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USL-1 Charleston Battery

Charleston Battery hosts MLS's Real Salt Lake Wednesday night

March 10, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Charleston Battery News Release


CHARLESTON, SC-The Carolina Challenge Cup resumes Wednesday at Blackbaud Stadium with a pair of matches, kicking off with Major League Soccer's D.C. United facing MLS foe Toronto FC at 5 PM, followed by MLS's Real Salt Lake and hosts USL 1 Charleston Battery at 7:15 PM. With the first round of tournament play in the books, RSL and Toronto sit atop the CCC table with three points for wins last Saturday night.

Should two or more teams be deadlocked at the conclusion of round-robin play, goal differential will determine the Carolina Challenge Cup winner. As it stands after one round of play, RSL sits atop the table with a plus-three goal differential, followed by Toronto at plus-one, Charleston at minus-one, and D.C. United at minus-three.

The Battery face a stern test entering Wednesday's match with RSL. The tournament newcomers played to a convincing 3-0 win over D.C. United in the tournament's opening match.

Toronto, Charleston's opening opponent, didn't find the going quite as easy, needing a late goal by Rohan Ricketts to give TFC a 2-1 win over the Battery.

With only a week of training behind them, Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser fielded a split squad versus Toronto, featuring a lineup of regular first-teamers along with USL-1 standouts Frankie Sanfilippo, Matt Bobo, and Kenji Treschuk, J-League veteran Tsuyohsi Yoshitake, and former MLSer Tyler Hemming for the first 45 minutes of play. For the second half Anhaeuser fielded a team of untested reserve players and trialists for his first true look at many of them in a competitive situation, fielding a total of 19 players during the match.

Not in uniform for the Battery were regulars Stephen Armstrong and Randi Patterson, both of whom will rejoin the club at the start of league play once their indoor commitments have been fulfilled.

In contrast to the experimental lineup Anhaeuser played, TFC coach John Carver fielded a close approximation of what will be his starting lineup when MLS league play kicks off in two weeks, utilizing only a single substitute in the match despite playing the entire second half down a man after the sending off of Adrian Serioux for his second book-able offense moments before the halftime whistle.

Serioux was one of three players sent off between the two games Saturday night. D.C. United had two players-both shown straight red cards for late challenges-in the club's three goal defeat to RSL: the newly signed Dejan Jakovic just 35 minutes into his debut with the club, and Anthony Peters with two minutes remaining in the match. Per CCC rules, all three will be eligible to play Wednesday when the two clubs face off.

The Battery, 2-0 winners over TFC a year ago in the CCC, were forced to play catch-up early after going down a goal in only the second minute of play. Dwayne De Rosario ran unchallenged onto an Amado Guevara pass unchallenged after his marker lost his footing on the dewy grass. Fifteen minutes later the Battery pulled level off a penalty kick by Hemming, who saw time with TFC last season. Kenji Treschuk drew the penalty, forcing Serioux to rein him in from behind as he entered the penalty area with a clear path to goal, earning Serioux the first of two cautions he would see on the night.

Despite fielding a second half lineup of untested players-many of whom were playing together for the first time-the Battery's second squad managed to stave off Toronto's mounting pressure throughout, thanks in large part to the goalkeeping of Keith Wiggans, who was spectacular on the night and could not be faulted on either goal.

With 20 minute remaining-and standing true to his world that he intended to compete for the CCC title after disappointing finishes in the last two years competing in the tournament-Carver inserted the speedy Faud Ibrahim, who fed a trailing Ricketts from the left corner for his bending 22-yard game winner.

The win gives Toronto a 2-1 all-time advantage over the Battery. All three meetings have occurred during CCC play.

Saturday's opening match saw a mixture of first-team players and reserves take the field for both RSL and D.C. United. Most notably absent from the RSL lineup was former U.S. international Clint Mathis, who entered the match at the 70th minute mark along with regulars Nat Borchers, Andy Williams, and Robbie Findley.

The infusion of experience turned the tide on a sloppily played match by both sides up until that point. With his second touch, Mathis put Yara Movsisyan through to put RSL up 2-0 and put the match all but out of reach after Luis Escalada netted the go-ahead goal four minutes into the second half. Williams sealed the match and the top spot on the CCC table going into Wednesday's fixture with a brilliantly taken free kick past a helpless Nic Platter, the result of Peter's late challenge and subsequent sending off on RSL trialist Michael Osci.

Platter was one of two D.C. United players pressed into service unexpectedly in the match. Platter replaced Louis Crayton before the half-hour mark after Crayton pulled up lame. To make matters worse, midfielder Fred also had to be substituted early in the match due to injury. Both players are listed as doubtful for Wednesday's match up with Toronto.

United did, however, get more than an hour of quality play from Ben Olsen, who missed all of 2008 due to injury. He began the match on the right flank before moving to a more central position in the absence of both Christian Gomez and Jaime Moreno, both of whom made second-half appearances.

Carolina Challenge Cup Tickets

Tickets are available for each doubleheader for $25 Club/Box and $15 bleacher. Call 843-971-GOAL or go to www.charlestonbattery.com for more information.

All Charleston Battery season ticket holders receive a 50 percent discount on all Carolina Challenge Cup tickets.

Group ticket discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. Please call (843) 971-4625 for details.

The Carolina Challenge Cup concludes Saturday, March 14 with Toronto FC and Real Salt Lake facing off at 5 PM. followed by a 2008 U.S. Open Cup final rematch between D.C. United and the Charleston Battery at 7:15 PM.

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