Presented by MUSC Health
The Charleston Battery return home this week to host Memphis 901 FC on Sat., Aug. 26. Kickoff at Patriots Point is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Battery and 901 FC square off for the second time this year after meeting back in June in Tennessee. Memphis won the game 3-2 despite the Battery dominating much of the evening, with some self-inflicted errors helping the hosts secure the win. Beto Avila and Fidel Barajas scored for the Black and Yellow.
Charleston (12W-7L-7D, 43 pts) return home after a three-game road stand that concluded in a 2-0 defeat at Orange County SC. August has been a mixed bag of one win, two losses and one draw, but the Battery will be aiming to end the month on a high note at home. Sitting third in the Eastern Conference standings, the fight will start heating up for a top-four finish to guarantee a home playoff game in the first round.
Memphis (10W-6L-8D, 38 pts) arrive in the Lowcountry on a four-game undefeated run. The Tennessee outfit lat played on Wednesday to a scoreless draw at home against Indy Eleven. Heading into this weekend, 901 FC currently sit fourth in the conference standings, one spot below the Battery, but have two games in hand.
Derek Dodson is the player to watch for the Battery. The full-back has recorded two goals, three assists and 19 chances created, and is one of three players on the Battery to start all 26 league games this year.
Rodrigo da Costa is one to keep an eye on for 901 FC. The former Tulsa ace joined Memphis midway through the season and is the visitors’ leading goalscorer in the league this year (nine).
There is plenty of familiarity with Saturday’s opponents from the Battery’s side. Head Coach Ben Pirmann, assistant coach Devin Rensing and players Trey Muse, Derek Dodson, Chris Allan, and Handwalla Bwana arrived in Charleston in the offseason after tenures at Memphis.
Trey Muse recorded his eighth clean sheet of the year on Saturday and his next will set a new career-high for shutouts in a season.
The Battery’s next victory will be the 50th regular season win for Head Coach Ben Pirmann’s career in the USL Championship. Pirmann currently has 49 wins in 95 regular season games.
Charleston will be without Jesse Randall, who is off on international duty with the New Zealand U-23 national team for Olympic qualifiers. If New Zealand win the qualification tournament, they’ll punch their ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Including Saturday, Charleston have eight regular season games remaining, five are at home and three are away.
FROM THE TRAINING GROUND
Head Coach Ben Pirmann and midfielder Chris Allan addressed the media ahead of Saturday’s match, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on round two with Memphis this year…
We’ve got a tough Memphis team coming in where we want to make sure we’re trending upward, working hard and playing with a lot of energy. Memphis are probably one of the most talented teams in the league, if not the most talented, they’re a high-functioning team in the attack. We’ve got to make sure that we’re prepared for a lot of their good attacking players and midfielders. But, we also want to make sure that we’re focused on ourselves, making sure that we’re moving the ball, playing in their end and making them suffer as much as possible.
Coach Pirmann on the importance of securing the three points on Saturday…
We’re at a quarter of the way left, eight games left. This is a six-point match for them and for us because we’re so close in the table. Eight weeks from now, one point could make the difference between this or that or making the playoffs or not. So, it’s a big game. We want to use the energy from our crowd, being at home, and fight and push all the way to get all three points.
Allan on returning home after three consecutive road games…
Training has been good. It’s tough coming from the road after a while, three games in a row, so we’re very excited to be back at home. Spirits are high and we’re so excited to be back at home in front of the fans. And it couldn’t be a bigger game to pick up three points and keep us rolling to playoffs.
Allan on what to expect from Memphis…
They’re a possession-based team and they’re very smart on the ball. We expect to see a lot of that and we really need to get our counter-press correct. I think that will be the key for this game, and being comfortable in defending around our own box. We’re both quite open teams, [there are] familiar faces, it’s going to be fun and exciting.
MATCH INFO
Charleston Battery vs. Memphis 901 FC
Saturday, August 26 – 7:30 p.m. ET Kickoff
Patriots Point
HOW TO WATCH:
Only a very limited number of tickets are still available for Saturday’s match and can be purchased via SeatGeek.com, the Battery’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
All Battery matches will also stream on ESPN+ domestically and through the league’s YouTube channel for free internationally.
