USL Charleston Battery

Battery Victorious in Season Finale

Published on September 5, 2014 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


CHARLESTON, SC- The Charleston Battery corralled a 2-1 win over the Harrisburg City Islanders in front of a crowd of 3,919 on John Wilson Night at Blackbaud Stadium to conclude the 2014 USLPRO regular season.

"Defensively, we were pretty good," said Battery head coach Mike Anhaeuser. "We got some guys minutes. Now we just have to see where the chips fall and see who we play (in the playoffs)."

With captain Colin Falvey out for the rest of the season on loan, the captain's armband was passed on to defender John Wilson, who is retiring at the end of the season.

In his last regular-season game, Charleston celebrated the career of Wilson. Prior to the match midfielder Zach Prince presented Wilson with a Battery jersey with the number 269 on the back, representing the number of matches Wilson has played for Charleston. In his time with the Battery, Wilson wore the number 25 and in the 25 th minute was treated to a standing ovation from the home crowd.

Anhaeuser spoke highly of the defender as he reflected on coaching Wilson over the past several years.

"He's been an absolute professional and young guys need to learn from him. It's been a joy coaching him the past several years."

Despite looking sluggish throughout most of the first half, Charleston was able to carry a 1-0 lead into halftime when forward Heviel Cordoves scored in the 45 th minute.

After Islanders goalkeeper Nick Noble charged off his line to save a shot by Jarad van Schaik, the rebound fell to Cordoves on the left side of the box. Cordoves stepped past his defender and bounced a left-footed shot off the far post into the back of the net.

During halftime, Wilson received more special moments. Wilson's first ever soccer coach, Tony Stevens, was brought onto the field and Wilson was given another standing ovation from the crowd. He was also named Defensive Player of the Year, and received the David Vaughn Memorial Award. Forward Dane Kelly was named Offensive Player of the Year and team MVP, while midfielder Justin Portillo was picked as Newcomer of the Year.

After halftime, Charleston came out with new energy and scored in the 55 th minute when fullback Emmanuel Adjetey slipped a pass through the Harrisburg defense and substitute forward Mamadou Diouf beat the goalkeeper and two defenders with a shot from a tight angle on the right side.

With a 2-0 lead, Charleston cruised through the rest of the half and seemed poised for a clean sheet. The Islanders kept Battery goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper under siege, out-shooting the home team 14-9, but Cooper logged seven saves and looked set for another clean sheet.

But the City Islanders had different plans. Substitute forward Garret Pettis was able to sneak a shot past Cooper deep into stoppage time on what was effectively the final action of the night.

After the restart, the final whistle blew to give Charleston the 2-1 victory heading into the USLPRO playoffs.

Charleston's next match will be the first round of the USLPRO playoffs next weekend. The opponent, date and time have yet to be determined.

Tickets for Battery home games are available starting at $10, to purchase tickets or for more information please call 843-971-GOAL (4625) or visit www.charlestonbattery.com .

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