USL Charleston Battery

Battery, Rowdies Meet in USL Game of the Week

August 7, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


The Charleston Battery (10-3-9) travels to St. Petersburg, Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Rowdies (7-9-5) Wednesday night in the USL Game of the Week on ESPN News.

The Battery is coming off of a 0-0 draw with North Carolina FC at WakeMed Soccer Park that extended its unbeaten streak to nine games. Joe Kuzminsky made five saves in the match to earn his ninth and the team's tenth clean sheet of the season.

Tampa returns home to Al Lang Stadium to host the Battery in the midweek match after suffering a 2-0 loss to Ottawa Fury FC last weekend. The Rowdies out-possessed the Fury by a wide margin, but only managed two shots on goal and were shutout for the eighth time this season.

The Battery handed Tampa one of those eight shutouts when the two sides met earlier this season at MUSC Health Stadium. Ataulla Guerra scored the game's only goal during stoppage time of the first half to give the Battery a 1-0 lead, which was all it would need to take the three points.

Guerra enters Wednesday's match tied with Orange County's Thomas Enevoldsen for the league-lead in goals with 12. The Trinidadian forward is nominated for USL Player of the Month after averaging a goal every 85.4 minutes in the Battery's six matches in July.

Despite what their positioning in the table may project, Tampa has been strong at home this season, losing just twice in their eleven games at Al Lang Stadium. Since their 1-0 loss to the Battery in April, Tampa has replaced Stuart Campbell with Neil Collins as head coach, parted ways with dynamic midfielder Marcel Schafer, and added six new faces including potent goal-scorer Stefano Bonomo.

Bonomo, along with veteran Georgi Hristov, lead the Rowdies in goals with six. Bonomo scored twice against his former team, New York Red Bulls II, on July 28 to help Tampa earn a 2-2 draw at home and land him a spot on the USL Team of the Week.

Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser will be expecting a different Rowdies team than the one the Battery beat at MUSC Health Stadium earlier this season both in terms of personnel and playing style. The Rowdies average two goals per game at Al Lang Stadium compared to 0.9 goals per game on the road. They have also earned all four of their clean sheets this season at home.

Tampa will present a threat to the Battery's nine-game unbeaten streak Wednesday night, but they'll have to find a way through a Charleston defense that has earned three consecutive clean sheets to snap it. The Battery have given up 14 goals in 11 games on the road this season, but eight came in two games. They have solidified their defensive shape since their last loss on

June 9, giving up just four goals during their undefeated run.

With three games in seven days, expect Anhaeuser to rotate a few players from the team that drew with NCFC over the weekend. Following Wednesday's match in St. Petersburg, the Battery will return home to play Atlanta United 2 on Saturday, August 11 at MUSC Health Stadium.

Check out the Charleston Battery Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 7, 2018


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