News

The Friends of the Library raise money to fund more than 6,000 programs. For more than 30 years, the Friends of the Library have been donating their time, talent, energy, and resources to ensure that Charleston and Berkeley county communities have access to a first rate library system.

With the support of volunteers from the community,  Friends of the Library works to support the network of libraries serving the Charleston County and Berkeley County areas in South Carolina. Through book sales, special events, and library advocacy, Friends of the Library raise funds to support programs, engage local communities in library initiatives, and ensure local and state governments continue to recognize the importance of investing in local libraries.

Money is raised through membership fees, corporate incentives, Friends’ book sale shelves at each library and special fundraising events. Funds from the Friends help support programs and initiatives for children, teens, and adults including the Summer Reading Program.

If you’ll be at our match against the Charlotte Independence on Saturday, September 9th, be sure to stop by and see the Friends of the Library on the concourse by the west gate! 

The Charleston Battery lost, 1-0, to Louisville City FC at Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky Saturday night.

The Battery stood tall defensively through the first 75 minutes of the match, with Alex Tambakis making several impressive saves early on. However, Charleston’s strong defensive effort was undone in the 78th minute by a Guy Abend goal. Abend collected a loose clearance at the top of the box and hit a low shot that skipped off the harsh surface at Slugger Field and beat Tambakis at the near post.

Abend’s first goal of the season was enough to seal the result and take all three points for the home side. Following their second consecutive loss, the Battery will finally return home next Saturday for another crucial match, this time against the Charlotte Independence. The match against the Independence will be the Battery’s first at MUSC Health Stadium since their 1-1 draw with New York Red Bulls II on August 12.

CHARLESTON: Alex Tambakis, Skylar Thomas, Taylor Mueller (yellow card, 79), Miles Robinson, Jarad van Schaik (Patrick Okonkwo, 83), Maikel Chang, Neveal Hackshaw (yellow card, 76), Justin Portillo (yellow card, 87), Kotaro Higashi (Nico Rittmeyer, 82), Ataulla Guerra, Heviel Cordoves (Forrest Lasso, 67)

Unused substitutes: Odisnel Cooper, Laurent Kissiedou, Tah Brian Anunga, Ricky Garbanzo

LOUISVILLE: Greg Ranjintsingh, Sean Totsch, Sean Reynolds, Paco Craig, Oscar Jimenez, Guy Abend (goal, 78), Paolo DelPiccolo, Brian Ownby (Luke Spencer, 57), George Davis IV (Tarek Morad, 85), Ilija Ilic, Niall McCabe (Richard Ballard, 72)

Unused substitutes: Micah Bledsoe, Cameron Lancaster, Tim Dobrowolski

Charleston

One week after snapping a seven game winless run, the Battery were back on the losing end last weekend, dropping a 3-1 result to the Richmond Kickers at City Stadium.. Heviel Cordoves scored Charleston’s only goal in the second minute of the match.

Oliver Minatel and Sunny Jane scored two unanswered goals in the first half to push the Kickers in front following Cordoves’ early opener. The Cuban center forward had a chance to double his tally and bring the Battery level with Richmond later on in the match, but rung a shot off the post. Yudai Imura converted a free kick in the dying moments to secure the three points for Richmond.

If the Battery are going to get back to their winning form this weekend, they’ll have to do something they’ve never done: win at Slugger Field. Charleston is 0-1-3 at Slugger Field during LouCity’s two years in the USL. Louisville have also knocked the Battery out of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.

Charleston will be without Romario Williams this weekend in Louisville. The striker was called up for an international friendly in Canada earlier this week. Atlanta United loanees Miles Robinson and Alex Tambakis are available for the match.  

Louisville

Louisville have had an up and down run of form of late, going 3-2-0 in their last five games. That five game stretch included two 5-0 wins over FC Cincinnati and Harrisburg City Islanders and a puzzling 3-0 loss to Orlando City B at home.

