The Charleston Battery split the points with Birmingham Legion FC in a 2-2 draw in Week 28 of the USL Championship regular season at Dunnavant Valley Fields on Saturday. All four goals occurred in the first half, with both of Charleston’s tallies scored by Migue Berry, his third brace of the year. The Battery were forced to settle for a draw after applying ample pressure in the second half but could not come away with a third goal.
Play kicked off at Dunnavant Valley Fields instead of Birmingham’s usual home of Protective Stadium due to scheduling conflicts at Protective Stadium.
Birmingham managed to open the scoring in the 11th minute via Sebastian Tregarthen to take a 1-0 lead.
Charleston did not back down, however, and Miguel Berry issued an immediate response by leveling the score, 1-1, in the 14th minute. The Battery’s pressure forced Legion FC to play the ball out of the back, and Tyler Pasher’s ball intended for Bryce Washington inside the box went wide. Berry pounced on the error, muscled Washington off the box and then fired in the equalizer at the near post.
Berry’s goal was his eighth of 2026 across all competitions.
The Battery claimed the lead in the 21st minute when Berry again delivered, this time with a strike from outside the box to go ahead 2-1. Jeremy Kelly carried the ball forward from midfield and evaded the defense before threading the needle to Berry. From there, Berry lined up his strike to the top corner.
Berry’s brace was his third of the year, bringing his goal total to nine across all competitions (seven in league play).
Kelly’s assist was his ninth overall of the year, and his eighth in the regular season, placing him back into a tie for the lead in the Championship Golden Playmaker race.
Birmingham equalized in the 39th minute via Romario Williams, leveling the score at 2-2.
Colton Swan nearly reclaimed the lead for the Battery moments later with a promising look on goal that instead hit the woodwork. Berry’s immediate follow-up shot forced a save from goalkeeper Jassem Koleilat.
The game went into the break tied at 2-2. Charleston held just over 70% possession in the first half.
Play resumed in the second half with all to play for with the level scoreline.
Berry nearly notched his hat trick in the 67th minute following his link-up with Maalique Foster in the final third, but Berry was unable to make solid contact on Foster’s cross into the six-yard box for a shot on target.
A notable moment occurred in the 75th minute when Camilo Sánchez entered the game off the bench to officially make his Battery debut.
The Battery applied heavy pressure to the Birmingham defense in the waning moments, but Chris Allan’s saved shot in the 84th minute and Wilmer Cabrera’s blocked attempt in the 88th minute were the only shots recorded in the final quarter-hour.
Charleston and Birmingham shared the points in the 2-2 draw, which extended the Battery’s current unbeaten run against Legion FC to nine consecutive games.
Saturday’s draw moves the Battery’s record to 12W-8L-4D (40pts), placing them second in the Eastern Conference, as of writing.
Miguel Berry set a new career single-season high for goals scored, with his current nine tallies in 2026 surpassing his previous best of eight in 2021 (Columbus Crew).
With nine assists so far across all competitions this year, Jeremy Kelly is one assist away from matching his career single-season best (10, in 2022). His eight in league play place him in a tie for the lead in the Championship Golden Playmaker race, as of writing.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward Miguel Berry addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his impression of the result…
I think if you step back and look at it, 80 to 85% of the game played out as we anticipated with their movements, they have a strong front four with special players who have been making plays for years in this league. So, we knew how the game would play out.
I was frustrated with Romario Williams’ chance in the first few minutes, and then the goal we conceded to go down 1-0 because that was the exact pattern and sequence that we trained, and we just didn’t execute. But, our response was incredible. Great counter-press goal by Miguel, and then an incredible build-up goal on the second one with an excellent finish. We could have made it 3-1 a couple of times, but coulda, woulda, shoulda. We didn’t, and then we’re extremely soft on their second goal, and that’s disappointing. You can’t be soft anywhere, but you can’t go on the road playing a very talented team and allow that.
In the second half, we didn’t win the game, but we got on top of them. We had all the chances and all the territory. We had all the looks at goal. We had all the attacking half sequences. For me, the frustration may be a little bit not finishing one or two, but that’s just football. But I thought at times, we try to do too much. There’s probably a balance where it’s two points dropped, but also you have to give Birmingham credit because of how they fought.
