The Charleston Battery triumphed 1-2 over New Mexico United in the Black and Yellow Derby on Saturday at Isotopes Park. Charleston secured the three points thanks to the late heroics of Rubio Rubín’s match-winning goal in the 68th minute. The victory moved Charleston to the top of the USL Championship standings with 38 points.
Charleston and New Mexico kicked off the Black and Yellow Derby after an hour-long weather delay for storms in the area.
It was a relatively cagey and physical start to the match between two of the league’s top sides. Only three shots total were recorded through the midway point of the first half.
Houssou Landry was shown a yellow card in the 32nd minute, which triggered a one-game suspension for the Battery’s next match for caution accumulation. Yellow cards became more prevalent for New Mexico after the half-hour mark, with Marlon Vargas, Ousman Jabang and head coach Dennis Sanchez going into the book.
In the 39th minute, Charleston’s best chance to that point came after Emilio Ycaza broke free and led a charge down the left flank. Ycaza drew goalkeeper Alex Tambakis off his line and then cut his pass back across the face of goal to MD Myers crashing in, but Myers’ shot was blocked.
The match went into the interval tied at 0-0. Possession was even at roughly 50% each, but neither side managed to record a shot on target. Houssou tallied a game-high nine duels won in the first stanza.
Play resumed for the second half with both teams still looking for a breakthrough moment.
Charleston’s moment arrived in the 49th minute when the Battery forced an own goal by Ousman Jabang to make the score 0-1, silencing the crowd of over 11,000. Juan David Torres’ corner kick was met by Nathan Dossantos, and Jabang redirected Dossantos’ header to the net.
The own goal was the second such tally for the Battery in 2025.
New Mexico were granted a way back into the game in the 62nd minute when Marlon Vargas won a penalty by drawing a foul in the box against Aaron Molloy. Talen Maples converted from the spot a minute later, leveling the score at 1-1.
However, Charleston’s reinforcements around the hour mark – Cal Jennings, Rubio Rubín, Arturo Rodríguez – would prove to make an instant impact.
Rubín rose to the occasion and restored the Battery’s lead in the 68th minute with a header from inside the box. The play was initiated by Torres with a long free kick into the box to Jennings, and Jennings’ flick to Rubín was headed home by the Guatemala international to make the score 1-2..
The goal was Rubín’s first with the Battery and of the year. The assist was Jennings’ third of the season.
Charleston looked to seize the momentum after the go-ahead goal, with Molloy and Rubín recording shots shortly after.
New Mexico made a final push for a second goal in the dying embers of the match and forced goalkeeper Luis Zamudio to make a save in the 91st minute against Greg Hurst. Luiz Fernando hit the woodwork in the 96th minute for the hosts in their last shot of the night.
Charleston prevailed and secured the three points in the 1-2 victory over New Mexico, their third consecutive win in the Black and Yellow Derby.
The win propelled Charleston to first place in the USL Championship standings with a record of 12W-3L-2D (38pts).
Houssou Landry enjoyed a productive match in his return his old stomping grounds, leading the match in tackles won (three), recoveries (11) duels won (13).
It was a notable night for Nathan Dossantos, who played in his 100th career game in the USL Championship regular season.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward Rubio Rubín addressed the win after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his overall takeaways from the win…
Yeah, it was a very interesting and unique game. New Mexico have a clear identity, they want to play a very specific way, and you have to be well-prepared for their style of buildup. I thought we pressured them well. They did break our press once and had one really good chance in the first half, but when they break that line, you have to recover quickly and get back into structure to minimize the risk, and we did that really well in the first half.
Then we scored in the first 10 minutes of the second half, and that changes the game. We made some subs, and the match opened up a bit more. We started getting in behind them. The penalty we conceded, Molloy might have made a foul, but look, you can’t be mad at guys for trying hard and competing the way they were. I thought our response after that moment was excellent.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how you win, three points on the road against the number one team in the Western Conference is a statement. We had a player get injured in warmups, our flights were delayed, the game was delayed, everything seemed to be working against us. But, we kept our heads down and focused on ourselves. All 18 guys were locked in and ready to help the team win, and that’s what it’s all about.
