The Charleston Battery head westward this weekend for a Saturday night showdown against LA Galaxy II on August 20. Kickoff at Dignity Health Sports Park is set for 10:30 p.m. ET.
Saturday’s fixture will be a rematch of October’s late-season duel at Patriots Point when the Battery beat Los Dos 3-1. Geobel Perez Jr. scored the opening goal just two minutes into the match and Romario Piggott bagged the go-ahead goal a minute after Los Angeles equalized in the second half. Zeiko Lewis would add a third tally in the waning minutes of the match to put the game away.
Los Angeles enter Saturday following a 2-2 home draw against New Mexico United on Sunday. After finding themselves with a 0-2 deficit at halftime, Los Dos rallied in the second half to notch a pair of goals, salvaging a point from the night. Cameron Dunbar and Jonathan Perez both found the net after the hour mark and within less than 10 minutes of each other. Galaxy II are currently on the outside looking in for a spot in the playoffs and are just one point off-pace from Las Vegas Lights FC.
Charleston arrive in California for their third-consecutive road match of the month after defeating New York Red Bulls II last Friday, 1-3. The Battery controlled the game throughout the night as both Augustine Williams (PK) and Aidan Apodaca scored in the first half. Apodaca notched his first brace with the club by adding another tally in the second half. It was among the best displays from Charleston in moving the ball and creating chances this season and the team will look to carry that form to the West Coast this weekend.
The Battery currently lead the all-time series against Los Dos with a 2W-0L-0D record. The inaugural meeting between the sides came in 2014, a 3-0 home victory for the Black and Yellow.
The match will be a return to old stomping grounds for Augustine Williams, who featured in 53 matches for Galaxy II from 2019 to 2021, scoring 20 goals and adding four assists.
Saturday’s meeting will be the final regular season match between Charleston and Los Angeles in the USL Championship as Galaxy II are slated to join MLS NEXT Pro in 2023.
Ones to watch
Preston Judd
Judd will be one to watch if he is included in Yoann Damet’s side this weekend as he is Los Dos’ most potent player. The striker, who splits his time with the MLS side, is Galaxy II’s top scorer with 12 goals, along with three assists, in 20 appearances. Judd notched a hat trick against Monterey Bay FC in June and a brace against San Diego Loyal SC in July. His most recent action came in a friendly against Liga MX side C.D. Guadalajara with LA Galaxy, scoring one goal. Judd has not featured in Los Dos’ previous two matches but will definitely be a factor if he does return to action with the squad on Saturday.
Aidan Apodaca
On the opposite attacking side, Apodaca turned in a commanding performance against New York where he tallied two goals in less than an hour of work. Aidan was additionally accurate on three of his four shots and had one chance created on Friday. The forward and Rancho Cucamonga native will be returning to familiar territory in California. Look for Apodaca, the Battery’s most capped player this season with a team-high 24 appearances, to build upon his performance against Red Bulls II this weekend in Los Angeles.
From the training ground
The Battery returned to training on Monday following a period of travel and recovery after the victory over New York.
Head Coach Conor Casey and midfielder DZ Harmon discussed the upcoming duel against Los Angeles, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Casey on keeping the positive momentum going from last Friday…
The message has been, we had a good performance this past weekend, we started very strong and the mentality was a bit different, to keep pushing through with that mentality we brought last week. My message to the team has also been that we haven’t won two games in a row this year, so we have a great opportunity to go and do that now. That’s going to be the expectation of ourselves.
Coach Casey on what Los Dos bring to the table…
They’re a very good team. They’ve done well in the Western Conference, they’ve had some injuries as of late, but those guys will be coming back now this weekend and we’re going to have our work cut out for us. [Los Angeles are] very good with the ball, well coached, good at creating chances and they’re defensively sound.
Coach Casey on closing out the away stand strong before returning home next week…
It’s very important. We want to keep pushing each other to come out with that really aggressive mindset of playing with no fear and that will be our foundation for going into this weekend.
Harmon on Galaxy II, a team he played 90 minutes against last season…
From last year, I remember they were a pretty good team. They’re good with the ball, they’re good one-on-one and on the wings, that’s something we’ve watched and are trying to prepare for with them. They’re pretty aggressive on the press and we’ll be trying to beat that press as much as we can.
Harmon on how training has been going this week…
It’s been a pretty good week of training, the coaches are putting in a lot of work for us. Every day we go to training is exciting, I think all year we’ve had a very positive mindset and positive energy in the locker room and on the pitch. We’ve been working on transition plays, starting on one end and finishing on the other, trying to build on what we did in New York.
Harmon on the mindset within the locker room ahead of the match…
The energy is good, we just have to go out there and give our all. That’s what’s been driving this team, from the coaching staff to the trainers to us, everybody is in 100%, regardless of where we are in the season. I think the message this week has been the same as it has been all year, stay focused and go out there and do our best.
As of posting, Leland Archer, Joe Schmidt, Brett St. Martin, Mauro Cichero and Joe Kuzminsky are out. Dominic Oduro and Geobel Perez Jr. returned to training this week and will be available for selection.
Match info
LA Galaxy II vs. Charleston Battery
Saturday, August 20 – 10:30 p.m. ET Kickoff
Dignity Health Sports Park
HOW TO WATCH:
All Battery matches will stream on ESPN+ domestically and through the league’s YouTube channel for free internationally.
