2018 Charleston Battery season

The 2018 Charleston Battery season was the club's 26th year of existence, their 15th season in the second tier of the United States Soccer Pyramid. It was their eighth season in the United Soccer League as part of the Eastern Conference.

Charleston Battery

2018 season
President	Andrew Bell
Head coach	Michael Anhaeuser
Stadium	MUSC Health Stadium
USL	Conference: Overall:
U.S. Open Cup	Fourth round
Home colors Away colors Third colors
← 2017 2019 →

Background

Main article: 2017 Charleston Battery season

The Battery finished the 2017 season with a record of 15–9–8, finished 2nd in the Eastern Conference, and 3rd overall. In the 2017 USL Playoffs, Charleston were upset in the first round by the New York Red Bulls II. Elsewhere, the Battery reached the fourth round of the 2017 U.S. Open Cup, losing 2–3 to MLS outfit, Atlanta United FC.

Club

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  USA Joe Kuzminsky 2 DF  USA Jay Bolt 3 DF  CAN Skylar Thomas 4 DF  USA Taylor Mueller 6 DF  TRI Leland Archer 7 DF  JAM O'Brian Woodbine 8 MF  TRI Neveal Hackshaw 9 FW  USA Ian Svantesson 10 MF  TRI Ataullah Guerra 12 MF  COL Vincenzo Candela 13 MF  USA Nico Rittmeyer 14 MF  USA Jarad van Schaik 15 FW  GER Gordon Wild (on loan from Atlanta United FC) 16 GK  USA Robert Beebe 17 FW  NGA Patrick Okonkwo (on loan from Atlanta United FC) 18 MF  USA Ryan Arambula 19 MF  USA Dante Marini 20 FW  USA Victor Mansaray 21 MF  HON Angelo Kelly-Rosales 22 MF  CMR Brian Anunga 23 GK  CUB Odisnel Cooper 25 MF  JPN Kotaro Higashi

Transfers

In

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Age	Transferred from	Club Nat.	Fee	Date	Source
9	FW		Ian Svantesson	24	Tulsa Roughnecks		Free	December 12, 2017	[1]
2	DF		Jay Bolt	23	Jacksonville Armada		Free	January 25, 2018	[2]
12	MF		Vincenzo Candela	23	Llaneros		Free	February 20, 2018	[3]
6	DF		Leland Archer	22	South Georgia Tormenta		Free	May 10, 2018	[4]

Out

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Age	Transferred to	Club Nat.	Fee	Date	Source
9	FW		Romario Williams	23	Atlanta United FC		End of loan	November 15, 2017
15	DF		Mikey Ambrose	22	Atlanta United FC		End of loan	November 15, 2017
30	FW		Jeffrey Otoo	18	Atlanta United FC		End of loan	November 15, 2017
3	DF		Forrest Lasso	24	FC Cincinnati		Free	November 20, 2017
20	MF		Justin Portillo	25	Real Monarchs		Free	November 29, 2017	[5]
21	MF		Maikel Chang	26	Real Monarchs		Free	November 29, 2017	[5]
17	FW		Ricky Garbanzo	25			Released	November 30, 2017
16	FW		Heviel Cordovés	27	Richmond Kickers		Free	December 4, 2017	[6]
19	MF		Dante Marini	25	Retired	—	—	December 31, 2017
1	GK		Alexandros Tabakis	25	North Carolina FC		Free	March 2, 2018

Loaned in

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Age	Loaned from	Club Nat.	Start	End	Source
15	FW		Gordon Wild	22	Atlanta United FC		March 1, 2018	November 30, 2018	[7]
17	FW		Patrick Okonkwo	19	Atlanta United FC		March 1, 2018	November 30, 2018	[7]

Non-competitive

Charleston Battery v Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

February 15	Charleston Battery	3–3	Coastal Carolina Chanticleers	Charleston, South Carolina
17:30 EST (UTC−05:00)	Guerra 8' Mueller 16' Higashi 41'		Fortune 22' 49' Kenton 59'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium

Charleston Battery v Georgia Southern Eagles

February 28	Charleston Battery	5–1	Georgia Southern Eagles	Charleston, South Carolina
19:30 EST (UTC−05:00)	Rittmeyer 59', 67', 85', 86' Guerra 83'		Carbonell 22' (pen.),  35'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium

Charleston Battery v North Carolina FC

March 10	Charleston Battery	0–1 (a.e.t.)	North Carolina FC	Charleston, South Carolina
11:00 EST (UTC−05:00)			Ríos	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium

