The Charleston Battery claimed a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday at Patriots Point. Goals from Cal Jennings and MD Myers powered Charleston past Tampa Bay for the Lowcountry club’s second win of 2025. Myers, the birthday boy, came off the bench and scored what proved to be the match-winning goal in the 73rd minute.
Charleston and Tampa Bay were off to a heated start in the warm afternoon sun, as the nature of the rivalry between the clubs was in full force. There were some feisty moments early on involving Johnny Klein an Houssou Landry and the Rowdies players after they stood their ground after Tampa Bay’s pressure.
The first dangerous chance came in the 9th minute when Tampa Bay’s Ollie Bassett’s shot from distance was saved by goalkeeper Luis Zamudio, but it was the follow-up that nearly spelled disaster for Charleston. Zamudio’s initial save wasn’t fully secured and Manuel Artega ran in to knock the ball in, however, Zamudio recovered in time to stop the chance.
Charleston began to find more of a footing as the half wore on, winning the ball back in Tampa Bay’s half and creating chances. The Rowdies’ defense stayed firm to keep Charleston off the board, with goalkeeper Nicolas Campisi making three saves in the first half.
On the other end, Chris Allan made a decisive intervention in the 37th minute to clear out threatening cross after Zamudio got a hand on the ball initially.
Charleston found a golden opportunity to break open the game in the 45th minute, when Houssou was taken down in the box by Blake Bodily, earning the Battery a penalty.
Cal Jennings stepped up to the spot and converted to give Charleston a 1-0 lead in the 46th minute, burying his shot inside the left post and outside the reach of Campisi. Some words were exchanged between Jennings and members of his former club after the goal.
Jennings’ strike brings his goal total to four on the year, his third consecutive game finding the back of the net.
The goal also put Jennings into a tie for the lead in the Golden Boot race with Loudoun United FC’s Abdellatif Aboukoura, as of writing.
Charleston took the 1-0 lead into the break. Both sides recorded five shots in the first half, but the Battery had four on target to the Rowdies’ two.
Play resumed for the second half with Charleston applying the same pressure they did in the latter stages of the first half. The Battery earned two corner kicks in the opening minutes of the second half but were unable to score on either.
Leland Archer came up big inside the 18-yard box with a crucial slide to block a cross toward goal in the 54th minute.
Charleston almost doubled their lead in the 57th minute when Aaron Molloy stole the ball in Tampa Bay’s defensive third for a clean shot on goal. However, Molloy’s attempt curled away from the frame.
MD Myers, celebrating his 24th birthday, entered the match off the bench in the 69th minute, marking his first appearance of the season. Myers almost immediately scored with his first touch of the game but his shot dragged fractionally wide of the far post.
The birthday boy would not be denied, however, and Myers scored in the 73rd minute with a header from inside the box to give the Battery a 2-0 lead. Chris Allan played a perfect cross from roughly 25 yards out to Myers, who then guided the ball to the far side of the goal.
The goal and assist were the first for Myers and Allan this season, respectively.
Tampa Bay managed to pull one back quickly when Woobens Pacius scored in the 75th minute to make the score 2-1.
Myers appeared to have scored again in the 77th minute with a sublime finish off a cross by Houssou, but the referee’s flag was raised for offside to chalk off the tally.
As the game neared the final stages, the Battery’s grip on the three points tightened. Charleston held Tampa Bay without a shot in the last 15 minutes of the game following the visitors’ lone goal.
Charleston secured the 2-1 victory at Patriots Point, an important bounce-back performance to kick off the club’s April homestand. The win improved the Battery’s record to 2W-2L-0D (6pts).
Jennings’ goal was the 69th in the USL Championship regular season of his career, which moved him to 10th all-time in the league’s history.
Emilio Ycaza turned in a productive game in the midfield, with match-highs in duels won (eight) and recoveries (seven).
The win gives Charleston a leg up in the No Quarter Derby, the supporter-led rivalry that is contested over the two regular season matches. Charleston are three-time defending winners of the derby.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann, Cal Jennings and MD Myers discussed the win after the final whistle, with key quotes to follow.
