When the Charleston Battery host the Tampa Bay Rowdies this Sunday afternoon in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2024 USL Championship Playoffs presented by Terminix, there’s going to be no shortage of attacking firepower on show.

In fact, four of the top six goalscorers in the Championship this season should be in action when the teams meet in the postseason for the first time since 2020.

On one side, you have the Battery’s Nick Markanich and MD Myers. With Markanich claiming the Golden Boot and setting the Championship’s single-season scoring record with 28 tallies and Myers bagging 14 goals in his first season in the league, the two combined for 42 goals in the regular season, a league record.

On the other, you have the Rowdies’ Manuel Arteaga and Cal Jennings. A title-winner last season with Phoenix, Arteaga has set an individual season-high with 17 goals this season, while Jennings has scored 16 times across the regular season and playoffs to give them a combined 33 goals.

• MAKE THE SPACE: With Markanich typically coming off the left or right wing as a second striker underneath Myers’ conventional center forward position, meanwhile, the spacing and pull each provides creates space for the other. That allows both players – and the rest of the Battery’s attack – to reap the benefits.

• POSITIONS TO SUCCEED: “There has to be an awareness of each other,” said Battery Head Coach Ben Pirmann. “There has to be a selflessness to their movements and to their motivations on what they're doing the attack. … If everybody’s doing what’s required in their position and what’s expected out of a Charleston Battery footballer, everybody’s going to succeed.”

After his finish lifted the Battery to victory against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the opening round, all eyes should once again be on Markanich. After all, it was in the most recent meeting between the clubs that he bagged the goals that took him past Cameron Lancaster and Hadji Barry and to the top of the Championship’s single-season scoring chart.

He’s since added another three goals to move to 29 across all competitions as his timing and ability to be in the right place at the right time have paid off handsomely throughout the season.

“He’s very intentional with his movements,” said Pirmann. “He’s very intentional with his finishing techniques, and that kind of separates him and has allowed him to have the season [he’s had], but also the work that he and his teammates have done, as selflessly as possible, put them in those spots.”

After the Battery and Rowdies combined for 10 goals across two regular season meetings – with each winning on home turf – we could see more fireworks this weekend as each tries to take the next step toward the USL Championship Final.

• TUNE IN: The Charleston Battery host the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2024 USL Championship Playoffs presented by Terminix on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.