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Charleston Battery

Charleston vs. Rochester Preview: the Big One at Blackbaud

July 1, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


CHARLESTON -- There are no secrets to the basic game plan Rochester Rhinos Coach Bob Lilley will bring to the Lowcountry this week for his Friday night first-place-v-second-place showdown with the Battery at Blackbaud Stadium.

Exotic formation? Not likely. Look for a 4-4-2. 

Clever tactical tweaks? Maybe. But always subordinate to a solid, organized, unhurried approach.

And dynamic, attacking football? Not first. Not foremost.

Two numbers jump out at anyone who studies the secret to Rochester's record-breaking 14-match unbeaten streak to begin the 2015 season: 18 and 5. Eighteen is the number of goals the Rhinos have scored. When it comes to putting the ball in the net, Rochester is a mediocre producer.

But the five in this instance is goals allowed, and nobody in USL -- no team in North American professional soccer for that matter -- can come close to matching Lilley's Rhinos when it comes to shutting down opponents. The USL's second best team in scoring defense is Louisville... with 14.

Of such brutal, structured brilliance are 9-0-5, first-place records forged.

If the Battery seriously intend to mount an assault on the Eastern Conference title, the biggest job they've faced in 2015 will be this one on Friday night: Break the Rhino wall, end the undefeated streak, and put Charleston in position to finally overtake this newly implacable Old Guard foe.

SCOUTING THE BATTERY

The first quarter of Charleston's 2015 season (7-2-6, 27 points) saw the Battery play daring, dynamic football and run out to a 5-0-2 record. In the second quarter of the schedule, USL opponents figured out that allowing Mike Anhaeuser's team any room to maneuver was a dangerous idea, and simply stopped doing that. Charleston's scoring plunged, and the team limped to 1-2-4 in the second seven.

Two teams from the higher divisions -- Fort Lauderdale of NASL and Orlando of MLS -- missed the "park the bus" memo in the U.S. Open Cup. Charleston scored seven goals against them in Rounds 3 and 4. And when Dane Kelly's goal in the second minute forced Harrisburg to chase an equalizer for the next 88 on June 27, the Battery turned in their most complete performance of 2015 in a 4-1 win to start the second half of their season.

Most of the changes Anhaeuser has made from week to week have been forced by injury and fatigue, but his basic approach remains unchanged. Call the formation what you will, but it relies on a four-man back line, two flexible central midfielders, two wide attackers, and one ACM/forward playing underneath a center forward.

Most of the time that center forward is Kelly, a 2014 all-league player and Charleston's leading scorer for the past three years. Though his stats (six USL goals, plus two in Open Cup) don't put him among the league's elite, he's been quietly displaying a full compliment of striker skills this season. Kelly repeatedly broke down the City Islanders last week, creating opportunities for himself and others.

His backup, Heviel Cordoves, will miss the Rochester match with an ankle injury, and fullback/midfielder speed merchant Quinton Griffith must sit this one out on suspension. Midfielder Sebastien "Seba" Thuriere is on Gold Cup duty with Haiti. But even without those talents, the Battery enter this match with more or less the same contingent of starters they've employed through most of the season. Eleven Battery players have been named to USL Teams of the Week in 2015.

To break down Fortress Rochester, Anhaeuser will look to use the pace of players like Kelly, fullback Obi Woodbine and sometimes-starter Navion Boyd -- a right winger -- to get behind the Rhinos defense. When that fails, look for the Battery to work the ball around the perimeter using precision passing. With deep-lying playmaker Justin Portillo and assists-leader Maikel Chang at his disposal, Anhaeuser has the right tools for the job.

The X-factor for Friday night stands between the pipes. Will it be the undefeated Odisnel "El Gato" Cooper, who is battling a bruised shoulder? Or will it be intensely focused USL rookie Kevin Corby, who saved five shots in a commanding performance against Harrisburg last week?

