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The Charleston Battery make their first trip to St. Louis on Saturday night taking on Saint Louis FC at 8:30 PM EST at West Community Stadium.

Previous Meeting

Saint Louis and Charleston split points in a 0-0 draw at MUSC Health Stadium on May 11th. It was a story of missed first-half chances for both sides in a somewhat quiet affair. The teams combined for a total of 18 shots with only 5 on target.

Russell Cicerone gave Charleston an early scare forcing a one-handed save from Joe Kuzminsky in the second minute following a turnover in a dangerous area. Saint Louis’ Guy Abend came inches from putting the visitors in front eight minutes later. Albert Dikwa sent in a fizzing cross but Abend sent his attempted volley just over the top of the crossbar.

Arthur Bosua sent a header wide right of the Saint Louis goal in the 29th minute marking Charlestons first real chance of the match. Zeiko Lewis chipped a brilliant ball over the top of the Saint Louis backline and Bosua rose above Sam Fink to get his head on the ball. Fink did well to put the big forward off and defended the chance well.

Dante Marini came close in the 37th with a good chance from sixteen yards out. Lewis was instrumental in creating the chance for Marini, working in tight spaces between the Saint Louis defense, and playing Marini in with a few yards of space in the box. In the end, Marini’s shot was deflected wide of the far post.

What to Watch For

Kyle Greig and Russell Cicerone spearhead the Saint Louis’ attack and are capable goalscorers, tallying five and four goals on the season, respectively. Saint Louis have benefited from offensive contributions from defender Sam Fink, who has four goals on the season, tied with Cicerone for second-best on the team.

Despite offensive contributions from Fink, Saint Louis find themselves in a bit of an offensive drought. Saint Louis enters Saturday nights contest scoreless in their last two matches, which include a 0-0 draw against 10-man Memphis on Tuesday night. Saint Louis have had season-long struggles in the final third and rank 30th in the USL Championship in goals scored.

The Battery will be without forward Ataulla Guerra who picked up a red card in Saturday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. While Guerra adds a unique dimension to Charleston’s attack, the Battery are not without options upfront. Arthur Bosua, Ian Svantesson, and Nicque Daley could all feature in some capacity as the Battery look to jumpstart their offense.

Defender Jay Bolt returned from his early-season knee injury, playing forty-five minutes and replacing Kotaro Higashi at the start of the second half. A struggling Saint Louis offense might be just what the doctor ordered for a Charleston side looking to shake off their worst defeat of 2019.

July was a strange month for the Battery. Charleston played just one of their four scheduled matches in July, a 2-3 win against Hartford on July 20th, and sets up a very busy second half of the USL Championship season. Here are you’re top four performers for the month of July.

Zeiko Lewis – Lewis got things started for the Battery in the 40th minute, converting on a free-kick from 21 yards out, curling his shot past a six-man Hartford wall and Frederik Due. Lewis was also credited with an assist on Dante Marini’s goal, holding off three Hartford defenders in the box, controlling a loose ball into the path of Marini. Lewis has been one of Charleston’s most consistent attacking options this season and played a major part in the Battery’s 2-3 win against Hartford last month.

Ataulla Guerra – Guerra brought the Battery level in the 79th minute scoring his first goal of the season in his first match back with the club. Guerra found himself with a bit a space slotting home a quick pass from Leland Archer in the box following a corner. The forward was the best offensive player on the afternoon attempting four shots, all of which were on target. He finished second on the team in passes attempted (36) and completed at an 86.1% rate.

Dante Marini – Marini scored the match-winner ninety-two seconds after Ataulla Guerra equalized for Charleston. Marini continues to impress for Charleston, coming off the bench and scoring his third goal of the season, relieving O’Brian Woodbine in the 71st minute. Marini scored against Hartford earlier this season lifting the Battery to a 2-1 win at MUSC Health Stadium on March 16th. Marini has earned the Battery a total of nine points this season with each of his goals proving to be match-winners.

