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USL Charleston Battery

Charleston Battery Hosts Louisville City FC Saturday Night

July 13, 2018 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


The Charleston Battery (7-3-8) hosts reigning USL Champions Louisville City FC (8-3-5) Saturday night at MUSC Health Stadium. The two sides enter Saturday's match tied for third place in the Eastern Conference with 29 points.

The Battery is coming off of a 2-1 win over Indy Eleven that extended their unbeaten streak to five matches. Gordon Wild scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season to lift the Battery past Indy and secure the team's fifth win at MUSC Health Stadium.

Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser rotated his squad for the match with Indy, making seven changes to his lineup from the team's 1-1 draw with North Carolina FC last Saturday. The rotation paid off as the Battery collected all three points and rested key players including Kotaro Higashi, Ataulla Guerra, and O'Brian Woodbine ahead of this weekend's clash with Louisville, who did not play midweek.

The defending champions defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies, 2-1, away from home in their previous match. Kyle Smith opened the scoring early against the Rowdies and Cameron Lancaster scored the eventual game-winner after Junior Flemmings leveled the score at one. Lancaster's goal was his ninth of the year, tying Guerra and five others for the league lead.

Charleston and Louisville are similar in make up; both have short rosters filled with lots of talent and experience and are tied on points with similar home and road records this season. Louisville retained the majority of the players from the USL Championship run, adding a few in the offseason including Magnus Rasmussen who has appeared in 14 of Louisville's 16 games so far in 2018.

The major piece missing from Louisville's championship run is former Head Coach James O'Connor who left for Orlando City SC (MLS) two weeks ago. Current players Paolo DelPiccolo, Luke Spencer, and George Davis IV have been named interim coaches since O'Connor's departure.

The Battery and LouCity have a deep history despite Louisville being fairly new to USL. Louisville knocked the Charleston out of the playoffs in consecutive seasons and snapped the two-year unbeaten streak at MUSC Health Stadium in 2016. Louisville also took five points from the teams' three meetings in 2017, including two draws at MUSC Health Stadium.

The Battery will be looking for their first win over Louisville since 2015 Saturday night to keep pace with the top four in the Eastern Conference. Although the two sides are tied on points, Louisville has two games in hand on the Battery, so the hosts will pressing hard for three points in the first of two meetings between the top-four contenders this season.

Following Saturday's match with Louisville, the Battery will head out on the road to take on another top four opponent in the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. That match is scheduled for July 21 at Highmark Stadium.

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