The Charleston Battery fell in a 1-0 away defeat against Rhode Island FC in Week 26 of the USL Championship on Saturday at Centreville Bank Stadium. After a scoreless first half, the night’s decisive moment came in the 69th minute on a goal by JJ Williams, which saw the points go Rhode Island’s way.
Charleston entered the match needing a win or a draw to officially punch their ticket to the 2025 USL Championship Playoffs.
Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio faced a major test in the 6th minute on a shot by Marc Ybarra. It was a sneaky flick by Ybarra, but his first-time hit off the cross to the near post was handled by Zamudio for the first save of the evening.
The Battery held roughly 64% possession through the half-hour mark, but did not record a shot during that time. Houssou Landry had Charleston’s first shot in the 36th minute, an on-target effort but right at goalkeeper Koke Vegas.
Pressure from the visitors began to mount in the final stages of the first half. Rubio Rubín connected with Arturo Rodríguez in a dangerous advance into the box in the 42nd minute, but Rodríguez’s shot went just wide of the near post.
Zamudio made his second save of the half in the 44th minute, denying Matthew Corcoran.
The game went into the break all square and scoreless. Each side had three shots, but Charleston had the majority of possession (65.6%) in the first 45 minutes.
Play resumed in the second half with both sides looking for a breakthrough moment.
However, neither side recorded a shot until Jeremy Kelly’s on-target hit in the 63rd minute that Vegas saved.
Rhode Island managed to take a 1-0 lead in the 69th minute via JJ Williams.
Charleston looked for a late equalizer after the hosts took the lead, but Rhode Island’s defense tightened. The Battery recorded only two shots the rest of the night, attempts off target by Kelly in the 86th minute and Langston Blackstock in the 91st minute.
Rhode Island held on to secure the 1-0 win, effectively splitting the regular season series with one win apiece between the sides.
The result moves Charleston’s record to 15W-5L-2D (47pts) and prevents them from clinching a spot in the postseason for another week.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and midfielder Aaron Molloy addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his immediate takeaways from the match…
It was a cagey game, we knew it could be like that going in. I compared it to the away Birmingham game, where you’re playing against a very talented and well-coached team who maybe have been a little bit snake-bitten in the past, or not quite getting the results they wanted. But, we knew that it was going to be a high-energy performance from them, and the game played out exactly as we anticipated.
We knew physically JJ Williams is an absolute handful. And when it’s a physical game, that plays into his hands, and he made the big play. At the end of the day, I thought we had more than enough box entries and really dangerous positions, but just not enough clear-cut, game-breaking chances. Whether that was drawing a save, maybe being more aggressive with our runs in the box, or needing a deflection, whatever it might be, we were just a little bit short there.
In the end, you can’t fault the performance, you can’t fault the attitude. The effort from our guys was top. We went in against a team that wants to play the game, and we dominated the majority of the phases of the evening. We just didn’t execute on a couple of plays, and they made the big play while we didn’t. So, you come away with zero points. That’s football. I don’t think it’s the end of the world. I don’t think there’s anything to be too discouraged about, outside of just dropping points in a big game. Now, we’ve got to learn from it, reflect, and get better for Indy.
Coach Pirmann on the difficulties faced against Rhode Island’s defense…
I think we used the term after the game when we spoke to the team, we just need to be a little bit more aggressive, or in a positive way, reckless, getting the ball in the box at times. We had some great passing sequences. We had some great counter-pressing. We really dominated. I don’t know all of the stats right now, but we really dominated the game. They didn’t have much going.
I felt like things were tilting in our favor with possession and territory, but when you have that possession and territory, and you get to those dangerous assist zones, you’ve got to make more out of it. So, whether it’s being more thorough with whipping balls in and getting runners in the box, being more aggressive with our shape to push higher for the second balls, or sometimes, at the end of the day, it’s high-level football. Sometimes, you just need one player to make a big play and find the back of the net or make the block to keep them away. It just didn’t fall for us tonight.
Coach Pirmann on turning the page to next weekend’s home game against Indy Eleven…
I think anytime you play at home, there’s a little bit more natural aggression, a desire to go make the final attack, but you also have to balance that with defending the transitions. Indy are very comfortable not having the ball, so there could be a lot of plays like today, where we’re shifting and moving the ball against a really organized and compact defense. We just need to build a little bit sharper and a little bit quicker.
We definitely need to disguise things a little bit better. I think we can create the numerical overloads a little better. Things that we’ve been really good at all season, we were just maybe half a step off tonight. Whether that’s making the big play to create a bigger chance, finishing that bigger chance, or blocking them from scoring, that’s the difference.
Molloy on his immediate assessment of the game…
We’re disappointed. I thought we played pretty well. The game had some chances in the first half, but credit Rhode Island, they made the big play, and that’s it. Now, it’s back to the drawing board next week, and we’ll get ready for Indy.
Rhode Island were in the mid-block, low-block at times, and made it really difficult for us to play through the middle. They really clogged it up in there and made it challenging for us, and we had to go around them at times. Then in the second half, they made us pay. But, it is what it is, so we’ll move on and get going again next week.
Molloy on the team’s mindset going into the next match…
It’s fantastic knowing we have two home games. The crowds at Patriots Point have been fantastic this year. We’re really excited to be at home for two weeks in a row. We just need to put this one behind us. The biggest thing now is looking ahead to securing three points and learning from tonight as we move into next weekend.
Charleston’s next match will be home vs. Indy Eleven on Sat., Sept. 6. Tickets for Kick Childhood Cancer Night at Patriots Point are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
RI: Vegas, Mabika (Stoneman, 80’), Yao, Bacharach, Kwizera, Corcoran (Harivaux, 67’), Ybarra, Holstad, Shapiro-Thompson (Atkinson, 61’), Rodriguez (Brito, 80’), Williams
CHS: Zamudio, Blackstock, Archer (Akponunu, 74’), Smith, Houssou (Martínez, 73’), Kelly, Ycaza (Segbers, 87’), Molloy, Rodríguez, Myers (Jennings, 64’), Rubín
Scoring Summary
RI – JJ Williams, 69’ (Maxi Rodriguez)
