The Charleston Battery triumphed 2-1 over the Tampa Bay Rowdies in Round 4 of the USL Jägermeister Cup group stage on Saturday at Patriots Point. Charleston effectively spoiled the Rowdies’ run in the tournament after the result prevented Tampa Bay from advancing to the knockout stage. MD Myers’ tally in the second half proved to be the match-winner. The Battery completed a clean sweep of the Rowdies with the third win over the Florida club in 2025.
The night kicked off amid sweltering temperatures of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and the game’s significance weighed heavily on Tampa Bay, since the visitors needed a win to guarantee their spot in the knockout phase by winning Group 6.
Charleston, looking to play spoiler, were on the front foot early. Graham Smith nearly put the Battery in front with a header from a cross by Arturo Rodríguez in the 3rd minute, but his effort went just wide of the post.
Moments later, goalkeeper Christian Garner was tested and made his first save of the night, denying Nick Moon.
The game began to settle as it neared the middle stage of the half. At the half-hour mark, Charleston dominated possession with 72% and had completed 175 passes to Tampa Bay’s 72.
The complexion of the game changed in the 40th minute when Garner was involved in a heavy collision after making a successful high claim against Blake Bodily. Garner was unable to continue after the contact and was replaced by Luis Zamudio, assessed as a concussion substitution.
With 10 minutes of stoppage time added, the Battery pushed forward for a breakthrough goal before halftime.
That moment came in the fourth minute of stoppage time when the Rowdies authored their own demise with an own goal by Robert Castellanos, gifting the Battery a 1-0 lead. The issue was forced by Rubio Rubín, who delivered a cross to Cal Jennings in the box, but Castellanos’s attempt to disrupt the play led to a deflection that sent the ball into the net.
At the break, Charleston took the 1-0 lead while also holding roughly 67% of possession.
Play resumed in the second half with the Rowdies looking to make the most of the remaining 45 minutes left to win Group 6, or face the uncertainty of losing the group and being knocked out.
Charleston, however, were just as eager to add to their lead out of the break. Halftime sub Aaron Molloy came within inches of doing that in the 66th minute off a free kick, but his strike hit off the crossbar.
MD Myers made an instant impact off the bench and doubled the Battery’s lead in the 71st minute, roughly 10 minutes after entering the match. Molloy provided the service with a perfectly played through ball between the lines, and Myers won the foot race with Thomas Vancaeyezeele before slotting his shot into the far corner to make the score 2-0.
The goal was Myers’ 12th of the season across all competitions, and his fourth against the Rowdies in 2025. Molloy’s assist was his third of the year.
Tampa Bay began to make a last-ditch bid for a comeback in the dying moments of the match, with Woobens Pacius hitting a shot off the post in the 84th minute.
The Rowdies managed to pull one back in the 91st minute via Joey Skinner to cut the score to 2-1.
Charleston held on to secure the 2-1 victory, sinking Tampa Bay’s aspirations in the Jägermeister Cup. The Rowdies were effectively knocked out of the tournament after the results around Group 6 saw the Rowdies slide to second place and out of a wild-card spot.
The Battery completed a season sweep with their third victory of 2025 over Tampa Bay across all competitions. Charleston’s three wins were by a margin of 7-3.
Despite the result, Charleston’s run in the Jägermeister Cup comes to a close in the group stage after a record of 1W-2L-1D (5pts), including one penalty shootout win, placing them fifth in Group 6. Greenville Triumph SC won the group, leapfrogging the Rowdies after defeating FC Naples.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward Rubio Rubín addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on the overall performance in the victory…
I thought our guys were very focused on the task at hand. We moved the ball well. We were able to rotate some guys, use some players that are coming back from injuries, and maybe some players in different positions. Good performance, it shows some quality in the depth of the group. I think what it does is, when you think about the fans, about the young boys on the bench, about the depth we have, and the owners, chairman and president that allow us to get it, it’s a summary of who we want to be as a club.
Fair credit to our guys. They performed under a difficult situation. Unique game. Tampa Bay are playing for the group championship and kind of for their season in certain ways. So, fair credit to Tampa Bay, they played a good game. Dominic [Casciato] has got them organized. They’re very, very tough to defend. Since he’s taken over, the only goal they conceded was in the 95th minute with 10 men. So, to get two goals and hit the crossbar and have a couple of other chances was good, but they limited us.
That was an excellent evening. It was hot, it was tough, but we played a tough game. We played a good game. They played tough as well. They made it physical and tried to deny us, but we did enough to win.
Coach Pirmann on Garner’s exit and Zamudio entering off the bench…
That was tough play. Hopefully, Christian [Garner] is all right. That was a bad, bad foul, and he was in rough [shape]. So, hopefully, he can get better soon and we’ll be checking on him ASAP. Luis [Zamudio] is top. He had the night off, and then he didn’t. He’s got to come in with 10 to 15 minutes left in the first half and perform. You know, you’re cold and not ready. He did a good job and almost had the shutout there till the very end. Full team performance, from two goalkeepers that you never want to have that happen to, to the young boys, to everybody going for it.
Rubín on the importance of the win before the bye week…
We know it’s a rivalry. We know that it means a lot to our fans to be able to win this game. At the same time, I think we had only two points in this tournament, in the USL Jägermeister Cup, so we wanted to win here at home. We know we have five days off, so it helps us to have that mentality going into conference play. We know we have Louisville in two weeks, so mentally, we just got to prepare in these five days.
It’s huge, especially after last week, too, winning in the USL Championship. And now, obviously winning here. It just helps us, gives us momentum, and now we just take advantage of these five days and recover and get ready for what’s to come.
Rubín on what he saw in the first goal…
I checked in for the ball and then made a darting run in behind the defense, and then just tried to put it in a dangerous area. I hope it’s Cal’s goal, but I don’t know what they ended up calling it. But at the end of the day, just putting that ball in a dangerous area, helping my team to score goals and make that happen.
Someone supposedly said it was my goal, but honestly, at the end of the day, I’m just happy we won.
Charleston will have a bye week next weekend, and their next match will be away vs. Louisville City FC on Sat., August 9. The Battery’s next home game will be on Sat., Aug. 23, against Loudoun United FC for Back to School at Patriots Point. Tickets for the game are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
CHS: Garner (Zamudio, 44’), Dossantos, Smith, Archer, Segbers (Blackstock, 61’), Ycaza (Molloy, 46), Houssou, Kelly, Rubín (Myers, 62’), Rodríguez (Akpunonu, 90’+1), Jennings (Martinez, 85’)
TBR: Bandré, Guillén, Castellanos, Vancaeyezeele, Bodily, Moon (Skinner, 72’), Crisostomo (Bassett, 72’), Hilton, Wyke (Lasso, 81’), Arteaga (Pacius, 56’), Fernandes (Alvarez, 23’)
Scoring Summary
CHS – Robert Castellanos, 45’+4 (Own Goal)
CHS – MD Myers, 71’ (Aaron Molloy)
TBR – Joey Skinner, 90’+1 (Blake Bodily)
