CHARLESTON S.C. – Cal Jennings scored his 17th goal of the regular season to lift the Charleston Battery to a 2-1 victory against Birmingham Legion FC at Patriots Point as the hosts rallied from an early deficit to head to the 2025 USL Championship Playoffs on a winning note.

Legion took the lead in just the sixth minute when Tabort Etaka Preston stole in to intercept an attempted back-pass and lobbed home a finish from just outside the penalty area past the advancing goalkeeper. The Battery hit back 11 minutes before the halftime break, however, when Aaron Molloy’s cross from the right was met by a back-post volley from Houssou Landry inside the six-yard area.

Charleston then hit the front 10 minutes into the second half as Cal Jennings was brought down by Legion’s Phanuel Kavita in the penalty area, resulting in the Birmingham captain being shown a red card, before Jennings dispatched the ensuing penalty kick for his 17th goal of the regular season. That proved enough for the hosts as they saw out a comfortable result.

Takeaways

Charleston Battery: The Battery ended the regular season by equaling the club’s single-season wins mark with its 19th victory of the regular season as Cal Jennings moved into a tie for the Golden Boot lead with Oakland Roots’ Peter Wilson in action later on Saturday.

Birmingham Legion FC: The visitors saw another lead slip away in their final game of the regular season, ending the campaign with a league-high 25 points lost from winning positions in 2025.

Key moment

Legion’s Phanuel Kavita earned a red card after fouling Charleston’s Cal Jennings in the penalty area, allowing the hosts to convert and take the lead from the spot while reducing the visitors to 10 players. Legion recorded only one shot in the remainder of the game.

Key stat

Cal Jennings’ second-half goal moved him to 23 goal contributions this season (17 goals, 6 assists), the most the veteran forward has recorded in a regular season in his USL Championship career.

USLChampionship.com Player of the Match

Aaron Molloy, Charleston Battery – The Irish midfielder produced an outstanding assist on Houssou Landry’s goal and completed 91 of 100 passes while notching three chances created overall for the hosts.

Scoring Summary
BHM – Tabort Etaka Preston 6’
CHS – Houssou Landry (Aaron Molloy) 34’
CHS – Cal Jennings (penalty kick) 55’