Three Battery Players Win USL Team of the Week Honors

Published on September 1, 2015 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release

Charleston Battery Midfielder Zach Prince
(Charleston Battery)

Goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper earned a TotW start, as did center back Shawn Ferguson. Midfielder Zach Prince made the squad as a reserve.

Cooper, who also was named the league's top goalkeeper in Week 18, repeated the honor with a gritty performance in his fifth clean sheet of the season Saturday. It came against the Battery's oldest rivals, in the United States' longest-running pro soccer series, in a showdown for third place, in front of the Richmond Kickers' largest crowd of the season. Despite the situation, the third-year keeper showed no sign of nerves, stopping five shots, making key defensive plays, and turning in an aggressive, focused and efficient shift.

Ferguson, the Battery's leader in minutes-played and another third-year defender, took his third spot on a USL TotW starting roster this season. The athletic 6-4 stopper took on Richmond's superlative forwards -- including 2015 leading scorer Jason Yeisley and all-time USL scoring leader Matthew Delicate -- and played them even, limiting Yeisley to two shots in 90 minutes and Delicate to none in 45 minutes as a substitute.

Ferguson also contributed on the offensive end, forcing Kickers goalkeeper Travis Worra into his only save of the night and earning the Battery a penalty kick in the 29th minute. After coming forward for a Justin Portillo corner kick, Ferguson stayed anchored to the near-post when the Battery kept the play alive. Unable to shoulder Ferguson aside, Worra grabbed Ferguson with two hands and spun him to the ground. The mistake earned the D.C. United prospect a losing showdown with PK specialist Portillo, who gave the Battery the 1-0 lead.

But the most spectacular play of the night came off the chest and foot of Prince, who earned his second TotW inclusion of 2015 (he received a starting nod in Week 8).

In the 37th minute, with the Battery leading 1-0 but Richmond largely dictating possession, Prince ran under a deft entry pass from Quinton Griffith just above the right post. Two Kickers -- center back and captain William Yomby and rookie defender Braeden Troyer -- immediately closed him down. Despite only the narrowest of spaces, Prince chested the ball down, took one touch to the right, and then spun his body around to blast a right-footed strike to the back post.

It was Prince's fourth USL goal of the season, and his third goalazo of 2015.

The Week 24 TotW marks the third time this season that three Battery players have been named to a single weekly squad.

Cooper, 23, is a former Cuban international who signed with the Battery after defecting in Canada in 2012. He's in his third year as Charleston's primary starter in goal. Ferguson, 24, and Prince, 27, are South Carolina natives (from Rock Hill and Irmo, respectively) who both starred at the College of Charleston before joining the Battery.

Charleston Battery Goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper

Charleston Battery Center Back Shawn Ferguson

Charleston Battery Midfielder Zach Prince

United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 1, 2015

• OC Blues FC's Chris Cortez Named USL Player of the Week - Orange County SC
• Three Battery Players Win USL Team of the Week Honors - Charleston Battery
• Orange County's Cortez Named USL Player of the Week - USL

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