The Charleston Battery triumphed 1-0 over North Carolina FC in the Southern Derby on Sunday at Patriots Point on national television. Emilio Ycaza scored the winner just before halftime and Luis Zamudio recorded his second consecutive shutout en route to the victory. Charleston won their 11th Southern Derby Cup with the result, with their away goal scored in the first leg being the deciding tiebreaker.
The evening was off to a relatively tame start before rainy conditions overtook the stadium at the quarter-hour mark. The Battery dominated possession in that span, retaining roughly 80% possession.
Despite the slick conditions, the game picked up intensity and Charleston nearly broke through in the 19th minute. Emilio Ycaza, deputizing at forward next to MD Myers, came close to scoring when he snuck a shot past goalkeeper Jake McGuire and the ball looked destined for goal, but Finn Sundstrom cleared the ball off the line. Follow-up shots by Juan David Torres and Aaron Molloy were blocked.
The rain continued to come down hard throughout the first half, limiting both sides’ ability to move the ball forward effectively. Neither team recorded a shot on target through the 39th minute.
Charleston’s breakthrough came in the 40th minute when Ycaza would not be denied in the box to give Battery a 1-0 lead right before the break. Langston Blackstock picked out Ycaza’s late run into the box with a low cross, and Ycaza nonchalantly struck the ball first-time to the far post.
The goal was Ycaza’s second of the season and first of the league campaign. Blackstock’s assist was his first of the year.
On defense, Graham Smith anchored the back line with five clearances in the first half to help keep North Carolina off the board.
Charleston took the 1-0 lead into the break after dominating both overall shots (10 to four) and possession (78.1% to 21.9%).
Play resumed for the second half and North Carolina immediately vied for an equalizer, but Oalex Anderson’s shot deflected off Joey Akpunonu and hit the post.
Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio, who had a relatively uneventful night, was called into action in the 55th minute to make his first save of the match, denying Anderson.
A notable moment came in the 62nd minute when midfielder Jeremy Kelly made his home debut off the bench, his third appearance for the Battery but the first at Patriots Point.
Cal Jennings almost doubled Charleston’s lead in the 73rd minute, but his shot was saved wide by McGuire to keep the score at 1-0.
Rubio Rubín made his return to Patriots Point in the 84th minute, subbing in for Ycaza. It was Rubín’s first club appearance since leaving for international duty with Guatemala, competing in World Cup qualification and later Los Chapines’ historic run in the Concacaf Gold Cup.
Facing defeat, North Carolina made a last-ditch effort in stoppage time to steal a point with an equalizer. However, Zamudio was up for the task and made two clutch saves in toppage time, denying Bryce Washington in the 93rd minute and Rafa Mentzingen in the 96th minute.
Charleston held on and secured the 1-0 victory over North Carolina in the Southern Derby. The win split the season series as Charleston got retribution for the result in the reverse fixture in March, and evened the all-time series at 8W-8L-4D for both clubs.
The result advances the Battery’s record to 11W-3L-2D (35pts), good for second in the Eastern Conference.
Charleston were crowned winners of the Southern Derby by the supporters on account of the away goal they scored in the March match as the tiebreaker. It’s the Battery’s 11th time lifting the Southern Derby Cup.
Luis Zamudio tallied three saves on the night en route to his fourth clean sheet of the season, and second in as many games.
Langston Blackstock had a productive two-way game, assisting Ycaza’s match-winner in addition to two interceptions, four clearances, two duels won and four recoveries.
Graham Smith played his first full 90-minute match since April 5 and led the team in duels won (eight) and blocks (three).
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and midfielder Emilio Ycaza addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his takeaways from the win…
It was a tough game and a tough week. I thought we played well this week, and I was disappointed to drop two points [on Wednesday]. So, there was a minimum of three points tonight.
One of the messages we sent to the team was: We have to win ugly. In the first half, we had 80 percent possession. It was 10 to two [sic] in shots. We dominated. We did a lot of very good things, scored a great goal, one of the patterns we worked on and then we dug it out. The field wasn’t great, the wind was crazy, the opponent was tough. They don’t concede easily.
For me, our guys just dug through it. Tough week, got three points, and now we rest and get ready for the next one.
Coach Pirmann on what’s been working defensively for a second consecutive shutout…
We’ve been getting a little bit more consistent and cohesive, back-to-back 90 minutes of shutouts, so we can build off that. Now, we just have to get back to who we are, that balance in the attack. We’re getting a little bit better, whether that’s being more accountable out of possession, being aggressive and confronting, winning our duels, getting more from the full team.
Sometimes you just have to make your plays, whether that’s Luis making the save, or Graham or Joey making a block, or the outside backs getting involved, Houssou and Aaron in front of the back line were good as well. We were good there tonight. If we can keep shutouts like that, that’s good, we just need to be more potent in the attack. That’s a tough team to break down, and I thought we had enough chances to win the game.
Coach Pirmann on the significance of winning the Southern Derby again…
You always want to beat your rival. You always want to win the trophy. We tied them this year, 1–2 loss and a 1–0 win, so I don’t know who gets the trophy or how that works. But fair play to them. They’ve had a great season.
Any time you play a top team, a rival, someone in close proximity, there’s always that added element. But tonight it was all about us. We wanted to focus on ourselves, make improvements, and fight for three points.
Ycaza on overcoming the game’s weather conditions…
It was a tough playing field. It was raining so, I think, if I would shoot low [on the goal] and just hope that it may take some bounces and stuff like that. Just make the most of the opportunity.
I think it was nice, with this Charleston summer, the rain was quite refreshing.
Yeah, I think that’s the most important thing. We played a lot of really good games. We’re able to keep these clean sheets. Our goals are always going to come, we’re the top-scoring team in the league. So, if we keep more clean sheets, we’ll have a lot more three points.
Ycaza on the team’s mindset going into the rivalry game…
North Carolina is super defensive, so I think it was all about breaking lines, because if we played too slow, the gaps were going to close out. So, I think it was just looking to play forward and play quickly.
Overall, the team, we were playing in their half, so it’s easier to look to create chances. So as we get forward, we need to take shots from outside of the box to be able to open up the spaces in behind.
This match is played for a trophy, and the goals we had this year are ambitious, so lifting a trophy now is going to help us to do well in the playoffs.
Charleston’s next match will be away vs. New Mexico United on Sat., July 12. The Battery are back at Patriots Point on Sat., July 19, to take on Miami FC. Tickets for the home match are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
CHS: Zamudio, Dossantos, Smith, Akpunonu, Blackstock, Houssou (Allan, 90’+2), Molloy, Rodríguez (Kelly, 62’), Ycaza (Rubín, 84’), Torres (Segbers, 90’+2), Myers (Jennings, 62’)
NC: McGuire, Craig, Washington, Sundstrom, Burner (Servania, 80’), Maldonado, Somersall (Luckhurst, 89’), Mentzingen, Perez (Al-Qaq, 71’), Dolabella (Da Costa, 72’), Anderson (Conway, 80’)
Scoring Summary
CHS – Emilio Ycaza, 40’ (Langston Blackstock)
