USL Charleston Battery

Preview: Charleston at Harrisburg in 2015 Series Finale

Published on July 6, 2015 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


CHARLESTON -- It's a long drive from Charleston to Harrisburg, PA, and in 2015, the Battery only have to make it once.

Not so in 2014, when the Battery's two trips to City Island in the Susquehanna River ended in wildly different outcomes. The first trip on May 2 produced Charleston's first win of the year, 4-0. The second, a 4-1 thumping on July 5, sent the gunners into a tailspin. The Battery didn't host the City Islanders last season until the last match before the playoffs, dispatching them 2-1 to take the series 2-1-0.

This year it's been the mid-table Islanders' turn to travel, surrendering twice at Blackbaud Stadium -- a 2-0 loss on April 4, followed by a thorough 4-1 deconstruction on June 27. The two teams' three-game 2015 series is already settled, yet much will be on the line for both when the Battery and Islanders kick off at Skyline Sports Complex at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

For second-place Charleston, a result on Wednesday is critical to staying ahead of suddenly struggling Richmond and surging Louisville near the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Seventh-place Harrisburg can't break into playoff position with a win, but those raw point-numbers obscure more truth than they reveal. With just 13 USL matches in the books to Charleston's more standard 16, the City Islanders actually have a better winning percentage (.538) than the two teams above it (New York Red Bulls II, .500, and rivals Pittsburgh Riverhounds, .533) in the race for the league playoffs.

Knocking off the Battery in the shadow of the Pennsylvania Capitol dome would go a long way toward securing Harrisburg a playoff spot. Given what the City Islanders accomplished last season -- rising from the last playoff position to the Championship game -- that's sure to be much on the team's collective mind.

Recent history would appear to be on the Islanders' side, too. Over the last five years, neither team has swept the other, Charleston as gone 2-3-0 at Harrisburg, and not a single meeting has resulted in a draw.

Still, the Battery hold a commanding 8-4-0 advantage over Harrisburg during the past five seasons, and much of the team's success has come from its ability to earn results on the road against mid-table opponents.

SCOUTING THE BATTERY

The Battery's four-goal explosion against the City Islanders late last month was more a measure of Harrisburg's willingness to play interesting, open soccer against the Battery as it was indication of some new approach by the home team. Rochester's brutally pragmatic game plan on July 3 proved as much.

The Battery began the season as balanced-scoring group, but as the temperatures have risen, so too has the importance of forward Dane Kelly. The Jamaican has scored three of his six USL goals this season against Harrisburg, and has traditionally been a more productive player in the second half of seasons.

Yet when Rochester Coach Bob Lilley brought the league's best defense to Blackbaud Stadium last Friday, the player the Rhinos seemed intent on marking out of the Battery attack was forward Ricky Garbanzo. The rookie out of Coastal Carolina spent an hour lugging Rhinos midfielder Michael Garzi around Blackbaud Stadium. Garbanzo typically does his best goal-scoring work cleaning up around the far post, Of his five goals (four USL, one Open Cup), four have come from inside seven yards.

After a suspect start to 2015, the Battery's defense settled into one of the better units in USL during the second quarter of the season. That's partly the result of the generally stodgy approach adopted by most of its opponents, yet it also speaks to the under-rated quality of Coach Mike Anhaeuser's standard back line: Left back Emmanuel Adjetey, center backs Shawn Ferguson and Taylor Mueller, and right back Obi Woodbine. Fullback/midfielder Quinton Griffith, who is still working his way back to form after a knee injury, returns from a one-match suspension.

Expect a late decision on starting goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper, whose bruised shoulder has opened the door for backup Kevin Corby to make three consecutive starts. With five matches to his credit, Corby's goals-against average and save percentage are both team bests. Cooper, on the other hand, has yet to lose in 2015, and can be an instinctive, shot-stopping weapon.

