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Charleston Battery

Battery Looking to Get Back on Track Versus FC Montreal Saturday

July 29, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


Charleston Battery's Forrest Lasso, Jarad van Schaik and Shawn Ferguson Battle Toronto FC II's Raheem Edwards
Charleston Battery's Forrest Lasso, Jarad van Schaik and Shawn Ferguson Battle Toronto FC II's Raheem Edwards
(Charleston Battery)

When Charleston first met FC Montreal in Canada on May 14, the Battery were in high form and the Quebecois were on a losing streak. Those roles will be reversed when FC Montreal makes its first visit to the Lowcountry Saturday, with kickoff on Daniel Island set for 7:30 p.m.

The Battery will be looking for a big performance in front of a big crowd. It's MUSC Health Night, with fireworks on tap for after the match, and also Family Night, with four tickets, four hotdogs, four chips and four drinks for $40. Tickets are available online or over the phone at 843.971.GOAL (4625). To reserve your Family Four Pack, call the ticket line, or purchase it at the box office Saturday.

FC Montreal, the USL expansion team owned and operated by the Montreal Impact, was winless when the Battery pulled up to the turf field outside Stade Saputo for that first meeting. Charleston was 5-0-2 and coming off a big 3-1 home win over Pittsburgh.

Charleston went to Canada as one of the highest-scoring attacks in USL. FCM entered the match in last place, allowing an average of two goals a game behind an attack that was averaging one goal every three outings. Yet Montreal swept aside all previous trends and beat the short-handed Battery 1-0 in a match that was every bit as closely played as the scoreline.

The Blues' goal came in the first half hour when Charleston goalkeeper Michael Lisch -- who met the team in Canada on a short-term loan from Houston Dynamo -- botched an uncontested clearance in the 28th minute. As Battery defenders scrambled to recover from the error, 2015 Impact first-round draft pick Romario Williams picked out midfielder Louis Beland-Goyette, also on loan from the parent club, for the go-ahead finish.

With the lead, Montreal changed into a more protective style. But its misfiring opponent was already struggling to find its usual flow.

The most obvious reason for Charleston's misfortunes on May 14 was personnel. International travel restrictions forced Battery Coach Mike Anhaeuser to leave six players -- starters Odisnel Cooper, Maikel Chang, Obi Woodbine and Emmanuel Adjetey, plus key substitutes Heviel Cordoves and Navion Boyd -- in the United States. Only 14 players, including two short-term loans from Houston, were available.

The result was the most makeshift Battery XI of 2015, featuring center back Taylor Mueller at left back, midfielder Zach Prince at right back, a cameo appearance by 2014 Dynamo first-rounder AJ Cochran at center back, plus central midfielder Memo Rodriguez at left midfield. The lineup also featured rare starts by midfielders Dante Marini and Sebastien Thuriere.

The Battery return to Charleston this week after losing their second and final Canadian match of 2015, 1-0 at Toronto FC II on Friday, July 24. That one bore little resemblance to the Montreal defeat, and more players were eligible to make the trip to Ontario this time. But the result -- reinforced by another 1-0 loss at Rochester on Sunday -- puts Charleston on its first losing streak since July 2014 (when the Battery lost two in a row at the start of a 0-3-2 winless slump).

SCOUTING FC MONTREAL

Montreal Impact took a unique approach when it rolled out its new USL team in 2015, putting FC Montreal under the direction of Impact Academy coach Philippe Eullaffroy. He began the season sending out starting XIs comprised mainly of untested French-Canadian academy teenagers to face units stocked with USL veterans. The early results were predictably bad.

After the Charleston game, however, the Baby Blues' began to improve. The team scored multiple goals for the first time in a 3-2 loss at New York in its next match, then drew NYRB II in Quebec in late May and Richmond on the road in mid-June.

Then, on July 12, Montreal blasted Pittsburgh -- a club in a USL East playoff position -- 4-2 in Canada. It would be the first of three consecutive wins (5-2 versus Saint Louis FC and 1-0 at TFC II). Charlotte broke the magic with a solid 2-0 win in the Queen City on last Friday. The Impact escaped the Eastern Conference cellar with a 4-12-2 record.

How did they do it? One factor has clearly been the steadily improving play of striker Alessandro Riggi, a Canadian youth international who signed with Montreal after his attempt to break into the professional ranks in Italy as a teenager ended in disappointment. Riggi leads the team in goals with five.

Another is enigmatic teenage forward Charles Joly. Though he's played in only seven games he's second on the team in scoring with three goals -- all of them coming in the first half of the 5-2 ambush of Saint Louis. The performance won him USL Player of the Week honors.

Goalkeeper David Paulmin has started the last three matches for the Blues, posting 15 saves, allowing four goals and going 2-1-0.

Defenders Janouk Charbonneau and Mele Temgula have seen the most action on the back line, with Charbonneau earning a recent start on the league's Team of the Week.

On Tuesday the team announced the signing of a new forward, 21-year-old Cameroon international Jacques Haman. Haman made his first appearance with Cameroon's national team earlier this year. "Jacques Haman is a pure forward that likes to play," Eulllaffroy said. "He has a profile that we like in the club. He is fast and manages well in front of the net. He's a great addition considering we are lacking efficiency in front of goal."

SCOUTING THE BATTERY

Charleston (9-4-7) has struggled primarily with two types of teams this season: Teams from Canada, and teams from Rochester. The Battery faced both last weekend.

Back at home with a chance to get back in their groove, the Battery appear to have the necessary tools at hand. They haven't lost a league match at home in 20 outings dating back to May 10, 2014, they're among the league leaders in defense, and their top scorer, forward Dane Kelly, has been in good form this summer.

The group is also in fairly good health. Center back Forrest Lasso left the Toronto match as a precaution after taking a blow to the head, but could be cleared for full participation this week. Winger Navion Boyd went down with some type of leg injury at Rochester, and is still being assessed. Midfielder Memo Rodriguez left the team to participate in the MLS Homegrown Game Tuesday night, but he's expected back for the weekend.

What's not yet known is how this year's squad will react to some of the first real adversity it has faced as a unit. Those back-to-back losses conceded second-place -- with its coveted first-round playoff bye -- to the hungry expansion team from from Louisville, and the Kentucky team holds two games in hand on Charleston.

Does the 2015 Battery have the grit and talent to get back on the winning track Saturday? Or will its short summer slump turn into a longer slide?

Check out the Charleston Battery Statistics




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Charleston Battery's Forrest Lasso, Jarad van Schaik and Shawn Ferguson Battle Toronto FC II's Raheem Edwards
Charleston Battery's Forrest Lasso, Jarad van Schaik and Shawn Ferguson Battle Toronto FC II's Raheem Edwards
   

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