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USL Charleston Battery

Battery Host Sacramento in Saturday Cross-Conference Showdown

July 29, 2022 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Battery will host Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday, July 30, at Patriots Point as the club celebrates Hometown Heroes Night. Kickoff for the interconference showdown is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Saturday's fixture is a rematch that's been eight years in the making after Charleston and Sacramento squared off for the first and only time back in August 2014. Colin Falvey got on the scoresheet for the Battery, but hosts Republic FC won the match, 3-1. The Black and Yellow will look for revenge when the California outfit visit the Lowcountry for the first time.

Sacramento arrive in Charleston after a busy week of action. The larger of two fixtures came in Sacramento's midweek U.S. Open Cup semifinal against MLS side Sporting Kansas City. They defeated SKC on penalty kicks after the game ended 0-0 after extra time, becoming the first non-MLS team to reach the USOC Final since the Battery achieved the feat in 2008. In league play, Republic FC fielded a rotated squad on the road against Phoenix Rising FC last Saturday in a match that ended in a scoreless stalemate.

The Battery will look to build off their second-consecutive strong performance after earning a hard-fought point on the road against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in what was a back-and-forth affair. Geobel Perez Jr. and Augustine Williams each scored, but both times were matched by equalizers from Colorado Springs moments later. Despite eventually going down 3-2, Charleston rallied late and captain AJ Paterson leveled the score in stoppage time off a brilliant set piece shot to steal a point from Colorado Springs.

Charleston will have the services of Matt Sheldon and Romario Piggott available again this weekend after the pair served card suspensions that forced them to miss the Colorado Springs match. Alexander Dexter will also be available for the game after his contract was extended through the remainder of the season.

Prior to the match and as part of Hometown Heroes Night, the annual Battle of the Badges tournament returns to the Battery's training pitch next to the stadium and will kick off at 4:30 p.m. The Charleston Police Department, the Charleston Fire Department, the Mount Pleasant Police Department and the North Charleston Police Department will all field teams in an 8v8 competition and the winners will be honored at halftime of Charleston-Sacramento.

Saturday could also see the return of former Battery player and current Sacramento No. 10 Zeiko Lewis, who joined Republic FC during this past offseason. Lewis played in the Lowcountry from 2019 to 2021, making 73 total appearances.

Last weekend, Battery forward Augustine Williams picked up a pair of milestones when he played in his 150th regular-season USL Championship match and became Charleston's first double-digit goalscorer since 2018. This weekend, he will have a chance to eclipse 10,000 career minutes played in regular season USLC competition. He currently sits at 9,998

Ones to Watch

Sacramento - Rodrigo López

López has been a central figure for Sacramento in 2022, which is also his third stint with the team. The veteran midfielder and club captain leads the side in chances created (38), shots (23) and assists (three) in 16 league matches. López, however, played the full 120 minutes against Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday, so it remains to be seen what role he has on Saturday. Should he feature for Sacramento, expect him to have a heavy presence in driving their offense forward.

Charleston - Robbie Crawford

Crawford made his 2022 debut for the Battery against Colorado Springs after rejoining Charleston from Monterey Bay FC earlier this month. While Crawford is still getting up to speed with his new squad, he's already familiar with Sacramento after facing them twice with MBFC, where he tallied an assist in the first meeting. As the Scottish midfielder gets further involved within the team, expect him to make an immediate impact when he steps on the pitch - whether in the starting lineup or off the bench.

From the Training Ground

The Battery returned to training on Tuesday after a period of travel and recovery from the Rocky Mountain matchday.

Head Coach Conor Casey and forward Augi Williams previewed Saturday's match in the quotes below.

Coach Casey on what he's seen from his squad in the past weeks...

I think the team is still coming together and some of those relationships are starting to really pay dividends now at this point in the season. It's a group that's together and we've played a handful of pretty good games in a row now, a great result last weekend against Colorado in a tough environment, really happy with the mentality from them.

Coach Casey on facing Sacramento...

They're a very good team, they've had a long run in the U.S. Open Cup and are into the final after winning on Wednesday, they've beaten three MLS teams now. They've had some [roster] rotation around their Open Cup games, so we'll wait and see how they roll out. They've played different formations with both those groups, we've looked at both of those, and we'll be ready for whatever they throw out against us this weekend.

Coach Casey on what he sees Saturday's match coming down to...

I think that we need to first keep that zero on the scoreboard for them, so don't allow any goals in the first half. I think coming into halftime with a clean sheet will put us in a really good position to win. With the support we've had from our fans, [our ability in] finishing games off throughout the season has been excellent. We've been better the last few weeks around goal with finishing our chances.

Williams on the mindset within the squad recently...

The mood within the locker room has been great, you can see the guys getting back to a happy mood, especially after the last two games. It's all been positive vibes we're getting in training, so the guys are very looking forward to the match coming up.

Williams on what he knows about Sacramento, a club he's played many times before in previous seasons...

Sacramento are one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Approaching a team like that, you have to be ready because they're a very good team. We've watched them play in Open Cup games, they got an amazing result. So, a guy like myself from the West Coast who has scored against them a couple of times, I'm just looking forward to it, focused on getting my job done and getting the three points.

Williams on wrapping up July at home...

To close out the month at home, it's a great feeling in front of our fans. The fans have been the heart of the team, they've been there for us, supporting us through the good and the bad. So, we're looking to go out there, make the fans happy and then get the three points.

As of posting, Brett St. Martin, Mauro Cichero, Andrew Booth and Joe Kuzminsky are out.

MATCH INFO

Charleston Battery vs. Sacramento Republic FC

Saturday, July 30 - 7:30 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.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 29, 2022


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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