The Charleston Battery secured a 1-0 victory over Indy Eleven in front of a sold-out crowd at Patriots Point in Week 34 of the USL Championship regular season. After a scoreless first half, Colton Swan provided the heroics in the second half with the match-winning goal that ended the Battery’s regular season campaign on a high note. Luis Zamudio notched three saves en route to the clean sheet. Charleston’s sights now shift to the playoffs kicking off on October 30 against Rhode Island FC at Patriots Point.
Charleston and Indy kicked off with heavy playoff implications for both sides. Charleston were aiming to secure more points than Detroit City FC in the matchweek to ascend to second in the Eastern Conference table, while Indy needed a win in order to make the playoffs, as anything less would end their season.
Graham Smith made a crucial defensive intervention in the 11th minute, getting his head on Nabilai Kibunguchy’s goal-bound header to keep Indy off the board.
The Battery recorded their first shot on target of the night in the 16th minute with Joey Akpunonu’s effort from distance, which was saved by goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook.
At the half-hour mark, goalkeeper Luis Zamudio made a save against Kibunguchy. Zamudio made another pair of saves right before halftime, keeping his cool and denying Bruno Rendon and Aodhan Quinn.
The game went into the break all square and scoreless. Charleston held a staggering 81.9% possession in the first half, while Indy narrowly outshot the hosts by a margin of nine to seven.
Play resumed in the second half with all still to play for and both sides looking to secure the final points of the regular season.
Akpunonu made a clutch block off the line in the 56th minute when Zamudio was caught off his line. The center-back retreated to the near post to cover for Zamudio and expertly defended the goal against Paco Craig’s shot.
Smith made another clutch denial in the 70th minute with an expertly executed tackle against Rendon on a counterattack to neutralize the threat.
Charleston broke the deadlock in the 78th minute when Colton Swan flew in for the go-ahead goal to put the Battery up 1-0. Langston Blackstock provided the service from the corner of the box and his cross was perfectly placed to Swan. The striker then rose and got his head on the ball to beat Charles-Cook for the tally.
Swan’s goal was his 12th across all competitions this season and his ninth in league play, adding one last line item to his Young Player of the Year résumé. Blackstock’s assist was his second of 2026 and his first in league action.
Indy found themselves with roughly 10 minutes to save their season and began to press forward to turn the game around. However, the Battery defense remained resolute and prevented the visitors from registering more than one off-target attempt.
The Battery secured the 1-0 victory to wrap up their regular season campaign on a high note and effectively end Indy’s season.
Charleston’s win moves their record to 16W-9L-5D (53pts), placing them second in the Eastern Conference standings.
Graham Smith recorded a game-high 16 duels won, along with two blocks, two tackles won, seven clearances and four recoveries.
Colton Swan’s 12th goal of 2026 added to his career-best single-season total, his second consecutive game on the scoresheet, and he will have the opportunity to add to his count in postseason play.
Langston Blackstock made an immediate impact off the bench, notching the assist for Swan’s winner, in addition to a perfect 12/12 passing accuracy.
Luis Zamudio registered three saves, one high claim, one clearance and eight recoveries en route to his seventh shutout of the season.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and forward Colton Swan addressed the media after the victory, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on his immediate reaction to the win…
I don’t want to say it doesn’t matter, because Monday when we come back in for training, that season’s over. But we lost last home game to Louisville, even though I thought we played great. So we didn’t want to end on a bad note.
Huge sellout crowd, great supporters. This was the celebration of the season. So that was really important. I feel badly for Indy because they played a great game and their season was on the line. It didn’t go their way.
But, you know, for our boys, I was proud. They kept at it. They kept at it. And we finally ticked it over and got the win.
Coach Pirmann on the adjustments made at halftime…
We knew they were going to try to play a certain way. [Indy] are excellent on those direct balls. They’re excellent on restarts. So we wanted to limit fouls.
We wanted to make sure when we got to dangerous areas, like in these wide areas by the corner of the 18, that we changed our look a little bit. We don’t want to cross against them because they’re big. We wanted to get to the pockets, we wanted to dribble, which is exactly how we got the goal, we wanted to cut it back. So it’s more just tweaks in the final third.
Long season, tough season. Three years in a row, we’ve been the second-best team in this league. So, I think Charleston Battery and our supporters can be extremely proud.
Swan on carrying momentum from the victory into the playoffs…
Absolutely. I mean, it’d be hard for it not to, right? The game comes so fast. Quick training week. Just try and ride the high tonight, enjoy the fireworks, and get back to work and recover.
Swan on his winning goal and the impact of players coming off the bench…
Every week, these guys coming off the bench make a big impact. I mean, you saw it last game in Miami, and I come off the bench, make a difference. There’s always, always guys off the bench. Everyone stays ready. It’s a great ball from Langston. It’s so instinctual, you don’t even really understand what’s happening. The ball’s in the back of the net, you go and celebrate with all the boys, and I’m just glad I was able to help the team get the three points.
Charleston’s next match will be in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Fri, Oct. 30, against Rhode Island FC to commence the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at Patriots Point, and tickets for the playoff game are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups
CHS: Zamudio, Messer (Houssou, 72’), Akpunonu, Smith, Martínez, Allan (Suber, 86’), Ycaza, Kelly, Berry (Hughes, 86’), Foster (Blackstock, 71’), Swan (Kissiedou, 81’)
IND: Charles-Cook, Barry (Henry-Scott, 87’), Craig, Herbert, Rasheed (Lowden, 87’), Quinn, Kibunguchy, O’Brien, Hafferty (Sing, 81’), Mesanvi (Kizza, 77’), Rendón
Scoring Summary
CHS – Colton Swan, 78’ (Langston Blackstock)