I’m incredibly proud of the group, their focus, their effort, their execution. Sure, it would’ve been nice to score another goal to put it away instead of holding on, but it was a great result. Now we move forward.
Coach Pirmann on the team maintaining their composure amid the emotions and intensity…
Emotion definitely played a part in the game, and emotions are part of every match, but this one had two good teams really going for it in front of a big crowd. It was a smart crowd, too. They know how to support their team and get in your head a little. That can lead to moments where visiting players might lose composure.
But, I thought our team stayed focused and disciplined. We did concede the penalty, and Houssou picked up, what I’d call, a soft yellow early on, but even with that, we kept our cool. We stuck to focusing on ourselves. I’m unbelievably proud of our group for managing those emotions and channeling them into getting all three points.
Coach Pirmann on players coming off the bench to contribute to the winning goal…
It’s huge. We have a talented group, especially in the attack, and everyone wants to play every minute, which just isn’t possible. So, we talk a lot about valuing the chances you get and making the most of them.
Arturo, Rubio, and Cal all came on and really changed things. Cal had the assist, Rubio scored a great goal off a free kick and Arturo brought great energy. Even Chris Allan, coming back from injury, sealed the game alongside Leland late on. It was a full team effort. It’s massive to be able to use the whole roster. Rubio is riding the confidence from the Gold Cup, and hopefully, he builds even more after this goal.
Rubín on the team’s mindset going into the game…
The group mentality before the game was that we knew it was going to be difficult playing out here. We had a weather delay, but we knew that overall we could come in and get three points. That was kind of our mindset the whole time; come in and get three points, play our style and that everything was going to work out. Having the squad we have, having the depth, we were going to get opportunities, and we did at the end. So that was huge for us.
Rubín on the match-winning goal…
Right when the ball was played from Juan David, I saw Cal making a darting header. So, I just anticipated it. And, I knew the goalkeeper would come out, but if I beat him to it, then I could just tap it into the goal. I was very fortunate to be onside, to time my run well and to get my first goal for the Battery.
It’s great to score that first one, I feel like a lot of weight off my chest. Coming off the Gold Cup and bringing that confidence to Charleston, it helps me. Now, I have this momentum going forward. I want the coaches to continue to put trust in me and I know I have to earn those minutes. It just feels good to get the first.
Rubín on how the win gives momentum for the second half of the season…
It’s huge. The win for us is important as we’re fighting for the Players’ Shield. We also know how important it is to play at home in the playoffs, and we want to be the team that’s hosting throughout the postseason. We know how important it is to have our fan base and to have our support there in Charleston for those games. So, we want to keep climbing that table, get first place, and we know it’s not going to be easy, but everything is possible with this group, with this depth, with this coaching staff. We’re excited that we have this momentum and that we’re winning big games away, which is going to be huge for us to clinch that top spot.
Charleston’s next match will be at home vs. Miami FC on Sat., July 19. Tickets for the East Coast clash are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
NM: Tambakis, Seymore (Gloster, 64’), Maples, Jabang, Lindsey, Zelalem, Bailey (Pondeca, 76’), Fernando, Vargas (Rivas, 64’), Akale (Gaines, 76’), Amang (Hurst, 76’)
CHS: Zamudio, Dossantos, Akpunonu, Smith, Segbers (Rubín, 60’), Houssou, Molloy, Ycaza (Allan, 73’), Kelly (Rodriguez, 60’), Torres (Archer, 89’), Myers (Jennings, 60’)
Scoring Summary
CHS – Ousman Jabang, 49′ (Own Goal)
NM – Talen Maples, 63’
CHS – Rubio Rubín, 68’ (Cal Jennings)
