The U.S. Soccer Federation announced Monday pairings and kickoff times for the Second Round of the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Charleston Battery will host USL League One side South Georgia Tormenta FC at Patriots Point on April 6, kicking off at 7 p.m. EST.
Tickets for the fixture will be available in mid-March with additional details arriving in the coming weeks.
Charleston and Tormenta will clash again after previously meeting in the Open Cup in 2018. The Black and Yellow won that match 1-0 after a first-half goal from Patrick Okonkwo was enough to advance the home side to the next round.
“It’s a great tournament, great format, I think everybody has missed it and I’m happy to see it return,” said Battery Head Coach Conor Casey. “The games have a different feel to them when it’s a tournament, it’s win or go home, so it’ll be a great way for us to keep building our mentality around these important games.”
The familiarity between the clubs extends to the rosters as well. Defender Leland Archer played for Tormenta in 2017 prior to signing with Charleston in 2018, and current Tormenta players Deshawon Nembhard and Arther Bosua previously played for the Battery.
Charleston have built a strong reputation in the competition and are the most recent non-MLS club to reach the Open Cup Final (2008, against D.C. United). Coach Casey will look to make his mark on the Black and Yellow’s history in the Cup during his first season leading the team.
“To have the benchmark set by the club in the past is great, and we’re certainly going to do everything we can to move up in the tournament, win games and hopefully be in a position where we’re competing in the later rounds,” said Coach Casey.
Prior to the Cup clash, the Battery will kick off their USL Championship campaign on Saturday, March 12, against FC Tulsa at Patriots Point.
