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USL Charleston Battery

Battery Host Detroit on Saturday at Patriots Point

August 26, 2022 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Battery return home on Saturday, August 27, to face Detroit City FC in the first meeting in the Lowcountry between the clubs. Kickoff at Patriots Point is slated for 8 p.m. ET.

Saturday will be the second-ever game between Charleston and USL Championship newcomers Detroit. DCFC managed to win the inaugural meeting back in March, 1-0, during a rainy and cold afternoon in Michigan. The Black and Yellow will look to return the favor when they host Le Rouge in the reverse fixture this weekend.

Detroit will be aiming to bounce back after falling to a nine-man Louisville City FC at home, 0-1. The match was scoreless through the hour-mark until LouCity were awarded a penalty in the 65th minute. Sean Totsch converted from the spot a minute later with what proved to be the match-winner. Detroit, however, were twice given an advantage when LouCity's Wesley Charpie and Wilson Harris were sent off, reducing the visitors to nine men. Le Rouge were unable to capitalize on the opportunity as LouCity held on for the road victory.

The Battery return to the Lowcountry after wrapping up a three-match away stand that concluded with a 1-1 draw against LA Galaxy II. Patrick Hogan scored his first goal of the season in the first half off a corner kick, assisted by Robbie Crawford, to give Charleston the lead at halftime. The hosts managed to level the score in the 83rd minute off a free-kick after the Battery continued to withstand the previous several advances from Los Dos. Goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux set a new season-high in saves with 10, a figure that also tied the most in a single game in the league this year.

At Patriots Point this weekend, the club will be celebrating College Night, presented by Home Team BBQ, recognizing universities being back in session. The Battery are represented by 16 different colleges and three that have multiple alumni (UNC Charlotte, Patrick Hogan and Daniel Kuzemka; Coastal Carolina, DZ Harmon and Romario Piggott; FIU, Hugo Fauroux and Andrew Booth).

The match against Detroit will be the final missed game due to a red card suspension for Enock Kwakwa. He is poised to return the following Wednesday against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Wednesday.

Saturday could mark a home debut for Battery defender Avionne Flanagan, who signed with the club during the three-game away stand.

Augustine Williams and Hugo Fauroux will look to keep climbing up the leaderboard in their respective areas. Williams is the second-highest goalscorer in the Eastern Conference (13) and Fauroux tied for sixth in most saves in the conference (58, with Tulsa's Austin Wormell and Indy's Sean Lewis).

Ones to Watch

Detroit - Nathan Steinwascher

Steinwascher has been one of the top goalkeepers in the league all season long and his exceptional form has been a key to Detroit's bid for a playoff spot. The 29-year-old shot-stopper has racked up the second-most saves in the league (77) and is tied for seventh-most clean sheets (seven). Steinwascher made just one save against the Battery back in March, but it was a big one that prevented Charleston from grabbing a late equalizer. The Black and Yellow will have their work cut out for them in breaking through Steinwascher.

Charleston - Hugo Fauroux

In the opposite goal, Hugo Fauroux has put together a solid 2022 season so far. Fauroux, who became a regular starter in May, has recorded the ninth-most saves in the league (58, tied with Wormell and Lewis). Last game, the French shot-stopper tied the league's season-high of 10 saves in a single game, a mark reached by only three others. Fauroux did not feature in the match against Detroit in March, but look for him to bring the strong performances from the away stand back home to Patriots Point this weekend.

The Battery returned to training on Tuesday following a period of travel and recovery after the match in California.

Head Coach Conor Casey and forward Aidan Apodaca discussed the upcoming match against Detroit, with key quotes to follow.

Coach Casey on bringing the momentum from the previous two games into Saturday...

The team competed really well over the last few matches, we had a run of away games against good opponents. We got the win against New York and then a good performance against a strong LA [Galaxy II] team. I think we've been playing with a lot more urgency over the past few games, so that's something we're going to continue to push over the remaining games that we have left in the season.

Coach Casey on the areas of focus in training this week...

Continuing to push the tempo and continuing to push for points. There's a lot to play for still, guys are playing for contracts and for pride. We've been looking at them a lot, Detroit is a very good team. They've had a great year, they're an organized team, so we've been looking at some ways that we can break them down. This is a team we're going against that's played with a lot of grit and we're going to have to make sure that we have that same roll-up-your-sleeves approach come this weekend.

Coach Casey on what will make the difference on Saturday...

I think [the game] will come down to how we are able to finish our chances when we create them. I think it'll be good to start the game very fast and then it'll be to handle those moments in transition, when the press is beat and we have to deal with those transition moments going to our goal, and how we're able to put out those fires.

Apodaca on how preparations have gone ahead of the match...

Training has been going pretty well, I think we came off two decent results, away both times, but the intensity was what we wanted. We don't want to fall off on any of those performances, we want to keep building on them and keep going forward.

Apodaca on the first match against Detroit earlier in the season...

The first game against Detroit, it wasn't easy. It was scrappy, especially with the weather conditions and everything. But [on Saturday], I think we're going to expect kind of a dogfight, so everybody has to be up for it, to win their individual battles and get a good result.

Apodaca on the excitement of returning home this weekend...

It's huge for us. I think we're all kind of tired of traveling and we want to get into our personal routines again, but more importantly, string together another good performance, especially in front of our fans. It'll be good for our morale to get in front of the fans again and have them cheering behind us.

As of posting, Leland Archer and AJ Paterson are questionable; Joe Schmidt, Kyle Holcomb, Brett St. Martin and Joe Kuzminsky are out. Mauro Cichero returned to training this week and will be available for selection this weekend.

MATCH INFO

Charleston Battery vs. Detroit City FC

Saturday, August 27 - 8:00 p.m. ET Kickoff

Patriots Point

HOW TO WATCH:

Tickets are available for Saturday's match, but sections are starting to sell out. Buy tickets for the game via SeatGeek.com, the Battery's exclusive digital ticketing provider.

All Battery matches will also stream on ESPN+ domestically and through the league's YouTube channel for free internationally.

Check out the Charleston Battery Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 26, 2022


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