The Charleston Battery triumphed 2-1 over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in front of a sold-out crowd for the 2026 season opener at Patriots Point on Saturday. Charleston were lifted by goals from Sean Suber and Wilmer Cabrera Jr. to claim the victory over the league’s reigning champions. The win marked a positive early development for the Battery in the new season, whose squad featured eight club debuts during the match.
Charleston welcomed the defending champs back to the Lowcountry with ample amounts of early pressure. The Battery recorded two shots on target in the opening 12 minutes, but the visitors’ Nico Campuzano made the save both times. Pittsburgh didn’t register a shot until the 33rd minute, by Charles Ahl and saved by Luis Zamudio at the near post.
The game was nearing a scoreless conclusion to the first half when three additional minutes of stoppage were added.
However, Sean Suber broke open the game in the first minute of stoppage, scoring a header off a Jeremy Kelly corner kick to give the Battery a 1-0 lead. Charleston had been knocking on the door in the final moments of the half, and Suber made no mistake to strike against his former club.
Suber’s goal marks his and the club’s first of 2026, with Kelly notching his first assist of the year.
The Battery took the 1-0 lead into the break after leading possession (60% to 40%) and total shots (five to two).
Play resumed in the second half with Charleston looking to carry forward their late momentum from the first half.
Wilmer Cabrera Jr. doubled the Battery’s lead in the 52nd minute, firing a volley from the edge of the box and past Campuzano to make the score 2–0. Nathan Messer picked out Cabrera at the top of the box, and the Colombian took one touch to pop the ball into the air and a second to blast it into the net.
Cabrera’s goal and Messer’s assist were their firsts of the season, adding to the impactful club debuts for the pair of players.
Pittsburgh cut the score to 2-1 in the 62nd minute off an own goal by Messer.
A notable moment came in the 67th minute, when Colton Swan and Kirill Pakhomov entered the match to make their professional debuts, and Maalique Foster came into the game at the same time to make his Charleston debut.
The Battery continued to apply pressure, eager to restore their two-goal lead. Foster nearly found the back of the net in the 71st minute from inside the box, but Campuzano came off his line to make the save.
Medgy Alexandre added to the list of debutants in the 86th minute when he entered the match off the bench for his first Battery appearance.
In stoppage time, Zamudio made a crucial save against Travor Amann to keep the score 2-1. On the other end, Foster again nearly added another goal when Campuzano slipped along the byline, granting the Jamaican an open chance on goal. However, Sam Bassett tracked back and made a sliding clearance off the line.
Charleston secured the three points in the 2-1 victory, knocking off the defending champions in the first week of the new season.
The triumph marked Charleston’s first Week 1 victory since 2022 and improved their all-time record against Pittsburgh to 19W-11L-17D across the 47 meetings.
A total of eight players made their Battery debuts during the night: Nathan Messer, Sean Suber, Wilmer Cabrera Jr., Miguel Berry, Maalique Foster, Colton Swan, Kirill Pakhomov, and Medgy Alexandre. Laurent Kissiedou additionally made his first Charleston appearance since originally making his debut in 2017 in his first stint with the club.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and defender Sean Suber addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and defender Sean Suber addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on the team’s overall performance in the win…
We had a great performance. We started well. There was about a 10-minute shift where they got us 25 to 30 minutes in, and then we were back on them. We deserved to be up. We deserved to go up 2-0.
The goal against us was a little soft, but you knew Pittsburgh would bring it. We needed to make it another goal to go back up two, but the performance was top. Every detail was accounted for.
The staff did an incredible job. The players worked their absolute socks off, they ran, they talked. It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but it was a lot prettier than we anticipated. They played really good football. They were brave, and they deserved it. [Pittsburgh are] a great team. We took it to them for 75%-80% of that game, and our boys and our staff deserve the credit for that.
Coach Pirmann on the debuts and new player combinations…
The biggest thing was, we told them whether you play 20 minutes, 40 minutes, 90 minutes,
you’ve got to just be bought in for the task at hand. Game one is always a little bit of a crapshoot, it’s always a little bit disorganized.
We wanted to make sure that every guy individually knew their role, and they were ready and willing to work. Guys were getting cleared in the last 24 hours, stuff like that.
I think three [sic] guys made their professional debuts tonight, so we were excited. But now we’ve got to calm down and make sure we’re just a little bit smoother with it.
Suber on scoring his first goal for the Battery in his club debut…
It was a little bittersweet, scoring against my old club. I have a lot of love for them, being with them the past two years, but it was an amazing feeling. The crowd erupted. Like I said, family and friends in the crowd, and it was just good to get the three points here at home. It’s amazing to get the first goal here in the new season, and I’m just very blessed.
We were talking about it all week, to do two jobs in the box. I’m supposed to block my man and then be aware of the header. And what a ball by Jeremy [Kelly]. I saw it coming my way, just jumped up, flicked it on. I didn’t even see it going into the back of the net. I just heard the crowd erupt. It’s a huge moment. I went over to Jeremy to celebrate, point to the family, thank God. What a moment.
Suber on playing a new role in the defensive midfield…
The last week or two I’ve been working on it in training because we had Houssou [Landry] and Kirill [Pakhomov] out, but Kirill got his visa this morning, but I felt pretty comfortable there. Obviously, it’s a bit more fitness, but it was just a great moment out there. I thought I played really well and was happy to get the win.
Charleston’s next match will be home vs. Florida Badgers FC on Wed., March 18, in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup First Round. The next league contest will be the following Saturday against Birmingham Legion FC at Patriots Point. Tickets for both games are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
CHS: Zamudio, Messer, Smith, Akpunonu, Martínez (Blackstock, 57’), Kelly (Alexandre, 85’), Suber, Kissiedou (Swan, 67’), Ycaza, Cabrera (Foster, 67’), Berry (Pakhomov, 67’)
PIT: Campuzano, Vacter, Souza (Osumanu, 70’), Ydrach, Etou, Griffin (Wälti, 80’), Bassett, Sample (Amann, 62’), Barnes (Viera, 62’), Ahl (Larsen, 80’), Dikwa
Scoring Summary
CHS – Sean Suber, 45’+1 (Jeremy Kelly)
CHS – Wilmer Cabrera Jr., 52’ (Nathan Messer)
PIT – Nathan Messer, 62’ (Own Goal)