Mother Nature – Mother Nature dominated the Battery during the month of July. Responsible for the postponement of two Charleston Battery matches, (ATLUTDII, Memphis 901 FC), Mother Nature seemed poised to cancel/postpone every single Battery match in the second half of the season.

ATLUTD2 and the Battery played ten minutes after a ninety-minute delay, but Mother Nature had the last laugh forcing both teams off the field in the 11th minute. Charleston’s match against Memphis never stood a chance and was called off before it began.

Despite Mother Natures recent form against the Battery she holds a horrible record in the USL Championship this season, sitting dead last in the league, with an unimpressive 7-384-0 record.

The Tampa Bay Rowdies defeated the Charleston Battery 0-5 at MUSC Health Stadium Saturday night. The loss snaps the Battery’s ten-game unbeaten run at home and is the highest margin of defeat for the Battery this season.

The Eastern Conference leaders wasted no time in bouncing back from a 2-0 defeat at the hands of New York Red Bulls II last weekend, opening the scoring 33 seconds into the match. Lucky Mkosana, who started the year with Louisville City FC, scored his 6th of the season to put the Rowdies up 0-1. Zach Steinberger won a 50/50 ball against Taylor Mueller in midfield, breaking free for the Rowdies first attack of the match. Steinberger found space down the right side of the Battery penalty area and found Mkosana making a late run into the box and the forward finished cooly.

Mkosana bagged his second of the night three minutes later following a failed clearance from midfielder, Kotaro Higashi. Higashi’s attempted clearance was blocked by Malik Johnson and the deflection found the feet of Mkosana who was alert at the back post to tap in the Rowdies second of the night. Johnson would later score Tampa’s third goal of the first half, whipping in a corner that was mishandled by Joe Kuzminsky. Things would get even worse for the Battery in the 42nd minute after Ataulla Guerra picked up his second yellow card of the match and was sent off after a foul on Tarek Morad.

Steinberger hit Charleston for a fourth goal minutes after the start of the second half and substitute Jaime Siaj netted the Rowdies fifth in the 82nd minute. “It’s just one of those nights,” said coach Anhaeuser after the match. “Everything starts to get in your head and it starts to fluster you. I think we did some really nice things with our possession and our movement but it’s never going to show because of the final result.”

One of those positives was the return of Jay Bolt, who came on as a substitute at halftime, relieving Kotaro Higashi for the final 45 minutes. “It felt good to be back,” said Bolt. “Every minute is important when you are coming back and recovering from an injury. I’m working on getting back to 90 minutes fit and that started tonight.”

The Battery return to action next Saturday with an away trip to St. Louis FC with the match being streamed live on ESPN+.

BOX SCORE

CHARLESTON: Kuzminsky, Mueller (YC 64′), Archer, Piggott, Guerra (YC 21′, YC/RC 42′), Lewis (Marini 61′), van Schaik, Kelly, Anunga (YC 31′), Higashi (Bolt 45′), Bosua (Svantesson 73′)

Substitutes: Breno, Paterson, Bolt, Rittmeyer, Marini, Candela, Svantesson

TAMPA BAY: Morad, Steinberger (Goal 47′, Tinari 76′), Fernandes (Felix 85′), Guenzatti, Johnson (Goal 34′), Richards, Robinson, Doherty, Kone, Mkosana (Goal 1′, 4′, YC 62′, Siaj 65′, Goal 82′), Poku

Substitutes: Konopka, Felix, Soronellas, Tinari, Tejada, Siaj 

The Battery take on the Tampa Bay Rowdies Saturday night at MUSC Health Stadium at 7:30 PM. Charleston remains undefeated at home and will look to extend their streak against a formidable Tampa Bay Rowdies side who top the Eastern Conference with 43 points.

Previous Meeting

The Battery earned a hard-fought point against the Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium on June 15th.