Ten different Louisville players have scored at least once in Louisville’s last five matches, with Luke Spencer and Mark Anthony Kaye finding the back of the net three times each. Spencer leads Louisville in scoring with eight goals in 17 appearances. The 6-2 center forward has tremendous ability in the air and will be a player to watch in Saturday’s match.

Previous Meetings

June 3, 2017 – MUSC Health Stadium – Charleston Battery (4) – Louisville City (4)

• Scoring Summary – Romario Williams (11, 32); Oscar Jimenez (45); Maikel Chang (48); George Davis IV (60); Brian Ownby (79); Ricky Garbanzo (73); Lasso OG (82)  

July 8, 2017 – MUSC Health Stadium – Charleston Battery (1) – Louisville City (1)

• Scoring Summary – Justin Portillo (23); Ilija Ilic (27)

Game Notes

Records

• Charleston: 11-6-8; goals 42; goals against 28; GD +14
  • Home: 7-1-5; goals 27 ; goals against 12 ; GD +15
  • Away: 4-5-3; goals 15; goals against; 17; GD -2
• Louisville: 13-5-5; goals 44; goals against 24; GD +20
  • Home: 7-2-2; goals 22; goals against 9; GD +13
  • Away: 6-3-3; goals 22; goals against 15; GD +7

Form

• Charleston: D | L | D | W | L
• Louisville:  L | W | W | W | L

Statistical Leaders

• Charleston
  • Goals: Romario Williams (15)
  • Assists: Justin Portillo (6)
  • Points: Romario Williams (32)
  • Minutes: Taylor Mueller, Justin Portillo (2,250)

• Louisville
  • Goals: Luke Spencer (8)
  • Assists: Oscar Jimenez (5)
  • Points: Luke Spencer (16)
  • Minutes: Oscar Jimenez (1,856)

Previous

• Charleston Battery vs. Richmond (L | 1-3)
  • Charleston goals: Heviel Cordoves (2)
  • Richmond goals: Sunny Jane (17), Oliver (36), Yudai Imura (90)
• Louisville vs. Orlando (L | 0-3)
  • Louisville goals: none
  • Orlando goals: Michael Coxx (15, 27); Timbo (53)

Romario Williams has been named to the Jamaican squad that will take on Canada at BMO Field on Saturday, September 2. The call-up means Williams will miss the Battery’s crucial match in Louisville this weekend.

Williams will return to the Jamaican National Team after a successful run in the Gold Cup this summer. The center forward scored two goals and helped the Reggae Boyz reach the final of the tournament for the second consecutive year.

Williams has the best strike rate in the USL, scoring a goal every 92 minutes. His team-high 15 goals have him one behind fellow Jamaican striker and former Battery man Dane Kelly for the league lead. Kelly will join Williams on the Jamaican squad for Saturday’s friendly in Canada.

Jamaica vs. Canada kicks off at 7:00 PM EST. The Battery will take on Louisville at Slugger Field at 5:00 PM EST. Fans can watch Charleston Battery vs. Louisville City FC live on https://www.www.charlestonbattery.com or locally on MyTV Charleston.

In the 61st meeting between the two teams, the Charleston Battery lost, 3-1, to the Richmond Kickers at City Stadium Saturday night.

Heviel Cordoves opened the scoring early after latching onto a loose ball in the penalty area. Cordoves, who got the start up front in place of the suspended Romario Williams, turned and fired a low shot past goalkeeper Travis Worra in the second minute.

The hosts found an equalizer 15 minutes later through a great individual effort by Sunny Jane. Jane brought the ball down on his chest and struck a volley on frame, beating Odisnel Cooper at the near post.  

The Kickers kept the pressure on the Battery following Jane’s equalizer and found the back of the net again in the 36th minute. Oliver Minatel put Richmond ahead with a low strike to the bottom corner of Cooper’s goal.

The Battery had their best chance to equalize when Cordoves went clean through on goal in the 53rd minute. Cordoves beat the goalkeeper, but his left-footed strike hit the post and stayed out and the Cuban striker was denied his second of the match.

