USL-1 Charleston Battery

Battery Defeats Kraze in USOC First Round

Published on June 12, 2007 under USL First Division (USL-1)
Charleston Battery News Release


CHARLESTON, SC-When professionals play amateur teams, they are supposed to win handedly. The beauty of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which pits amateurs and professionals together to crown the national champion in the sport, is that sometimes the amateur teams find ways to beat the professionals. This, however, was not the case Tuesday night, as the Charleston Battery-playing a majority of its regular starters-had little difficulty dispatching the PDL Central Florida Kraze 3-0, behind two first half goals from Luke Vercollone.

The win puts the Battery through into the next round of the single-elimination tournament versus the winner of the Miami F.C. (USL1) and El Paso Patriots (PDL) game. The Battery will host the winner at Blackbaud Stadium June 26.

The Battery put the pressure early on the amateur side, comprised mostly of college players, testing Kraze goalkeeper Alessandro Barcherrini early. The young goalkeeper, sadly, was not up to the test. Just six minutes in Barcherrini let a long-range bomb from Stephen Armstrong roll through his hands for the opening goal. In Barcherrini's, defense, the ball did take a slight deflection as he bent down to pick up the ball.

After several near misses, Vercollone doubled the score, slotting home a Mike Richardson cross from inside the penalty area for his first of two goals. Richardson found Vercollone unmarked just outside of the six-yard box with a perfectly weighted ball from the left flank. Vercollone slammed the ball past a helpless Barcherrini to put the Battery up by two.

Despite being down, the Kraze pushed forward whenever they could, pulling Battery goalkeeper Keith Wiggans off his line in the 16th minute. Wiggans got enough of the ball to keep it out of the goal, and Tim Karalexis swept the ball to safety to preserve the clean sheet. Wiggans, playing his second consecutive game after playing in Tuesday's 1-1 draw against Village United, made another fine save in the 31st minute off a blistering shot from Keith Savage from thirty yards out, diving across the goal to his left, pulling the ball off the goal line.

Wiggans again denied Savage, this time to the opposite side of the ball, parrying the ball at full stretch for a corner kick in the 40th minute.

Three minutes later Vercollone netted his second of the night and the Battery's final goal of the game, again finding himself unmarked in the left side of the penalty area. This time it was Gordon Chin's pinpoint cross from the left flank that found Vercollone, who chested down the cross and slotted the ball in for the brace.

The Battery continued to push for more goals early in the second half. Byron Alvarez slammed a free kick off the crossbar 10 minutes into the second half. Ten minutes later Vercollone nearly had his hat trick, were it not for the spectacular save by Barcherrini.

For the remainder of the game, the Battery hospitably played on cruise control, as coach Mike Anhaeuser used his maximum four substitutions allowed in the tournament, disrupting the flow of the play the Battery enjoyed in the first half.

In the 76th minute the Kraze went down to 10 men after substitute Daniel Fadida committed a two-footed foul on the Battery's Ian Bennett, earning an straight red card.

The Kraze went down another man with a minute to play, after an injury forced a player off the field after all four substitutions had been used. With the win well at hand, and advancement into the second round of the tournament secured, the Battery did not press the matter, playing out the clock instead.

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USL First Division Stories from June 12, 2007


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