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USL Charleston Battery

Battery Draw Saint Louis FC 1-1 Behind Late Heroics from Cordoves

August 15, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


Charleston Battery vs. Saint Louis FC
Charleston Battery vs. Saint Louis FC
(Charleston Battery)

CHARLESTON -- Charleston Battery salvaged a point in a wild 1-1 draw against Saint Louis FC on Saturday night at MUSC Health Stadium by way of a late header from substitute forward Heviel Cordoves in front of a crowd of 4,143.

"It was an absolutely huge goal to get us the point," Battery head coach Mike Anhaeseur said about the header from the Cuban. "We created chances and moved the ball well, while they sat in and defended. It was huge that we got that, but a little disappointing we couldn't get the second or third one."

Charleston was on the front foot for most of the match but couldn't quite find the final touch to grab a goal in the first half.

Speedy fullback Quinton Griffith had a good chance in the 14th minute but couldn't finish. After midfielder Memo Rodriguez was able to find Zach Prince near the top of the box, Prince slipped a pass through to a cutting Griffith but his shot was quickly blocked by St. Louis keeper Alec Kann.

Rodriguez nearly found himself a goal after a corner in the 42nd minute. When the corner was bouncing around between a group in the middle of the box, Rodriguez found the ball at his feet and fired a shot towards the goal. The ball took a deflection off of a defender and almost bounced into the bottom right corner, but it rolled just wide.

After taking the tie into halftime, St. Louis scored on the second shot taken by the team. Forward Jamiel Hardware found himself 25 yards from goal and attempted to scoop a pass to forward Jordan Roberts. Battery defenders Shawn Ferguson and Taylor Mueller stepped up to prevent the pass from reaching Roberts, but it fell back to the feet of Hardware just inside the box. He took an extra touch and then easily slid a shot under Battery keeper Odisnel Cooper to give St. Louis the 1-0 advantage in the 60th minute.

Charleston continued firing at net with Dante Marini nearly curling a shot into the far post, but was turned away by a spectacular save from Kann.

From the moment he entered the game in the 85th minute, Heviel Cordoves made an impact. He quickly found a shot that he just missed with his left foot.

With time dwindling fast, Charleston pushed everyone forward and forced a corner in the 89th minute. Substitute midfielder Justin Portillo curled in a pass from the corner and Cordoves rose above everyone to slam home a header to tie the game.

The substitute's heroics did not stop there. Early in stoppage time Odisnel Cooper was pulled out of position and the goal was left wide open. A Saint Louis FC shot was sent toward the net, but Cordoves stepped in and cleared the ball off the line.

As stoppage time continued, things got fiery between the two squads. St. Louis midfielder Kingsley Bryce was sent off for a reckless challenge against Ferguson. Less than a minute after play resumed, Ferguson and St. Louis substitute Mike Ambersley were given yellow cards for an altercation that saw Ferguson shoved to the ground. The yellow card means Ferguson will be suspended for the next match against St. Louis.

STLFC was already down a man when Bryce was sent off because defender Oskar Gasecki was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 83rd minute after a dangerous tackle on Battery forward Dane Kelly.

These two teams will meet again this Thursday, Aug. 20, in St. Louis. Charleston then heads to Louisville to finish out the two-game road trip next Saturday, and visits Richmond and Pittsburgh before returning home on Sept. 12th to host Louisville City FC at MUSC Health Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available starting at $10. For information call 843-971-GOAL or visit online at charlestonbattery.com.

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Charleston Battery vs. Saint Louis FC
Charleston Battery vs. Saint Louis FC
   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 15, 2015


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