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USL Charleston Battery

Battery Host San Diego in East Coast-West Coast Match on Saturday

September 8, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Battery return home to host San Diego Loyal SC in an East Coast-West Coast showdown on Sat., Sept. 9. Kickoff at Patriots Point is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Charleston and San Diego have met once before, in 2022 when Loyal SC took home all three points at Torero Stadium. The Battery will look to avenge that result on their home field.

The Black and Yellow (14W-7L-7D, 49 pts) enter this weekend following their second consecutive victory, a 0-1 road win over New Mexico United. Augi Williams came off the bench to the match-winner, his 12th goal and eighth winner across all competitions this year. The win added to the Battery's league-leading 28 points won on the road, which is more than the number of points Charleston earned both home and away a season ago (25).

Loyal SC (12W-7L-7D, 43 pts) arrive in the Lowcountry following a 3-0 home win over Birmingham Legion FC. San Diego will be a formidable foe on Saturday, as the California club are four games unbeaten on the road and have the second-most goals scored per match (1.8 goals).

Tristan Trager is a player to watch for the Battery. With fellow forwards Augi Williams and Fidel Barajas out on international duty, look for Trager to step up with his creativity in attack.

San Diego's Tumi Moshobane is also one to keep an eye on. He has been among their hottest players on offense as of late, having scored four goals in their past three matches.

Saturday's visit to Patriots Point will be the first, and last, for San Diego as it was announced last month the 2023 season will be the club's last and their franchise rights to a new market.

Charleston will be without three players this weekend who are on international duty. Augi Williams was called up to the Sierra Leone national team for AFCON qualifiers; Fidel Barajas to the Mexico U-17 national team for a World Cup preparation camp; Jesse Randall with the New Zealand U-23 national team for Olympic qualifiers.

This match carries playoff implications for Charleston. With a victory, the Battery will officially punch their ticket to postseason play, the first time after a two-year absence in the playoffs. Charleston's magic number for points away from clinching a spot is 2 points.

If the Battery draw or lose against San Diego, the club can still clinch if FC Tulsa lose or draw against Phoenix Rising FC, as Charleston are set to be clear of one of Detroit City FC and Miami FC regardless of the outcome of their contest.

FROM THE TRAINING GROUND

Head Coach Ben Pirmann and midfielder Arturo Rodriguez addressed the media ahead of Saturday's match, with key quotes to follow.

Coach Pirmann on what to expect from San Diego...

San Diego are a very big club, a lot of good players [and they're] well coached. I think they're the best team in the league in the build-up phase and in possession, they're the best team in the league at creating positional attacks and numerical security to break lines to get their dynamic players going. So, we have to be prepared to make sure that the game is played as much on our terms as possible and be comfortable out of possession.

Coach Pirmann on what clinching a playoff spot would mean to this club and the squad...

I think clinching a playoff spot is a really big deal, but we're not focused on that. We're just focused on training this week, we're focused on having as good a match against San Diego as possible. And then whatever happens there, win, lose or draw, we get focused on Loudon and then Tulsa and El Paso, so on.

So for us, I think, big picture when you step back, if we're fortunate enough to make the playoffs this year, that's a tremendous season. It's a great honor and it's where this club should be.

Rodriguez on facing San Diego this weekend...

San Diego is a really good team. They know what they're doing [in possession], they really like to play their game and have the ball. I think it's gonna be a really interesting game. They have a lot of quality in their players. I think they know what they're doing [on the ball] and it will be super interesting for us to see what we can do to stop them.

Rodriguez on the mindset within the squad ahead of Saturday's game...

Right now, the team is pretty compact. We had two wins in a row and the shutout. I think the team is working together well as we are about to be getting ready for playoffs. But right now, our focus is on Saturday's game and the team is looking really strong. Plus, it's always great and super fun to play at home with our fans.

MATCH INFO

Charleston Battery vs. San Diego Loyal SC

Saturday, September 9 - 7:30 p.m. ET Kickoff

Patriots Point

HOW TO WATCH:

Only a very limited number of tickets are still available for Saturday'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

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