The Charleston Battery secured a 0-2 road win over El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday at Southwest University Park. Cal Jennings scored in the 5th minute to add to his lead in the Golden Boot race, and MD Myers’ strike in the second half sealed the victory. Charleston clinched a top-four finish in the Eastern Conference standings, ensuring home field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
The match kicked off with the Battery looking for both their first victory over El Paso in three meetings and to clinch a top-four finish in the Eastern Conference, therefore securing a home playoff game in the opening round.
After a physical start from both sides, the Battery were offered an early opportunity to take the lead when MD Myers won a penalty in the 4th minute for a foul in the box, conceded by Arturo Ortiz.
Cal Jennings stepped up to the spot and buried his attempt straight down the middle to give Charleston the early 0-1 lead in the 5th minute.
Jennings’ goal was his 16th of the league campaign, extending his lead in the Championship Golden Boot race, and his 17th across all competitions. It was also Jennings’ fourth goal in the last three games, his longest streak since a run of four consecutive games in March-April.
After taking the early lead, Charleston continued to test goalkeeper Jahmali Waite. Langston Blackstock, Arturo Rodriguez and Jennings recorded shots on target through the 31st minute, but the attempts were saved.
Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio faced his first real threat in the 41st minute, coming off his line to make a brave punch of a cross by Guillermo Dias, denying Andy Cabrera a chance for a header.
Charleston took the 0-1 lead into the break. Shots were relatively even between El Paso and the Battery, five to six, but only Charleston recorded attempts on target (four).
Play resumed in the second half with the Battery looking to secure their first win over El Paso in the all-time series.
Zamudio made his first save of the night in the 55th minute with a routine stop against Cabrera’s free kick.
Charleston doubled their lead just after the hour mark when Myers scored the second goal of the night in the 61st minute. The opportunity arose after a collision between El Paso players gave the Battery an advantage near the center circle. Aaron Molloy collected the ball and connected with Juan David Torres, who then played a calm pass to Myers at the edge of the box. From there, Myers delivered a clinical finish past Waite to make the score 0-2.
Myers’ goal was his 12th of the league campaign and 16th overall in 2025.
Torres’ assist was his 10th of the year, placing him in sole possession of the lead in the Championship Golden Playmaker race, as of writing.
Charleston’s grip on the game never loosened after going up 0-2. El Paso only recorded one shot on target after the hour mark, an attempt in the 74th minute by Christian Sorto that was saved easily by Zamudio.
The Battery saw out the 0-2 victory, their first against El Paso in three meetings. Saturday’s win advances Charleston’s record to 17W-5L-3D (53pts), good for second in the Eastern Conference.
With the victory, the Battery officially clinched a top-four finish in the conference with the combination of Charleston’s result and scores around the league. This ensures that Charleston will host the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at Patriots Point on November 1-2, with the exact day and time, as well as ticket information, to be announced in due course.
Luis Zamudio recorded his sixth shutout of the year after tallying two saves and one punch.
Douglas Martinez had a productive day while deputizing at right-back, leading the match with seven duels won in addition to two interceptions, one tackle won and six recoveries.
Leland Archer posted a match-high 12 clearances.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward MD Myers discussed the win after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on what was working well against El Paso…
Getting the early goal helped. We knew El Paso were playing for their lives at home, in front of a huge crowd, with their strongest lineup and players on the field. We knew what they were going to bring, very high-level attacking play and an open game.
We set the tone early by drawing the penalty and finishing it, and I thought we continued to play very well. We were on top of them, though credit to their goalkeeper for making some big saves. In the second half, we had to be mature and a bit more organized, especially compared to how we performed out of possession last week, and I thought we did that.
We recovered well and scored a nice counterattack goal in the second half. You have to take it when it counts. From start to finish, over 90 minutes, the focus was on the little details, managing emotions, and that next play mentality, making sure that no matter what happened, we won the next moment in the match.
Overall, it was a good performance. I don’t think we played amazing, but we were very professional, mature and selfless. To win games like this, especially against a high-level team on the road, you have to pay attention to all the details and win those moments.
Coach Pirmann on the defensive performance in the shutout…
Another thing that worked well was our coverage. El Paso move around really well, with a lot of rotations. When they moved us around, we made sure to cover for each other on defensive rotations. The guys were willing to cover for each other and shift lines quickly.
Against a team like El Paso, if you man-mark too much, they’ll move you around and get in behind. If you shift zonally, they’ll try to dribble through. I thought we applied good ball pressure, forced them into spots where we could win the ball back, and then put ourselves in good positions to transition into attack.
There were strong performances all around. Douglas Martínez played his most minutes of the year at right-back and was very solid. I thought Houssou Landry and Aaron Molloy were excellent defensively in midfield, covering ground and breaking up plays. Hats off to every single guy. It was a 19-man trip, and it took all 19 to make sure we got the three points.
Myers on setting the tone with the early goal…
It was huge. It’s a long trip, and travel plays a big part in these Western Conference games. So, to get on the front foot, earn the penalty, and for Cal [Jennings] to convert early is big. It gives us confidence and that little extra push to get us over the line in the end.
We wanted to set the tone as early as possible, whether that was scoring goals or just getting in their face and pressing them quickly. So, being able to get that goal in the first five minutes was massive. It gave us confidence for the rest of the game.
The chemistry with Cal has been great all year, and we’ve kind of had stretches where I was scoring goals, he was scoring goals. So, to have us both scoring goals at this point in time is huge. And then we also have Rubio in the mix, which is massive. It’s just three of the best strikers in the entire league, so I think we all push each other, and that helps us all succeed and get the best out of each other.
Myers on his goal in the second half…
I saw Cal back-pressuring. He got great pressure on the ball and created the turnover. Then Juan [David Torres] picked it up, and I know he can play basically any pass on the field, so I just made a little slip run in behind. He found me, and I had a ton of time to pick my head up and put it past the goalkeeper. That goal let us settle down and just hold on for the rest of the game. It was huge at that moment. I saw the moment as an opportunity. With two of their guys down, and you hope nobody’s hurt, there was more open space on the field, so I just wanted to capitalize until the whistle blew.
Myers on securing home field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs…
Clinching that is massive. Last year, we had some playoff games at home, and being able to sleep in our own beds is huge. Having our fans behind us is massive too, they give us that extra energy every time we’re at home. It’s a big advantage, and we want to carry that through the playoffs. We just want to keep winning games and make sure we have as many as possible at home.
Charleston will be away again for their next match, against Orange County SC on September 27. 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
ELP: Waite, Ruiz, Twumasi, Cabrera (Rodriguez, 74’), Diaz, Torres (Coronado, 82’), Calvillo, Daroma, Ortíz (Alfaro, 64’), Moreno, Avila (Sorto, 64’)
CHS: Zamudio, Blackstock, Akpunonu, Archer, Martínez (Dossantos, 87’), A. Rodríguez (Segbers, 87’), Houssou, Molloy, Torres (Ycaza, 69’), Myers (Smith, 82’), Jennings (Rubín, 69’)
Scoring Summary
CHS – Cal Jennings, 5’
CHS – MD Myers, 61’ (Juan David Torres)
