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USL Charleston Battery

Battery Host Indy Eleven on Friday at Patriots Point

June 1, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Battery return home to host Indy Eleven on Fri., June 2, in their latest USL Championship match, with kickoff at Patriots Point scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Charleston and Indy clash for the first time this season and the hosts will look to avenge last year's defeats to the Circle City outfit. When the two sides met at Patriots Point in 2022, it was too little, too late, as the Battery's comeback efforts in the final minutes of the match fell short in the 3-4 loss.

Augi Williams notched three goals against Indy across both fixtures last year and will look to add to his total come Friday.

The Battery (7W-2L-3D) enter Friday's contest after a 0-2 road victory over Rio Grande Valley FC Toros on Saturday. Charleston were propelled by strong performances from Williams and goalkeeper Trey Muse, who recorded a brace and 10 saves, respectively. The Black and Yellow affirmed their place atop the Eastern Conference standings with the victory, four points clear of second-place Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Indy (3W-5L-3D) arrive in the Lowcountry aiming to bounce back from a 0-1 home loss to Louisville City FC. Will Harris' strike in the first half proved to be enough to make the difference in the latest installment of LIPAFC. It was Indy's fourth league game without finding the back of the net this season, which ranks third-most in the Championship.

Williams is one to keep an eye on for Charleston. Given his recent Team of the Week performance against RGV and his previously-mentioned history against Indy, he is bound to command a lot of attention on Friday.

Sebastian Guenzatti is the player to watch for Indy. The ex-Tampa Bay striker has faced Charleston 15 times, more than any other club in his career, and has recorded seven goals and two assists across those games.

Entering Friday's match, Charleston's Leland Archer leads the league in clearances (61), Fidel Barajas is tied for the most assists (four), Williams is tied for the third-most goals (seven) and Muse is tied for the second-most clean sheets (five).

Looking at milestones, Williams became the 12th player to score 60 goals in the USL Championship regular season after his brace against RGV. He is three goals away from cracking the league's all-time top-10 scoring list.

Battery defender AJ Cochran will have his first chance to face his former club on Friday after spending the previous two seasons with the Eleven.

The club is celebrating Pride Night at Patriots Point during the match, which will also include a variety of fundraising initiatives benefiting local organization Charleston Pride.

FROM THE TRAINING GROUND

Head Coach Ben Pirmann and defender AJ Cochran discussed the upcoming match against Indy, with key quotes to follow.

Coach Pirmann on the core message in training this week...

It's been a little bit of a unique week because we traveled home Sunday, off on Monday and then only have the three-day build-up. So, it's been intense and the sessions are good. We're getting a couple of guys back from injuries, which is always a good thing. But right now, it's about us getting better and then balancing that with preparing for a really good Indy team.

Coach Pirmann on what he wants to see from the team on Friday...

I think the biggest thing is playing with energy, that's every single game, home or away. We're back at home and we had a good response against Monterey Bay here. Now it's going to be a night game, it will be fast, both teams are going to be aggressive and assertive. We need to find the balance of being energetic, making our opponent suffer, but also trying to play good football and put our stamp on the game.

Cochran on the mood and mindset within the squad this week...

We just have to know that we're going to get the best from every team we play. We do have a target on our back, sitting in first place, everyone wants to be in our position and everyone wants to take down the top team in their conference. So, we're prepared for that and that's what we want, because that's only going to bring the best out in us. We're excited about that, we want every team's best when we play them because that will hopefully bring out our best.

Cochran on what he expects to see from his former club...

Indy have a lot of very good players on their team, a lot of experience. We know that they have talent that can hurt teams. So we just have to stick to our game plan, make sure we go in there hungry knowing we're going to get their best. They're dynamic, they got past MVPs, First Team All-League selections, so we just have to make sure we're ready for that.

But, we're more worried about ourselves. We need to make sure that we execute our game plan, that we play the way that we're capable of playing and get the result.

MATCH INFO

Charleston Battery vs. Indy Eleven

Friday, June 2 - 7:30 p.m. ET Kickoff

Patriots Point

HOW TO WATCH:

Only a very limited number of tickets are still available for Friday's match and can be purchased 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 June 1, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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