Charleston enters this match on an unbeaten streak of its own. In USL matches since May 10, 2014, the club has not lost at home in 18 consecutive games, compiling a record of 12-0-6. This season's squad has gone 5-0-3 at Blackbaud Stadium compiling a +9 goal differential on 16 goals with 7 goals against.

SCOUTING THE RHINOS

Why is Lilley's "Northeastern" style of soccer suddenly paying such big dividends? The once-dominant Rhinos had been little better than mid-table contenders the last two seasons, finishing 10th in 2013 and 7th in 2014. This year their undefeated and lead Charleston by 5 points with 32.

Granted, last year's team wasn't bad on defense. It was one of only two USL PRO teams to allow fewer than 30 goals. But with 27 goals allowed, Rochester's 2014 Goal Differential was a mere +3. They're currently on track for a +26 gd.

For all the defensive talent at Lilley's disposal, the biggest difference is probably on the attack, where the Rhinos deploy new acquisitions Steeven Dos Santos and Christian Volesky atop an Old School 4-4-2 that contests every touch in midfield and hustles to fill the lanes in front of what's probably the league's best back line.

Throw in former MLS players Alex Dixon and Colin Rolfe and there's no shortage of talent at forward. Combine the forwards with pacey outside midfielder Kenardo Forbes and clever playmaking types in midfielders Tony Walls, Jonny Mendoza and Michael Garzi, and you've got the foundation for an efficient, if not necessarily emphasized, attack.

Lilley's back line features fullbacks who aren't too anxious to join the attack, plus center backs who seldom appear to be scrambling in emergency situations.

The Rhinos close down every offensive player who touches the ball and swarm passes that arrive in the penalty area. They're not dirty per se (Charleston has far more yellow cards), but the Rhinos are fifth in the league in fouls, and will grab, pull and body-up on smaller opponents whenever the situation allows.

They're also tall. Three of their regular defensive starters stand 6-2 or taller (new center backs Vasileios Apostolopoulos and Grant Van De Casteele -- formerly of Colorado Rapids -- are 6-3 and 6-2, respectively, yet English left back Unua Obasi towers above both at 6-4). The midfielders are a solidly built bunch, and Dos Santos is a menacing 6-4 presence in an attack that celebrates strength and power.

If there's an early candidate for Breakout Player of the Year, it's probably Rhinos goalkeeper Brandon Miller. An afterthought in 2014 behind Rookie of the Year/Goalkeeper of the Year John McCarthy, Miller has emerged as USL star this season. Though much of the credit for his astounding 0.32 goals-against average accrues to his back line (Rochester has recorded the fewest saves in the league), there's no getting around Miller's 0.889 save percentage, by far the best in USL.

KEY MATCHUP: Rochester has been effective on the road all season, winning four and drawing five. And with most of their remaining matches scheduled for their home turf, there's little reason for the Rhinos to risk losing. From a purely point-based perspective, a scoreless draw in Charleston would probably suit them just fine.

So the first of only two regular-season meetings between Charleston and Rochester (with the second scheduled for July 26 in Upstate New York) pits Charleston's speed and passing against the Rhinos' strength and situational discipline. But it also pits the Battery's desire to win against the Rhino's old trick of absorbing aggression and then stinging their opponents with a single strike.

In center backs Taylor Mueller and Shawn Ferguson, the Battery have the big, athletic bodies to challenge Dos Santos and Valesky, which frees fullbacks Woodbine and the always under-rated Emmanuel Adjetey to take chances up the pitch. Given the likelihood that Lilley will likely keep nine men behind the ball most of the night, adding a fullback to the possession and attack may be necessary.

But that's tactics. The key match-up is Kelly vs. Apostolopoulos, Van de Casteele and Obasi, the center-and-left side of the Rochester defense. Though the Battery have spread the wealth around in the attack, Kelly is Charleston's most in-form player, and his ability to turn something into nothing is the Battery's No. 1 threat.

Charleston has proven it can win without his production. But it's much easier when the Battery doesn't have to.

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