The attitude and the effort were strong. We have to improve some training habits with a couple of players. We have to improve some execution of the game plan, and then we have to keep things simple and play within ourselves, and make sure we’re doing what’s best to win games, and not doing what’s best for the individual.
At the end of the day, the performance was pretty good, but we’re at the stage where pretty good’s not going to cut it at the end of the season and into the playoffs.
Coach Pirmann on the contrast between the first half and second half…
I think probably the big difference was, if you look at Romario’s chance in the first few minutes, and then you look at Sebastian Tregarthen’s goal, we wanted to force the play away from Hamady Diop. He had to go long, and our left side of the back line and the left side of midfield didn’t play it right. Whether it was not winning the duel or poor recognition, that’s inexcusable. So we discussed it again at halftime, and negated it.
And then they made adjustments; they kept it a little bit closer for the back four. Diop as the left center-back, he did a good job of advancing it, so it kind of turned into a little bit more of a chess match.
In the second half, I would say it was just 45 minutes where both teams kind of knew what each other was going to do. I thought we were on top of them really, really well. I thought we moved the ball well and had a couple of chances there. Maalique got put through, and Miguel had the one where we get squared. We had four or five chances in that second half to finish it, and maybe it’s a different conversation.
And to beat a good team on the road, you have to play a very strong match, and I thought we played a strong match. But unfortunately, it’s a two-point learning lesson for us. We’ll regroup and get back after it, and then we have a couple of home games here.
The effort and attitude from this group were good. We fought, it’s a tough game, a unique facility and a tough opponent, so it’s not the worst thing, but we’re disappointed with the two points dropped.
Berry on his assessment of the game…
It’s frustrating for us. I think we felt the win was there. I think we can improve on both sides of the ball. It’s hard to concede two away from home and get a result, but also, with our firepower up front, we have to do a better job scoring, and that’s on me as well. We had a few chances we should have put away, and I have to be better. I think going forward, that’s going to be our way forward, is finishing more chances.
We had a long day of travel yesterday, a couple of delays, and that’s not easy on the body. And I think as the game went on, we had a lot of physical expenditure in the first half, maybe you get a little tired here and there, and it’s just these small moments that sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t, and that’s football, and you can always look to improve.
But, I’m proud of the guys. To get a point away from home is never easy. We had a long travel day yesterday, but we responded well, and just proud of the guys. But we can always look to improve.
Berry on setting a new career high for goals scored in a single season…
I’m not focused on that kind of thing, I’m just worried about the team doing well. My role here is different from what it’s been in my career, so that’s expected for me, and hopefully continue forward. But it’s about the team’s performance, that’s what I care about at this point in my career. So, hopefully that can continue to improve, and we can make a push here in October and November.
I think after the last few years, it’s been interesting in my career, and I’ve just had to learn how to play again. And in the first few months of the season, I was fine with myself, and in the last few games, I’ve felt different on the field, and I’ve felt different in training. It’s the only way forward for me, I’m honestly extremely excited about myself and how I feel, and I hope that continues. It’s nice to be playing week in, week out and to have freedom on the field that I haven’t had my whole career. So it’s, it’s very nice.
Charleston’s next match will be home vs. Monterey Bay FC on Sat., Sept. 19, as the club celebrates Hispanic Heritage Night at Patriots Point. Tickets for the game are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
BHM: Koleilat, Tregarthen, Washington (Kavita, 46’), Diop, Brown (McCartney, 71’), Antwi, Cole, Vassell (Daley, 71’), Pasher (Ngoma, 90’+1), Diarbian (Saucedo, 80’), Williams (Damus, 80’)
CHS: Berner, Houssou, Akpunonu, Smith, Martinez (Blackstock, 82’), Pakhomov (Allan, 66’), Ycaza (Kissiedou, 66’), Kelly, Foster (Cabrera, 75’), Berry, Swan (Sánchez, 75’)
Scoring Summary
BHM – Sebastian Tregarthen, 11’ (Bryce Washington)
CHS – Miguel Berry, 14’
CHS – Miguel Berry, 21’ (Jeremy Kelly)
BHM – Romario Williams, 39’ (Tyler Pasher)
