Presented by MUSC Health
Matchday Preview
The Charleston Battery hit the road again to take on El Paso Locomotive FC on Sat., Sept. 20, in Week 29 of the USL Championship regular season.
Charleston and El Paso meet for the first and only time in the regular season this year. El Paso won the previous meeting, 1-2, at Patriots Point in 2024.
The Battery (16W-5L-3D, 51pts) head to Texas looking to get back into the win column after settling for a draw against Oakland Roots SC on Saturday. A dramatic 3-3 affair, Charleston had goals by Cal Jennings, MD Myers and Rubio Rubín, but a span of five minutes in the second half where Oakland scored twice proved decisive in the draw. The result snapped the Battery’s 10-game winning streak at home in Championship play.
El Paso (8W-7L-8D, 32pts) enter this weekend on a two-game losing run after being dealt defeat by Loudoun United FC and North Carolina FC in successive weeks. The loss to North Carolina was decided by a goal from Evan Conway just before halftime. Wahab Ackwei was shown a red card in just the 14th minute for denial of a goalscoring opportunity.
Looking at the respective tables, Charleston are second in the Eastern Conference and El Paso are fifth in the Western Conference.
Storylines of the Match
Third All-Time Meeting – While Charleston and El Paso have limited history, the fixture has favored the Texas club. El Paso have won both meetings thanks to late goals in each result. The inaugural fixture was decided by a winner in the 84th minute by Eric Calvillo, and the 2024 edition was won by a stoppage-time goal from Amando Moreno, just moments after Jackson Conway scored an equalizer. The Battery will be aiming for their first win in the series.
East vs. West Continues – Charleston are right in the middle of the thick of the interconference portion of their schedule. After facing Oakland last weekend, four of the Battery’s next five matches are against Western Conference sides. Charleston have an undefeated record of 3W-0L-1D against the conference.
Airing it Out – One thing to keep an eye on will be how both teams’ ability to play long balls will influence the result. Charleston and El Paso rank second and third, respectively, in the league for accurate long balls per match. Additionally, they hold the same respective rankings for average possession. El Paso’s Ricardo Ruiz and Arturo Ortiz are first and second, respectively, in the league in accurate long balls per 90, while Aaron Molloy ranks fourth but has a higher success rate than the other two.
Texas Ties – Given the Battery’s trip to the Lone Star State, it’s worth noting the trio of players with connections to Texas, primarily the Dallas area, roughly a nine-hour drive away from El Paso. Viggo Ortiz is a Dallas native, and both Arturo and Diego Rodriguez grew up in the Dallas metropolitan area after moving from San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
League’s Best 1-2 Punch – This may sound familiar: The Battery currently house the league’s best goalscoring duo. Similar to 2024’s record-setting M&M Boys of Nick Markanich and MD Myers, who scored a Championship-record 42 combined goals, Myers and Cal Jennings have been on a similar tandem tear in 2025. The duo has 26 total goals scored in league play, with Jennings’ Golden Boot-leading 15 and Myers’ 11. No other team in the Championship has multiple double-digit goalscorers.
Cal Crosses 80-Mark – Cal Jennings recorded his league-leading 15th goal of the Championship campaign on Saturday against Oakland, moving to 80 regular season goals for his career in the USL Championship. Jennings reached the mark in his 147th regular season appearance, the fewest of the five players to reach the mark in league history. Additionally, the 28-year-old’s 80 goals since the start of the 2020 season are the most in the decade.
Myers Hits Quarter-Century of Goals – MD Myers scored his 25th regular season goal for the Battery on Saturday against Oakland, reaching the mark in his 54th appearance. Myers is the seventh player to record at least 25 goals for the Battery in their Championship era, the most for any single club.
Smith Milestone Watch – Graham Smith is closing in on 15,000 career minutes played in the USL Championship regular season and is currently at 14,820 going into this weekend.
El Paso Unavailabilities – Saturday’s hosts will be without defender Wahab Ackwei and assistant coach Gerson Echeverry after both were shown red cards during the match against North Carolina.
SACvCHS Match Update – While not entirely related to the upcoming match, Charleston did have a slight shakeup to their October schedule. The Battery’s late-season clash with Sacramento Republic FC was flexed back to October 22 from the original October 5 date. This change is to accommodate Republic FC’s participation in the USL Jagermeister Cup Final on October 4.
MATCH INFO
El Paso Locomotive FC vs. Charleston Battery
Saturday, September 20 – 9 p.m. ET Kickoff
Southwest University Park
HOW TO WATCH:
Saturday’s contest will stream on ESPN+ domestically and through the league’s YouTube channel internationally for free.