The biggest adjustment for the Battery this week will be the absence of central midfielder and team captain Jarad van Schaik, who typically divides the field with partner Justin Portillo. He'll miss this one for yellow card accumulation. With backup defensive midfielder Sebastien Thuriere busy as Haiti's starter in the Gold Cup, Anhaeuser could turn to Houston loanee Memo Rodriguez if he elects to stick with a 4-2-3-1.

Mueller has worn the captain's armband in van Schaik's other absences.

SCOUTING THE CITY ISLANDERS

You couldn't tell it by the scoreboard, but Bill Becher's squad has played respectable soccer in its two visits to Blackbaud Stadium this season. The team wound up short-handed in its April 4th loss, then surrendered an unusual second-minute goal on June 27th and had to chase the game the rest of the night, with predictable results.

Becher's forward group has changed over the season, with Philadelphia Union strikers Antoine Hoppenot and Jimmy McLaughlin making appearances and rookie Jason Plumhoff making an impression. Its back line is big and sturdy but vulnerable to pace (witness center backs Shane Johnson and Dante Leverock). Goalkeeper Nick Noble is a recent USL PRO Goalkeeper of the Year.

But it's impossible to watch this team for long without focusing on the midfield. In the last match, for instance, Becher fielded a nominal 4-4-2, yet seven of the players in the starting XI were listed as midfielders on either the team roster or lineup card. One of them, 6-2 Ken Tribbett, slotted in at right back. When he came forward -- which he did frequently -- the City Islanders became a shifting, interchanging, ball-possessing mass on the attack. It didn't produce goals, but Harrisburg got off as many shots as Charleston did.

Though he spent a good amount of time in a deep-lying central role against Charleston, Enric Valles has five assists on the season and flashed big-time talent at Blackbaud Stadium. Jose Barril wears the number 8 and looks the part of a defensive stopper, but seems to gravitate up field. Yann Ekra is a successful USL veteran who hung back against the Battery in his last visit.

That gave strikers McLaughlin, Danny DiPrima, and Cardel Benbow the freedom to prowl forward. McLaughlin did the most damage against the Battery, but Benbow -- a speedy, diminutive Jamaican -- starred last week against Wilmington. The City Islanders went with what looks to be a more normal lineup at home against the Hammerheads, with forwards Plumhoff and Brett Jankouskas (who scored the penalty kick against Charleston) starting.

Given his small roster, Becher's tactical experiment in his last visit might have been forced upon him by available personnel. Or perhaps it was an attempt to disrupt the Battery's flow without resorting to negative soccer. Whatever the thinking, the formation broke down too many times to offer much confidence. A return to a more orthodox lineup at home could well be in the cards for Wednesday.

KEY MATCHUP: Enric Valles vs. Justin Portillo

In the 35-year-old Valles, the City Islanders have a cultured midfielder with the ability to distribute diagonally to players 20 yards upfield. The same could be said of Portillo, a second-year man out of Coastal Carolina.

But with van Schaik out and Thuriere away on international duty, much will be asked of Portillo. With van Schaik playing off his right shoulder and taking on more physical opponents, Portillo typically had a bit more freedom to scan the field. On Wednesday, he'll likely need to worry more than usual about keeping attackers from slipping through to the last line of defense.

Valles is a native Catalan and a 6-2 product of the FC Barcelona system. He's played in the top division in the Netherlands and the second divisions of both Spain and England. His arrival in USL is part circumstance, part health, and part luck. He has the skills to guide the Islanders to another underdog run through the USL playoffs.

Portillo is a 5-6 study in soccer IQ and precision, a native of New Orleans whose stellar college career was built largely around his passing ability in the attack. Overlooked by MLS, he became the Battery's Newcomer of the Year in 2014. In 2015, he's the club's No. 1 option on free kicks, corners from the left side of the attack, and penalties.

How these two square off in central midfield on Wednesday night will be interesting to watch.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 6, 2015


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