Carolina Challenge Cup

Main article: 2018 Carolina Challenge Cup

Charleston Battery v Minnesota United FC

February 17 1	Charleston Battery	1–0	Minnesota United FC	Charleston, South Carolina
19:30 EST (UTC−05:00)	Mueller  31' Svantesson 45+1' Okonkwo  56'	Report	Nicholson  35' Boxall  45' Warner  47'  83'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium

Charleston Battery v Columbus Crew SC

February 21 2	Charleston Battery	1−2	Columbus Crew SC	Charleston, South Carolina
17:00 EST (UTC−05:00)	Svantesson 32'	Report	Zardes 56', 82'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero

Charleston Battery v Atlanta United FC

February 24 3	Charleston Battery	0−0	Atlanta United FC	Charleston, South Carolina
19:30 EST (UTC−05:00)		Report		Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium

Competitive

USL

Main article: 2018 USL season

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
2	Louisville City FC (C)	34	19	9	6	71	38	+33	66	Conference Playoffs
3	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	34	15	14	5	47	26	+21	59
4	Charleston Battery	34	14	14	6	47	34	+13	56
5	New York Red Bulls II	34	13	13	8	71	59	+12	52
6	Bethlehem Steel FC	34	14	8	12	56	41	+15	50

Source: 2018 USL standings
Rules for classification: 1) total wins; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 5) disciplinary points; 6) coin toss or drawing of lots
(C) Champions

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Stadium	H	H	A	A	A	A	H	H	H	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A
Result	L	W	L	D	D	L	W	W	W	D	D	D	L	D	D	W	D	W	W	D	W	D	D	W	L	D	D	W	D	D	W	L

Updated to match(es) played on October 1, 2018. Source: 2018 Battery Schedule
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed

Regular season

  Win   Draw   Loss

All times are in Eastern Time Zone.

Charleston Battery v FC Cincinnati

March 17 1	Charleston Battery	0–1	FC Cincinnati	Charleston, South Carolina
7:00 PM	Guerra  51' van Schiak  80' Griffith  90+2'	Report	Smith 18' Laing  63' Lasso  85' König  90+2' Ryan  90+7'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 4,598 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

Charleston Battery v Penn FC

March 24 2	Charleston Battery	1–0	Penn FC	Charleston
7:00 PM	Svantesson  39' Guerra 62' Anunga  65' Okonkwo  88'	Report	Tiago  70'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 2,615 Referee: Marcos de Oliveira

New York Red Bulls II v Charleston Battery

March 31 3	New York Red Bulls II	5–2	Charleston Battery	Harrison, New Jersey
1:00 PM	Cásseres  41' White 44' (pen.) Tinari 47' Mines 50' Moreno 62', 66'	Report	Svantesson  55' Anuga 56', 78'	Stadium: Red Bull Arena Attendance: 826 Referee: Jaroslaw Werel

Bethlehem Steel FC v Charleston Battery

April 8 4	Bethlehem Steel FC	1–1	Charleston Battery	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
3:00 PM	Burke 45+4' Ayuk  89'	Report	Thomas 42' van Schaik  55' Cordovés  86'	Stadium: Goodman Stadium Attendance: 1,625 Referee: Lorant Varga

Penn FC v Charleston Battery

April 21 5	Penn FC	1–1	Charleston Battery	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
6:00 PM	Tiago  36' Opoku  53' Tribbett  56', 89' Bond  65' Eustáquio  82'	Report	Anunga  39' Bolt  52' Guerra 77'	Stadium: FNB Field Attendance: 1,712 Referee: Guido Gonzalez

Atlanta United 2 v Charleston Battery

April 24 6	Atlanta United 2	0–3	Charleston Battery	Lawrenceville, Georgia
7:00 PM		Report	Svantesson 33' Wild 51', 85' Rittmeyer  71' Tah Anunga  81'	Stadium: Coolray Field Attendance: 2,047 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

Charleston Battery v Tampa Bay Rowdies

April 28 7	Charleston Battery	1–0	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Charleston
7:00 PM	Candela  5' Guerra 45+1' van Schaik  46'	Report	Cole  30'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 3,462 Referee: Ismir Pekmic

Charleston Battery v Charlotte Independence

May 5 8	Charleston Battery	2–0	Charlotte Independence	Charleston
7:00 PM	Guerra 31' Cooper  80' Mansaray 87'	Report	Kalungi  11'  78' Calvert  90'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 2,637 Referee: Silviu Petrescu

Charleston Battery v Bethlehem Steel FC

May 12 9	Charleston Battery	2–1	Bethlehem Steel FC	Charleston
6:00 PM	Candela  20' Rittmeyer  31' Guerra 44' Wild 53'	Report	Mbaizo  9' Jones 65' (pen.)	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 4,659 Referee: Daniel Gutierrez

