The Charleston Battery played Oakland Roots SC to a dramatic 3-3 draw on Saturday in a packed house at Patriots Point. Charleston struck first via Cal Jennings and reclaimed the lead with an MD Myers goal early in the second half, but Oakland quickly fired back to take the lead before the hour mark. Rubio Rubín came off the bench and leveled the score, forcing the points to be shared.
After some surprise rain showers before kickoff, the Battery started the night on the front foot.
Charleston’s first dangerous chance of the match came in the 7th minute, when MD Myers redirected a cross by Langston Blackstock toward goal, but the shot was saved off the chest of Oakland goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh.
Charleston kept the pressure on as Cal Jennings nearly scored off an Aaron Molloy free kick in the 10th minute, redirecting it off the post and into McIntosh’s hands. In the 20th minute, Emilio Ycaza forced McIntosh into a diving stop with a low strike toward the bottom-right corner.
Jennings rose to the occasion in the 26th minute to put the Battery ahead, 1-0, after heading home a cross from Nate Dossantos. The play was kept alive by Dossantos after he tracked down Joey Akpunonu’s pass before rounding his run into the box. Dossantos chipped a perfect ball to Jennings on the back post, and the striker made no mistake.
The goal was Jennings’ 15th of the league campaign, adding to his lead in the Championship Golden Boot race. It was also his 16th of the year across all competitions, most on the Battery. Dossantos recorded his first assist of the season.
In the 35th minute, Graham Smith nearly doubled Charleston’s lead with a header on an open goal, but Oakland defender Neveal Hackshaw tracked back and was able to clear the shot off the line with a header.
Oakland were granted a way back into the game just before the break when they were awarded a penalty in stoppage time, conceded by Emilio Ycaza. EJ Johnson converted from the spot to level the score.
The match went into the break tied at 1-1. Charleston maintained 63% possession.
Play resumed for the second half with all still to play for.
Charleston wasted no time after the break, reclaiming the lead through Myers in the 46th minute with a sensational acrobatic strike. Langston Blackstock sent in a cross from the right side, and Myers timed his run perfectly, smashing a left-footed side volley into the back of the net from the middle of the box, making the score 2-1.
The goal was Myers’ 15th of 2025 across all competitions, and his 11th in Championship play. Blackstock notched his second assist of the season.
However, Oakland managed to equalize and claim the lead in quick succession shortly thereafter. Peter Wilson leveled the score in the 52nd minute, and then scored a go-ahead goal in the 55th minute, giving the visitors a 3-2 lead less than 10 minutes into the second half.
Ben Pirmann made an immediate change in personnel after Oakland’s third goal, bringing Rubio Rubín and Juan David Torres into the game off the bench. The pair helped Charleston restore their pressure and began knocking on the door again for an equalizer.
In the 74th minute, Rubín put his stamp on the game and scored to level the match at 3-3. Torres created space and the opportunity, advancing forward and playing a through ball to Rubín on the right side of the box. From there, Rubín charged toward the byline and struck the ball with his first touch, his shot deflected off McIntosh’s gloves and went into the back of the net.
Rubín’s goal was his third of the year and put an exclamation point on his return from FIFA World Cup qualifiers earlier in the week. Torres’ assist brought his total to nine, placing him in sole possession of the Championship Golden Playmaker race.
Charleston pushed forward for a fourth goal. Jennings recorded a pair of on-target attempts in the 82nd minute, but both were saved. Torres and Aaron Molloy tested McIntosh before the 90th minute and both shots were stopped.
The match ended 3-3 after Oakland were able to outlast Charleston’s final advances, snapping the Battery’s 10-game home winning streak.
With the result. Charleston’s record moves to 16W-5L-3d (51pts), placing them second in the Eastern Conference.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward Rubio Rubín addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his assessment of the match…
It’s a tough result. You got to win that game. We scored three goals at home, and you should put that team away. But full credit to Oakland, they played a great game. Actually, I thought we played a pretty good game overall. Defensively, especially in transition, we couldn’t deal with Bettache, 77, in the pocket. There were a couple of really bad mistakes by some really good players who don’t usually make those mistakes. At the end of the day, it’s probably a fair result. I know we had loads and loads of chances, and when you score three goals, you’re doing well.
Coach Pirmann on the team’s resilience after going down…
You’ve got to finish out the game and see it through. But credit to them for showing good character to come back after going down 3-2. We were on top of them from start to finish. We’ve got to find a way to win that game, so it’s probably on me more than the players because they worked their socks off. What an incredible crowd, but I’m disappointed we dropped the two points.
Coach Pirmann on the support at Hispanic Heritage Night…
We need to look at life and be positive, we need to focus on things we can influence, treat people with kindness and respect, and I just thank God every day that we have people like that, [the fans], the people that I get to work for and work around and go to work every day with these players because this is a positive environment and we need more of that in this world.
Rubín on his immediate takeaways from the game
I thought we were great, but we had a 10-minute lapse where, unfortunately, they scored two goals on us. [We have] got to be better in that aspect, especially against these teams that on paper are last place, but they came out today and played a good game against us, and we’ve got to do better. We can’t take these teams for granted. We’re at home, even though they’re last in the west, they’re a great team. They showed out today, and we’ve just got to prepare mentally like it’s a final every week. Especially now that we’re closing the season, every game matters, especially as we get into this Eastern Conference [playoffs], so we want to secure [home field advantage].
Rubín on making an immediate impact off the bench with his goal…
I knew we were down. I was just trying to come in, do my job, help in any way I can, score goals and assists. Then, most importantly, I just want to win the game.
I just got the ball to Juan David. Juan David slipped a great ball to me. I kind of faked that I was going inside, and just ran past. Then I saw the goal and just thought from that angle, just power. It was a little fortunate to go in, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to shoot so you can score.
It helps me a lot. It gives me a lot of confidence to try to impact as much as I can in any position that I am in, whether that’s starting or coming off the bench, helping any way I can.
Rubín on the support at Patriots Point…
I didn’t realize there were so many chapines in Charleston, the fan base [here] is incredible. The fan base here is amazing and it would have been nice to get three points, but a point helps us.
Charleston are now set for a pair of away matches, on September 20 against El Paso Locomotive FC and on September 27 against Orange County SC. The Battery’s next home game is on October 11 against defending league champions Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. Tickets for the match are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
CHS: Zamudio, Dossantos (Martínez, 71’), Akpunonu, Smith (Archer, 71’), Blackstock (Segbers, 88’), Molloy, Houssou (Rubín, 58’), Ycaza (Torres, 58’), Myers, Rodríguez, Jennings
OAK: McIntosh, Gomez, Hackshaw, Margvelashvili, Alekseev (Wilson, 46’), Byaruhanga, Elmasnaouy (Gibson, 72’), Doner, Armenakas, Bettache (RIley, 83’), Johnson (Prentice, 46’)
Scoring Summary
CHS – Cal Jennings, 26’ (Nate Dossantos)
OAK – EJ Johnson, 45+6’
CHS – MD Myers, 46’ (Langston Blackstock)
OAK – Peter Wilson, 52’ (Faysal Bettache)
OAK – Peter Wilson, 55’ (Wolfgang Prentice)
CHS – Rubio Rubín, 74’ (Juan David Torres)