Coach Pirmann on bouncing back with a win against Tampa Bay…
We were poor in North Carolina. We needed a response, I thought that response was fantastic. Tampa is a very good team, very, very talented, very well coached. They’ve had to start on the road, so we wanted to put pressure on them. And I thought we did. I thought we dominated the game, really, from start to finish.
We were on them. We created chances. We got to the spots we wanted to. We increased our defensive intensity. When you play like that, you have better chances to win the game against a really good team in front of our supporters at home.
Ultimately, three points at home, that’s that. That was the standard, and that was the expectation, but the only way you can expect it is if you outwork your opponent. And I thought we did tonight.
Coach Pirmann on everyone contributing to the win…
Always good to have your strikers finish in the attack. Cal’s got a few goals this year. Great for MD to be back, he was buzzing in preseason and then had the injury, so great to have him back. So, we got to continue to put complete performances together, all 11 guys that are on the pitch for 90 minutes and then the substitutes that come in each and every game for 90 minutes.
Coach Pirmann on the support from the home crowd…
Their support today, incredible. I’m appreciative and humbled. Hot weekend, I know there’s a lot going on with, professional tennis and Bridge Runs and festivals. An extra 100,000 people in this town this weekend, and they showed out. They worked their tails off, just like the players did. I’m excited to be a part of this club for them, and hopefully they go with our players. Our players play for them.
They’re still here [after the game], chanting and being loud, and that’s what it’s for. Hopefully, next weekend they come back even stronger and help push us. Hopefully to push for three points next weekend.
Myers on scoring in his first appearance of the season…
Watching the last few games, I’ve just been getting hungrier and hungrier. When I got stuff done, I was just looking for opportunities immediately, kind of missed the first chance, but I wasn’t going to let the second one go away. So, it’s just that hunger that’s been building up, and I was glad I could help the team.
I didn’t even know how to celebrate. I think my emotions and all the adrenaline got to me, so I was just going to run around the field, but it felt amazing. It’s just great to be back out there with the boys.
I just want to make an impact, whether it’s scoring a goal or just working hard and causing problems for defenders. I just want to do whatever I can for the team.
Myers on the boost the result gives the team…
It’s great. Every time we play Tampa Bay, it’s going to be a battle, and we came out on top today, and I think it’s just a good kick start for the rest of the season, and hopefully keep the wins coming.
Myers on feeling the support from Patriots Point today…
It’s fantastic. Even when I’m sitting on the bench, I hear them the whole game, banging the drums and singing. It gets us going that little extra bit and it just gets me hyped to be out there.
Jennings on his goal from the penalty spot…
At the end of the day, I just want to put it in the back of the net and I’m happy, happy we finished it. [Houssou] did a great job drawing the penalty, so I’m thankful it helped us move forward. But I leave what happened out there on the field.
Jennings on playing against his former squad…
I got to catch up with a number of them I think it was weird for them, too, to be honest, seeing me in different colors. But, like I said, I have a lot of respect for those guys, and it’s been some good times, but you know now I’m here and I’m going to do my best for the Battery.
It felt good. There’s a different type of emotion to be out there. I have lots of friends on both sides of the field, so that was already going to be something weighing on me, but I’m just happy to do what I can to help the team win. To get one against my old club is nice too.
Jennings on using this result to build momentum going into the next game…
Now it’s just about stringing the wins together. That’s how you succeed in this league, is to win back-to-back-to-back. But, we got to focus on the little things, we’re going to go back to the drawing board, look at what we can get better tonight as a group, as individuals, and, I think we’ll be confident going into the next one.
Charleston’s next match will be at home vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Sat., April 12. Tickets for the rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinals duel are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups and Scoring Summary
Lineups:
CHS: Zamudio, Dossantos, Smith, Archer, Houssou, Molloy, Allan, Klein (Rodriguez, 82’), Ycaza, Torres (Akpunonu, 90’+1), Jennings (Myers, 69’)
TBR: Campisi, Bodily (Guillen 45’), Castellanos, Wyke, Bassett, Crisostomo (Vancaeyezeele 66’), Hilton (Worth, 66’), Moon (Niyongabire, 8’), Arteaga, MacPherson, Pacius
Scoring Summary:
CHS – Cal Jennings, 45’+1
CHS – MD Myers (Chris Allan), 73’
TBR – Woodbens Pacius (Thomas Vancaeyezeele), 75’