Charleston Battery v Ottawa Fury

May 19 10	Charleston Battery	0–0	Ottawa Fury	Charleston
7:00 PM	Higashi  45+1' Thomas  48' *Rittmeyer  67' Mueller  73'	Report	Edward  28' Oliveira  34'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 2,597 Referee: Kevin Broadley

Charleston Battery v Nashville SC

May 26 11	Charleston Battery	1–1	Nashville SC	Charleston
7:00 PM	Guerra 50',  52'	Report	Doyle 25' Reed  54' Davis  90+3'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 2,697 Referee: Jonathan Bilinski

Indy Eleven v Charleston Battery

May 30 12	Indy Eleven	3–3	Charleston Battery	Indianapolis, Indiana
7:00 PM	Ring  25' Saad 43' Mitchell  67' McInerney  78' Ayoze 86' (pen.), 90+3'	Report	van Schaik  19' Anunga  43', 90+4' Woodbine 62' Guerra 80' Candela  80' Thomas  85'	Stadium: Lucas Oil Stadium Attendance: 8,070 Referee: Luis Guardia

Richmond Kickers v Charleston Battery

June 9 13	Richmond Kickers	2–0	Charleston Battery	Richmond, Virginia
7:00 PM	Cordovés  5', 63' Luiz Fernando 90'	Report	Bolt  73' Svantesson  86'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 3,441 Referee: Matt Franz

Charlotte Independence v Charleston Battery

June 16 14	Charlotte Independence	1–1	Charleston Battery	Matthews, North Carolina
7:30 PM	Martínez  68' Mwape 79' Herrera  88'	Report	Higashi 25'	Stadium: Matthews Sportsplex Attendance: 3,312 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

Charleston Battery v Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

June 23 15	Charleston Battery	0–0	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	Charleston
7:00 PM		Report	Roberts  74' Greenspan  82'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 2,862 Referee: Daniel Gutierrez

Toronto FC II v Charleston Battery

July 1 16	Toronto FC II	0–4	Charleston Battery	Toronto, Ontario
8:00 PM	Campbel  82'	Report	Rittmeyer  54' Guerra 59' Higashi 65' Woodbine 82' Thomas  84' Wild 90+1'	Stadium: BMO Field Attendance: 422 Referee: Carol Anne Chenard

North Carolina FC v Charleston Battery

July 7 17	North Carolina FC	1–1	Charleston Battery	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 PM	Ríos 81' Guillen  90+5'	Report	Guerra 63' Woodbine  69'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 3,623 Referee: Javier Santos

Charleston Battery v Indy Eleven

July 11 18	Charleston Battery	2–1	Indy Eleven	Charleston
7:00 PM	Wild 22', 84'	Report	Starikov 58'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 2,094 Referee: Marcos de Oliveira

Charleston Battery v Louisville City FC

July 14 19	Charleston Battery	2–1	Louisville City FC	Charleston
7:00PM	Guerra 5' Hackshaw 27' Woodbine  35' Anunga  70' Kuzminsky  90'	Report	Smith  73' Mueller 88' (o.g.) Davis IV  90+1' Jimenez  90+7'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 2,451 Referee: Greg Dopka

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC v Charleston Battery

July 21 20	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	0–1	Charleston Battery	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
7:00 PM	Vancaeyezeele  90'	Report	Guerra  83', 88'	Stadium: Highmark Stadium Attendance: 3,371 Referee: Eric Tattersall

Charleston Battery v Richmond Kickers

July 28 21	Charleston Battery	3–0	Richmond Kickers	Charleston
7:00 PM	Rittmeyer 15', 45' Guerra 51'	Report		Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 3,221 Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

North Carolina FC v Charleston Battery

August 4 22	North Carolina FC	0–0	Charleston Battery	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 P.M.		Report	Guerra  43'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 4,026 Referee: Bardhyl Pashaj

Tampa Bay Rowdies v Charleston Battery

August 8 23	Tampa Bay Rowdies	0–0	Charleston Battery	St. Petersburg, Florida
7:30 P.M.	Oduro  58' Cole  86'	Report	Candela  23'	Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 5,028 Referee: Guido Gonzalez Jr.