Nicque Daley wasted no time in showcasing his explosive speed, catching the Rowdies backline sleeping fifty seconds into the match. The Jamaican forward held off Abdoulaye Diakite in route to goal but Daley pushed his shot inches past the right post. Kotaro Higashi and Vincenzo Candela forced two quick saves from goalkeeper John McCarthy fifteen minutes later as the Battery looked for the opening goal. Higashi found a pocket of space down the left side firing a low shot on target. McCarthy’s save was pushed out to the top of the box where Candela connected with the rolling ball in what was a fairly comfortable save for the Rowdies keeper.

Sebastian Guenzatti scored his 7th goal of the season putting the Rowdies up 1-0 in the 39th minute. Guenzatti found himself on the receiving end of a Malik Johnson pass and danced past Taylor Mueller before beating Joe Kuzminsky. Guenzatti had a chance to double the lead for his side but slipped while taking a shot from just outside the box in the 57th minute. The Rowdies continued to pressure the Battery after forcing a turnover in the 71st minute just outside the Battery penalty area. Juan Tejada intercepted a pass and found David Najem inside the box but Najems strike was high and wide.

Ian Svantesson was the hero for Charleston scoring his 4th goal of the season in the 88th minute following a set piece a few yards into the Battery’s attacking third. Jarad van Schaik lofted the free-kick into the box where Arthur Bosua rose up above the Rowdies defense and sent a headed pass across the box in Svantesson’s direction. With an outstretched leg, Svantesson redirected Bosua’s pass past McCarthy at the far post.

What to Watch For

The Battery return to MUSC Health Stadium where they haven’t played a USL Championship match since June 29th in a 1-1 draw against New York Red Bulls II. It will be interesting to see how the Battery respond to having three of their last four matches postponed and rescheduled. In the Battery’s lone match played in July, the Battery handed Hartford Athletic their 14th loss of the season in a 3-2 win.

Supersub Dante Marini scored the game-winning goal for the Battery against Hartford and now has three goals on the season. It was his second goal against Hartford this season, his first coming in a 2-1 win at MUSC Health Stadium on March 16th. All three of Marini’s goals have come in substitute appearances and all three have proven to be game-winners.

Much like the Battery, the Rowdies are led by one of the best defensive backlines in the league. The Rowdies defense has produced nine shutouts on the season; conceding just 15 goals in 21 matches.

Earlier in the season, the Rowdies went 469 minutes without allowing a goal, going unbeaten in 5 straight matches. During the streak, the Rowdies picked up quality wins against Nashville SC and New York Red Bulls II while taking a point in a scoreless draw against Indy Eleven.

Defender Abdoulaye Diakite leads the USL Championship in clearances (121) and has played every minute in 20 starts for the club this season. Diakite has won 14 of 17 tackles and 113 of 173 duels on his way to a midseason Defender of the Year nomination.

Last weekends postponed match between Swope Park Rangers and the Charleston Battery has been rescheduled to Wednesday, September 11th, 2019 at 8:00 PM EST at Children’s Mercy Park.

The match was postponed after one the Charleston Battery team cars was involved in a traffic accident. No serious injuries were sustained by any of the Charleston Battery players or staff, and all have been medically cleared.

The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.

On Saturday evening, a vehicular accident involving the Charleston Battery occurred on the way to Children’s Mercy Park. After consulting with Swope Park Rangers and the United Soccer League, the match has been postponed and will be rescheduled to a later date.

Thankfully, no Charleston Battery players or coaches suffered any serious injuries, however, a number of players are currently being evaluated at the hospital. 

The USL will work with both Swope Park Rangers and the Charleston Battery to determine a rescheduled date with more information as available.

No goal is complete without a proper celebration! Take a look back at some of the best celebrations from the first half of the season and get your votes in!

The Charleston Battery visited Camp Communication last Thursday in conjunction with the camps “Cheering for Hearing” theme week. Arthur Bosua, Vincenzo Candela, and Nico Rittmeyer participated in the morning portion of the camp leading small drills, games, and showing off some of their professional skills for the children attending camp.