Uidai Imura added a third goal in stoppage time of the second half. Imura curled a free kick around the wall and in at Cooper’s near post to double Richmond’s advantage and kill the Battery’s hopes of salvaging points from the rivalry match.

Charleston will finish their three game road stretch next weekend in Louisville. Following the match at Slugger Field, the Battery will return home to face the Charlotte Independence on September 9th. 

CHARLESTON – Odisnel Cooper, Skylar Thomas (yellow card, 38), Taylor Mueller, Forrest Lasso, O’Brian Woodbine (Laurent Kissiedou, 82), Maikel Chang, Justin Portillo, Tah Brian Anunga (Patrick Okonkwo, 78), Jarad van Schaik (yellow card, 53; Kotaro Higashi, 67) Ataulla Guerra, Heviel Cordoves (goal, 2)

Unused substitutes: Joe Kuzminsky, Jeffery Otoo, Nico Rittmeyer, Neveal Hackshaw

RICHMOND – Travis Worra, Alex Lee, William Yomby, Mallan Roberts, braeden Troyer, Oscar Umar, Uidai Imura (goal, 90), Matt Bolduc, Luiz Fernando (Fred Owusu Sekyere, 87), Sunny Jane (goal, 17; Jackson Eskay, 64; yellow card, 89), Oliver Minatel (yellow card, 32; goal, 36; Mikey Minutillo, 64)

Unused substitutes: Evan Lee, Franck Tayou, Marcel DeBellis, Raul Gonzalez

Charleston

The Battery broke their winless skid against the Rochester Rhinos last weekend at Capelli Sport Stadium. Justin Portillo’s late free kick goal lifted Charleston to their first win in eight games and first in Rochester since 2012. Portillo’s goal was his sixth of the year, making him second on the team in scoring behind league-leader Romario Williams.

Coming off of a Team of the Week performance, look for Portillo to continue his good form this Saturday against the Kickers. The New Orleans native has scored three goals and tallied two assists in his last six matches versus Richmond.

Charleston play Richmond twice in the final eight games of the season and will need to take a full six points if they want to keep pace at the top of the table. Louisville City and Charlotte Independence are tied on points at the top of the table, three points ahead of the Battery. LouCity is in first place on goal differential and have two games in hand on Charleston and Charlotte. The top three teams will all play each other at least once in the final eight games of the season.

Richmond

Richmond won their fourth game of the season last weekend, beating Toronto FC II, 2-1, at City Stadium. Each team scored in the opening five minutes of the match and remained tied at one until Matthew Bolduc’s 68th minute game-winner. The win lifted Richmond off of the bottom of the table and into fourteenth place.

If the Kickers have any hope of securing a top-eight finish and a spot in the playoffs, they’ll have to take full points from almost all of their last eight games. Richmond have picked up all four of their wins this season at City Stadium, leading to a 4-6-3 record at home. The Kickers have struggled offensively both at home and on the road and have been shutout in 14 of their 24 matches.  

Previous Meetings

Justin Portillo’s 26th minute penalty lifted the Battery to a 1-0 win over Richmond at MUSC Health Stadium earlier this season. Odisnel Cooper earned the shutout in goal.

Scoring summary: Justin Portillo (26’)

Richmond haven’t beaten the Battery since the 2014 USL Playoffs. The Battery have a 5-0-3 record and a +8 goal differential against the Kickers since September 13, 2014.

