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Battery Look For Fourth Consecutive Victory

By usl admin, 04/17/15, 10:00PM EDT

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Charleston Battery News Release - www.charlestonbattery.com

Friday, April 17, 2015

CHARLESTON - The Charleston Battery will look for a fourth consecutive victory to start the season on Saturday night as they host the New York Red Bulls II at Blackbaud Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, with all of the action available live on YouTube. 

At first glance, there has been a clear pattern in New York Red Bulls II’s first three games, all played at Red Bull Arena. When confronted by experienced USL defenses (0-0 draw with Rochester, 0-3 loss to Wilmington), RBNYII hasn't scored.

What then, to make of their 4-1 breakthrough against fellow expansion side Toronto FC II on April 4? Here’s a clue: Forward Anatole Abang, defender Shawn McLaws, and midflieders Marius Obekop and Leo Stolz all scored for the Red Bulls that weekend. All four were among the 11 players from the club’s MLS roster who went on loan to NYRB II during the senior team’s bye week.

Also on loan that week: 31-year-old MLS goalkeeper Kyle Reynish.

To put that in context, four players from the MLS roster - Obekop, Stolz, goalkeeper Santiago Castano and midfielder Manolo Sanchez - have been on loan to the USL side all season. And two defenders from that April 4th loan group - former Portland Timbers and Chivas USA center back Andrew Jean-Baptiste and rookie fullback McLaws from Coastal Carolina - stuck around for the Wilmington game.

The obvious conclusion, of course, is that a slight MLS upgrade wasn’t enough firepower against a more veteran Wilmington squad - at least when it comes to offensive production. But here’s a challenge to that assumption: NYRB II Head Coach John Wolyniec‘s team out-shot Wilmington 20-16 and forced Hammerheads keeper Andre Rawls into a USL Team of the Week performance with 10 saves.

There is one known fact about this week’s Red Bulls squad: Castano won’t be on it after he was sent off in the 86th minute against Wilmington, and was replaced by the only other goalkeeper on the roster, NYRB II USL signing Rafael Diaz. That means Diaz - who spent time with Orlando City in 2014 - could be in line to make his first professional start on Saturday. 

THE BATTERY
A win on Saturday would tie the Battery’s four-game winning streak to start the 2003 season, and there’s a solid foundation for optimism. Previously injured stars Quinton Griffith (fullback) and Dane Kelly (forward) appear to be back near 100 percent, and with everyone on the roster cleared for selection, Coach Mike Anhaeuser could have his pick of the full squad for the first time in 2015.

Last week’s good news was the first clean sheet of 2015, reversing the very un-Battery-like trend of allowing two goals in back-to-back weeks. Last year’s team allowed multiple goals in seven matches, but only twice did those performances come back-to-back. Charleston recorded nine shutouts in 2014.

Solid defense is the Hallmark of an Anhaeuser team, and if the Battery returns to its Opening Night lineup on Saturday the back line will be stacked with experienced talent. Third-year starting goalkeeper Odisnel Cooperand center backs Taylor Mueller and Shawn Ferguson have been constants this season, starting every match. Griffith and O’Brian Woodbine are veteran speed merchants at fullback. Emmanuel Adjetey stood out as a fullback starter in Weeks 2 and 3.

This season’s biggest surprise has been the Battery’s production on the attacking side of the field. Six of the Battery’s eight goals have come from forwards in the run of play: Three by Heviel Cordoves, two by Kelly, and one by standout rookie Ricky Garbanzo from Coastal Carolina University (defenders Mueller and Ferguson scored the other two off corner kicks in Week 1). The team’s assist numbers attest to the new offensive flow: Maikel Chang is tied for the league lead with three, and six of the eight goals came off passes. The result is a 2.67 goals per game average that leads the Eastern Conference and trails only Seattle Sounders FC 2 in the USL.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Andrew Jean-Baptiste is an athletically gifted 22-year-old center back with 41 MLS appearances to his credit. Defenders with his skill set typically pose a challenge to USL forwards like Kelly and Cordoves.

Meanwhile, Shawn McLaws, the Red Bulls third round pick in the 2015 SuperDraft, has looked sharp in his NYRB II appearances. Which raises the question: Which 2014 Coastal Carolina star will have the edge Saturday, McLaws on defense, or Ricky Garbanzo on offense? While Cordoves and Kelly have traded places in the starting lineup, Garbanzo is a three-match starter playing in a role that observers call either a withdrawn forward or an attacking midfielder. Whatever the term, he’s already earning a reputation for his relentless work rate, keying a Battery scheme that puts immediate pressure on the ball whenever it turns over in the attacking third.

If Charleston can take a lead into the final 20 minutes, watch for Houston Dynamo loanee Memo Rodriguez to replace Garbanzo. Billed as central midfielder in MLS, the homegrown product is carving out a USL role as a dynamic substitute in the No. 10 spot, harassing, chasing and counter-attacking opponents. Both Charleston and New York like a high-pressure game, but the Garbanzo/Rodriguez combination gives Anhaeuser an unusually disruptive 90-minute weapon.

LAST MEETING
The Battery played the New York Red Bulls Reserve team to a 1-1 draw exactly one year ago in one of the strangest games ever played at Blackbaud Stadium. Afternoon rain saturated the stadium pitch on April 18, 2014, and the downpour turned into a deluge during the pre-match introductions.

Despite struggling with the conditions, New York got on the scoreboard first, when 18-year-old Vancouver Whitecaps loanee Jackson Farmer pulled down a Red Bull in the penalty area to give the visitors a first-half penalty kick. Battery forward Dane Kelly would eventually find an equalizer in the 73rd minute.

Oddities included a 22-man altercation that produced four yellow cards — including two for Red Bulls goalkeeper Ryan Meara, resulting in his ejection. New York had traveled without a backup keeper, and were forced to suit up midfielder Ian Christianson. The Battery, sensing an opportunity, went all out against the emergency keeper, but Christianson made two clutch plays to take the draw into stoppage time. His night ended, along with Kelly’s, when the two collided during injury time. Both were carried off the field. With the Red Bulls down to nine men and the Battery down to 10, the visitors’ second emergency keeper managed a save at the death to deny the Battery a dramatic come-from behind victory.


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