Charleston Battery v Atlanta United 2

August 11 24	Charleston Battery	1–0	Atlanta United 2	Charleston
7:00 PM	Okonkwo  7' Svantesson 41' (pen.)	Report	Castro  26'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 2,582 Referee: Lorant Varga

FC Cincinnati v Charleston Battery

August 18 25	FC Cincinnati	3–0	Charleston Battery	Cincinnati, Ohio
7:30 EDT	Ledesma  13', 21' Bone 45+1' Barrett  53' Thomas 90+5' (o.g.)	Report	Anunga  30' Svantesson  87'	Stadium: Nippert Stadium Attendance: 27,142 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

Charleston Battery v New York Red Bulls II

August 25 26	Charleston Battery	4–4	New York Red Bulls II	Charleston
7:00 P.M.	Guerra 22', 45+2',  57' Okonkwo 28', 75' Tah Anunga  61'	Report	Barlow 64' (pen.), 73', 88' Aguinaga 68' Ackwei  90+3'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 2,741 Referee: Matthew Franz

Louisville City FC v Charleston Battery

August 31 27	Louisville City FC	2–2	Charleston Battery	Louisville, Kentucky
7:30PM	Lancaster 18', 41' Jimenez  62'	Report	Guerra  7' Okonkwo 14' Rittmeyer 21' Candela  38' Bolt  65' Mueller  74'	Stadium: Louisville Slugger Field Attendance: 6,971 Referee: Kevin Broadley

Charleston Battery v Tampa Bay Rowdies

September 8 28	Charleston Battery	1–0	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Charleston
19:00 P.M.	Okonkwo 22' Bolt  55' Archer  90+6'	Report	Guenzatti  81'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 2,949 Referee: Rubiel Vazquez

Charleston Battery v Charlotte Independence

September 19 29	Charleston Battery	1–1	Charlotte Independence	Charleston
7:00 P.M.	Rittmeyer 9' Woodbine  80' Mansaray  90+1'	Report	Herrera 69' (pen.) Martínez  89'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Referee: Joseph Dickerson

Nashville SC v Charleston Battery

September 22 30	Nashville SC	1–1	Charleston Battery	Nashville, Tennessee
8:30 P.M.	Hume 9' Reed  45+2'	Report	Anunga 24' Okonkwo  60' Mansaray  63'	Stadium: First Tennessee Park Attendance: 7,376 Referee: Farhad Dadkho

Charleston Battery v North Carolina FC

September 26 31	Charleston Battery	2–0	North Carolina FC	Charleston
7:00 PM	Mansaray 90+1' Svantesson 90+4'	Report		Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 1,748 Referee: Marcos DeOliveira

Charleston Battery v Toronto FC II

September 29 32	Charleston Battery	1–2	Toronto FC II	Charleston
7:00PM	Woodbine  37' Okonkwo 52'	Report	Akinola 55' Campbell  59' Hamilton 65' Mohammed  81'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 3,612 Referee: Danielle Chesky

Atlanta United 2 v Charleston Battery

October 7 33	Atlanta United 2	2–1	Charleston Battery	Lawrenceville, Georgia
7:00 PM EDT	Williams 48', 65' Carleton  64'	Report	Guerra 27' Kelly-Rosales  56' Wild  81'	Stadium: Coolray Field Attendance: 3,304 Referee: Greg Dopka

Ottawa Fury v Charleston Battery

October 13 34	Ottawa Fury	0–2	Charleston Battery	Ottawa, Ontario
1:00 P.M.		Report	Wild 14' Svantesson 60',  84'	Stadium: TD Place Stadium Attendance: 5,385 Referee: Yusri Rudolf

Postseason

Main article: 2018 USL Playoffs

Charleston Battery v New York Red Bulls II

October 20 Quarterfinal	Charleston Battery	0–1	New York Red Bulls II	Charleston
7:00 P.M.	Bolt  16'	Report	Barlow 21' Stroud  66'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 1,687 Referee: Rosendo Mendoza

U.S. Open Cup

Main article: 2018 U.S. Open Cup

Charleston Battery v South Georgia Tormenta

May 16 Second round	Charleston Battery	1–0	South Georgia Tormenta	Charleston, South Carolina
7:00 pm EDT	Okonkwo 21' Rittmeyer  46'  63'	CHS Report Report	Vinyals  37'  87' Arslan  56'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 1,284 Referee: David Erbacher

Charleston Battery v Elm City Express

May 23 Third round	Charleston Battery	1–0	Elm City Express	Charleston, South Carolina
7:00 pm EDT	Wild 83' Candela  87' Cooper  90+3' Svantesson  90+4'	CHS Report Report	Calderon  29'	Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Attendance: 1,242 Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

Atlanta United FC v Charleston Battery

June 6 Fourth round	Atlanta United FC	3–0	Charleston Battery	Kennesaw, Georgia
7:30 pm EDT	Carleton 14' Barco 47' (pen.) Williams 64'	Report	Candela  86'	Stadium: Fifth Third Bank Stadium Attendance: 9,742 Referee: Guido Gonzalez Jr.