Game Notes

Records

• Charleston: 11-5-8; goals 41; goals against 26; GD +15
  • Home: 7-1-5; goals 27 ; goals against 12 ; GD +15
  • Away: 4-4-3; goals 14; goals against; 14; GD 0
• Richmond: 4-12-8; goals 16; goals against 27; GD -11
  • Home: 4-6-3; goals 10; goals against 13; GD -3
  • Away: 0-6-5; goals 6; goals against 14; GD -8

Form

• Charleston: D | D | L | D | W
• Richmond:  D | L | D | L | W

Statistical Leaders

• Charleston
  • Goals: Romario Williams (15)
  • Assists: Justin Portillo (6)
  • Points: Romario Williams (32)
  • Minutes: Taylor Mueller, Justin Portillo (2,160)

• Richmond
  • Goals: Alhaji Kamara (4)
  • Assists: Fred Owusu Sekyere (3)
  • Points: Alhaji Kamara (8)
  • Minutes: Braeden Troyer (1,980)

Previous

• Charleston Battery vs. Rochester Rhinos (W | 1-0)
  • Charleston goals: Justin Portillo (83)
  • Rochester goals: None
• Richmond Kickers vs. Toronto FC II (W | 2-1)
  • Richmond goals: Sunny Jane (5); Matthew Bolduc (68)
  • Toronto goals: Jordan Hamilton (4)

For the second consecutive year, MUSC Health Stadium will host the Men’s and Women’s ACC Soccer Championships, officials confirmed Wednesday.

The championships will take place on consecutive weekends in November after the earlier rounds of the tournaments are played on the campuses of the higher seeded schools.

Both the semifinals and the finals of the ACC Women’s Championship will be held at MUSC Health Stadium. The semifinals will be played at 5:30 and 8:00 PM on Friday, November 3. The winners of the semifinals will advance to the ACC Championship match on November 5 at 12:00 PM. The men’s final will be played the following weekend on Sunday, November 12 at 12:00 PM.

The women’s semifinals will be available on Regional Sports Networks (RSN), while both finals will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

Tickets to the Men’s and Women’s Championships will go on sale in September. ACC Series Passes cost $20 and include tickets to all four matches across both weekends. Single-day adult general admission tickets are $10. Admission is free for youth ages 18 and under and students of ACC institutions.

In 2016, MUSC Health Stadium played host to the North Carolina, Florida State, Clemson, and Notre Dame on the women’s side, with FSU topping UNC in the championship match following 4-3 ledger on penalty kicks; while Wake Forest defeated Clemson in the men’s final to earn an automatic bid on the NCAA Tournament.

The ACC continued its run as the best college soccer conference in the country last season, with UNC’s men’s and women’s teams and Wake Forest’s men’s team advancing to the College Cup Final Four.

For more information about the ACC, visit theacc.com

The Battery earned their first win in eight matches Saturday night, beating the Rochester Rhinos, 1-0, at Capelli Sport Stadium. Saturday’s win was the first time the Battery took all three points in Rochester since 2012.

Justin Portillo scored the game’s only goal late on in the second half, firing a free kick past goalkeeper Dan Lynd to notch his sixth goal of the year. Portillo is now second on the team in goals, behind league-leader Romario Williams, and first in assists with six in each statistical category.

Consistent with the Battery’s run of form of late, goal scoring chances were difficult to come by Saturday night in Rochester. With the scoring opportunities limited, Charleston’s defense stepped up to earn their ninth clean sheet of the season.

Captain Taylor Mueller led the way for the Battery defensively, making several vital tackles and interceptions. Atlanta United center back Miles Robinson did well next to Mueller in his fifth appearance of the season for Charleston.  

Following Saturday’s win, the Battery will remain on the road for two consecutive matches. Charleston heads to Richmond next weekend (8/26) before traveling to Louisville on September 2nd. The Battery will return home to MUSC Health Stadium on September 9th to take on the league-leading Charlotte Independence.