Camp Communication is a one-week summer camp designed for children who have suffered hearing loss. Nevitte Morris, who leads the coordination of Camp Communication, is a speech-language pathologist at MUSC. “This year we have thirty-two children between the ages of four and twelve with some type of hearing loss,” said Morris.

The camp is fully funded by the Mount Pleasant Sertoma Club and is supported by MUSC who provides it with a speech pathologist and audiologist. “This week we’ve been talking about sports so we were so excited to have you all out! Many of these children don’t have the opportunity to learn skills like this from professionals.”

The Battery took three points, beating out Hartford Athletic late, in a 3-2 win on Saturday night at Dillon Stadium. It was a thrilling second half of play which saw four goals scored between the two sides and a late winner from Dante Marini.

A fantastic free-kick from Zeiko Lewis in the 41st minute opened the scoring giving the Battery a 1-0 lead going into halftime. Vincenzo Candela forced a foul from defender Alex Davey after dashing past two Hartford defenders to win the free-kick. Lewis and O’Brian Woodbine lined up over the dead ball before Lewis curled a perfect shot past Frederik Due and the six-man Hartford wall. It was Lewis’ sixth goal of the season and second since returning from international duty with Bermuda.

Hartford opened the second half on the front foot, creating a number of dangerous opportunities down the flanks and through the middle of the field. Wojciech Wojcik put Hartford on the board in the 57th minute blasting a shot past Joe Kuzminsky from the penalty spot. Jose Angulo put pressure on the Battery goal after making a strong run to the top left corner of the penalty area before having a shot on goal. Angulo forced a save from Kuzminsky who couldn’t handle the initial shot with the rebound falling to the feet of Wojcik in the middle of the box.

Mads Jorgensen put Hartford up 2-1 eight minutes later on a stunning goal from about thirty-five yards out. It was Jorgensen’s first action of the match after coming on as a substitute in the 64th minute, relieving Mac Steeves for fresher legs. His powerful shot gave Kuzminsky no chance at making a save, finding the top right corner of the net.

The final half-hour was a back and forth affair; the Battery looking for an equalizer and Hartford looking to put a nail in the coffin. It was Ataulla Guerra, who scored his first goal of the season, that brought Charleston level. There was a scramble in the box following a Battery corner and defender Leland Archer was able to keep his composure, controlling the cross and find Guerra who slipped it past Due.

Dante Marini would retake the lead for the Battery 92 seconds later beating Due from a tight angle on the left side of the box. The goal was Marini’s third of the season and second against Hartford, both of which proved to be game-winners. “I relish the opportunities to come in and do whatever the team needs of me,” Marini said after the match. “We’ve spoken as a team about going out and winning games, instead of settling for draws, and it feels unbelievable to go out and help our team accomplish that.”

The Battery head west for next weeks match against Swope Park Rangers on July 27th at 8:00 PM EST. Romario Piggott and Felipe Hernandez scored in a 1-1 draw against the teams at MUSC Health Stadium on June 22nd. The Battery return home on August 3rd as they take on the Tampa Bay Rowdies at 7:30 PM. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling (843) 971-GOAL.

BOXSCORE

HARTFORD: Due, Curinga (Williams), De Wit (YC 71), Davey (YC 39, Bedoya), Lee, Dixon, Rasmussen, Barrera (YC 90), Angulo, Steeves (Jorgensen 64, goal 65), Wojcik (goal 57)

Substitutes: Lissek, Novotny, Downs, Williams, Bedoya, Jorgensen

CHARLESTON: Kuzminsky, Paterson, Archer (assist 79), Mueller, Woodbine (Marini 71, goal 80′), Kelly, Candela, Rittmeyer, Guerra (goal 79), Lewis (goal 40), Svantesson (Bosua 64, YC 69)

Substitutes: Breno, Bolt, Nelson, Cox, Higashi, Marini, Bosua