CHARLESTON – A 10-man Charleston Battery fell at home for the first time in over two years Saturday night at MUSC Health Stadium. Goals from Kyle smith and George Davis IV lifted Louisville City FC over Charleston in the middle of Tropical Storm Bonnie.
League-leading Louisville kept the ball really well in tough conditions and looked the better side for the majority of the match. Davis capped off a great team build up to open the scoring in the 20th minute. Outside midfielder Kyle Smith received the ball out wide on the right flank after a good spell of possession and ran at the end line. Smith served the ball low and hard and the greasy surface and it rocketed through the penalty area. Davis did well to finish the pacy cross first time, beating Odisnel Cooper to his right.
In addition to snapping the Battery’s 29-game unbeaten streak, Louisville handed Cooper his first loss of the 2016 season. The Cuban goalkeeper was unbeaten in his first five starts and had two straight shutouts before Saturday’s loss.
Conceding at home has served as a wake up call for the Battery in the past, but following Davis’ opening goal Louisville continued to press. Smith scored the visitors’ second goal in the 38th minute after Charleston failed to clear a corner kick. The USL rookie swung his foot at the bouncing ball and it looped over Cooper’s head to add to Louisville’s lead.
Down two goals, Charleston was reduced to ten men in the 51st minute when Romario Williams was sent off for a mistimed challenge. The two goal lead was too much to overcome for the shorthanded Battery and the game ended 2-0.
Charleston will travel to Jacksonville to face the Armada in the Third Round of the USOC Wednesday night. When asked about the loss and the quick turnaround, Coach Anhaeuser commented, “Once we went to ten guys it was tough, so we just want to make sure we go down there and don’t put ourselves under pressure and really just make sure we get our heads up. It’s tough that the streak ended, but we knew sooner or later the loss was going to come and unfortunately it was tonight against a decent team that plays well in these conditions. “
The win over the Battery extended Louisville’s unbeaten streak to ten games in all competitions. LouCity is the first USL team to win at MUSC Health Stadium since May 10, 2014. The Battery will look to start a new streak when it hosts Orlando City B on June 11th.
BOX SCORE.
CHARLESTON BATTERY: Odisnel Cooper, Quinton Griffith, Shawn Ferguson, Taylor Mueller, Emmanuel Adjetey (O’Brian Woodbine, 45th), Zach Prince (Neveal Hackshaw, 72nd), Justin Portillo (yellow card, 84th), Ataulla Guerra (Jose Nazareno, 79th), Maikel Chang (Dante Marini, 66th), Ricky Garbanzo (Heviel Cordoves, 66th), Romario Williams (red card, 51st)
Unused substitutes: Alex Tambakis, Forrest Lasso
LOUISVILLE CITY FC: Greg Ranjitsingh, Kyle Smith (goal, 38th) (Andrew Lubahn, 82nd), Ben Newnam (yellow card, 59th) (Monanto, 76th), Conor Shanosky, Sean Reynolds, Aedhon Quinn (c), Guy Abend, Mark Anthony Kaye, Niall McCabe (yellow card, 90th), George Davis IV (goal, 20th), Ilija Ilic
Unused substitutes: Scott Goodwin, Cameron Lancaster, Hoffren, Paolo DelPiccilo, Tarek Morad
Top Image: Shawn Ferguson challenges for a header on a corner kick vs. Louisville. Vin Duffy Photo
