win over San Antonio, sending the Battery to the top of the league with their sixth consecutive Championship victory.
The Battery’s record now advances to 7W-2L-0D (21pts) as they handed San Antonio their first road loss in league play. It was also Charleston’s first triumph over the Texas club after going winless in the previous three meetings.
It was also a noteworthy night for Emilio Ycaza and Nathan Dossantos, who made their 75th and 50th Battery appearances, respectively.
The brace for Jennings was his second of the season.
Luis Zamudio’s relatively calm day at the office required him to make only two saves en route to his second clean sheet of the year.
Defender Joey Akpunonu led the way on defense with a match-high 13 clearances, along with two tackles won, two blocks, three recoveries and five duels won. Akpunonu and home debutant Michael Edwards turned in another lockdown performance as a center-back pairing.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward Cal Jennings addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on execution and the team’s dominance tonight…
When we’re selfless and we move the ball quickly in the attack, we can create danger. I thought our reactions on the cross, on the next play, on the turnover were excellent. In the counterpress, we were very aggressive, but we had good structure. We made good recoveries. I didn’t think we let San Antonio breathe the whole game. They were missing a player at the back, which was important, and we had to put them under pressure, and we did.
Honestly, from start to finish, every single player that played tonight was top. They moved the ball incredibly well, quickly, selflessly, with intent and with purpose, and then hunted them out of possession. When you do that, you can just sit back and watch, and hopefully it goes our way. We played a very thorough match tonight and that was very well deserved.
Coach Pirmann on the Patriots Point atmosphere for Military Appreciation Night…
Being at home at Patriots Point is incredible, you can hear them, there was an electric crowd tonight, both in quantity and quality. The energy was there from start to finish, they urged us on.
I would say that the Military Appreciation evening just added to it. The flyover, the national anthem, everything was great. It’s a great evening for our club, great evening for our community. We just want to keep getting better and go from there.
Coach Pirmann on staying grounded during a hot streak…
We’ll come back on Tuesday and it’s all about beating Detroit. Detroit is tremendous. We lost to them at their place last year and tied them at home, so we need to beat them and they’re very good. That’s one of the toughest places to play. Every game is a new challenge and we played excellent tonight. The boys will enjoy it and then it’s all about going to Detroit and a very tough game.
Jennings on converting from the penalty spot…
Goalies do a lot of research on [penalty kicks], but I’m confident to step up. I know the team trusts me to put it away and I did that tonight. But, it’s awesome. I’ll take the easy goals, a product of the team really playing well. I’m just really trying to trust the team and do my role.
Jennings on scoring on his 28th birthday…
I don’t always expect [goals] on my birthday, but I was coming out here tonight just trying to find the kid in me, enjoy the game and be happy to come away with two. I think I have scored on my birthday before, but it doesn’t always fall on a Saturday.
Jennings on breaking through San Antonio’s back line…
I thought we moved the ball really well and, honestly, we just have a lot of talent, too. Guys that we can put the ball into. They can break pressure and frustrate the other teams and I thought a lot of guys had really good performances tonight.
MD and I are working our butts off up there, running, trying to trying to get us extra opportunities and the team is doing a great job of picking up those and and creating chances, whether that’s penalties, whether that shots, where we’re getting rebounds. We’re just trying to stay focused and get them anyway.
Jennings on the atmosphere during Military Appreciation Night…
We wanted to show that fight out there. Honestly, every time we’re at home, we want to put on a show for our fans and I thought we did that tonight with the four goals, the clean sheet, and an all-around performance.
Charleston’s next match will be away vs. Detroit City FC on Sat., May 24. The Battery’s next home match will be vs. Greenville Triumph SC on Sat., May 31, in the USL Jӓgermeister Cup. Tickets for the game are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
CHS: Zamudio, Dossantos, Akpunonu, Edwards, Houssou, Allan (Segbers, 73’), Molloy, Rodríguez (Ycaza, 82’), Myers (Klein, 88’), Torres (Martínez, 73’), Jennings (Rubín, 73’)
SA: Sánchez, Buckmaster (Erofeev, 68’), Omar (Souahy, 82’), Crognale, Berrón, Hernandez (Soto, 68’), Medranda, Paredes (Flores, 68’), Hernández, LaCava, Pacheco (Haakenson, 16’)
Scoring Summary
CHS – Cal Jennings, 24’
CHS – Mohamed Omar (Own Goal), 30’
CHS – Cal Jennings, 58’
CHS – Johnny Klein, 90’ (Rubio Rubín)