CHARLESTON: Odisnel Cooper (yellow card, 90), Quinton Griffith, Taylor Mueller, Miles Robinson, Skylar Thomas, Kotaro Higashi (Jarad van Schaik, 69), Justin Portillo (goal, 83), Neveal Hackshaw (yellow card, 21), Maikel Chang, Ataulla Guerra (Nico Rittmeyer, 90), Romario Williams (yellow card, 25;  Heviel Cordoves, 88)

Unused substitutes: Joe Kuzminsky, Forrest Lasso, Laurent Kissieduo, Ricky Garbanzo

ROCHESTER: Dan Lynd, Joe Farrell, Ryan Feliz, Ryan James, Brad Kamdem, Wal Fall, Mike Garzi (Sergio Campbell, 85), Sofiane Tergou, Brandon Beresford (Jochen Graf, 65), Jalen Brown, Darius Madison (yellow card, 45; Julian Bucher, 65)

Unused substitutes: Tomas Gomez, Stefan Defregger, Christiano Francois, Ryan Lee

Charleston

The Battery are still searching for their first win since July 1st after going 0-3-4 in their last seven matches. A silver lining of the mid-summer skid is the team’s home unbeaten streak, which they extended to 10 games last Saturday against New York Red Bulls II.

Romario Williams scored his league-high 15th goal in the 1-1 draw with the defending USL champions. Williams and Ataulla Guerra started together for the first time since the 2-0 victory on July 1st and connected to score the Battery’s only goal against the Red Bulls.

O’brian Woodbine was shown a second yellow card late in last weekend’s match and will be unavailable for the match in Rochester. Tah Brian Anunga is also suspended due to yellow card accumulation.

Atlanta United’s Miles Robinson, Laurent Kissiedou, and Patrick Okonkwo are all available for selection against the Rhinos.  

Rochester

The Rhinos will have had ten full days of rest between their last match and Saturday’s contest with the Battery. Rochester defeated the Harrisburg City Islanders, 1-0, away from home in their last match on August 8th.

Darius Madison nodded home a Wal Fall free kick in the 25th minute to give Rochester an early lead against Harrisburg.  Madison’s goal was enough to earn Rochester the full three points and bring the Rhinos within three points of the Battery in the table.

Rochester have one of the best home records (6-1-3)  in the USL this season, losing only once and conceding just four goals in 11 games at Capelli Sport Stadium. The Rhinos have earned seven shutouts at home, winning 1-0 four times. The Rhinos’ ten total shutouts is the best in the Eastern Conference and one behind San Antonio for the USL-high. Goalkeeper Tomas Gomez is tied for second in the league with eight shutouts.  

Previous Meetings

The Battery defeated the Rhinos, 5-0, in the previous meeting between the two sides back in April. Romario Williams scored a hatrick in eleven minutes to power Charleston past Rochester at MUSC Health Stadium.

Scoring Summary: Romario Williams (15, 25, 26); Ataulla Guerra (31); Maikel Chang (81)

The Battery haven’t beaten the Rhinos in Rochester since August 11, 2012. Goals from Tony Donatelli, Amadou Sanyang, and Dane Kelly lifted Charleston to a 4-0 win the last time the Battery earned three points in Rochester.

Game Notes

Records

• Charleston: 10-5-8; goals 40; goals against 26; GD +14
  • Home: 7-1-5; goals 27 ; goals against 12 ; GD +15
  • Away: 3-4-3; goals 13; goals against; 14; GD -1
• Rochester: 9-4-8; goals 25; goals against 20; GD +5
  • Home: 6-1-3; goals 13; goals against 4; GD +9
  • Away: 3-3-5; goals 12; goals against 16; GD -4

Form

• Charleston: L | D | D | L | D
• Rochester: D | W | W | L | W

Statistical Leaders

• Charleston
  • Goals: Romario Williams (15)
  • Assists: Justin Portillo (6)
  • Points: Romario Williams (32)
  • Minutes: Taylor Mueller, Justin Portillo (2,070)

• Rochester
  • Goals: Wal Fall (7)
  • Assists: Kenardo Forbes (4)
  • Points: Wal Fall (16)
  • Minutes: Ryan Felix (1,800)

Previous

• Charleston Battery vs. New York Red Bulls II (D | 1-1)
  • Charleston goals: Romario Williams (45’)
  • New York goals: Stefano Bonomo (72’)
• Rochester Rhinos vs. Harrisburg City Islanders (W | 1-0)
  • Rochester goals: Darius Madison (25’)  
  • Harrisburg goals: none