Louisville City FC absorbed a barrage of second half Charleston Battery chances and escaped Patriots Point with a draw Saturday night in a scoreless matchup of the USL Championship’s top-two Eastern Conference teams.
The clubs delayed kickoff a half hour to 8 p.m. as a line of heavy storms rolled through South Carolina. What the rain left behind — a swampy pitch — dictated play once underway, with unsure footing limiting early chances.
The final score remained 0-0 but only after the host Battery ratcheted up their attack near the hour mark. Goalkeeper Oliver Semmle kept his fourth straight clean sheet, however, and the stalemate prevented either LouCity or Charleston from making an early season statement.
“It was certainly tough conditions — heavy field, water-logged field,” said coach Danny Cruz. “But I think to get a result the way that we did — to get a shutout — built confidence for the group. We still had a couple of good chances where we need to do better in the final third.
“That team’s had a good start to the year. They’re a good team. To come away with a point on the road, I’m proud of the group.”
LouCity (4-2-1, 13 points) drew for the first time this season Saturday. In doing so, the Battery (4-0-3, 15 points) remained unbeaten, continuing to look like a serious contender after missing out on the playoffs the past two years.
The boys in purple — now three games unbeaten in league play since suffering back-to-back defeats — claimed the better of the chances early at Charleston. In the 15th minute, Enoch Mushagalusa sent the second of his two dangerous crosses into the box but couldn’t find a teammate. Then early in the second half, Wilson Harris laid off a pass to a charging Brian Ownby, whose shot rolled straight to the Battery’s keeper.
“We put a heavy emphasis on making sure that when we don’t concede goals, we have enough quality,” Cruz said. “…I’m not concerned. I’ve said this before: We’re going to score a lot of goals this year. I’m confident in that. First and foremost, if we make sure we defend well as a group we’re going to put ourselves in position to win a lot of games.”
Momentum shifted two-thirds into the going as Charleston put LouCity under heavy pressure. Young forward Fidel Barajas rifled a 68th-minute shot from distance off the cross bar before veteran striker Augustine Williams got in behind the defense seconds later, one on one with the goalkeeper, only to pull his try wide left.
“We got hit with the thunderstorm right before the game,” said defender Amadou Dia. “It was very slippery — a lot of puddles — but they had to play in it just like we had to play in it, so it’s not really an excuse. We did not have as much quality on the ball as we wanted. We need to do better on that.
“Credit to them: They are a great team. They’re having a hot start to the year. They have the most goals in the league, and we held them to a shutout. That’s a positive.”
Late in the going, two officiating decisions served as the highlights. Ownby appealed for a penalty in the 72nd minute when a Battery defender knocked him off his feet in the box. The whistle didn’t blow then, but referee Calin Radosav reached for a second yellow card just into second half stoppage time when the Battery forward Williams barreled into Dia down the wing.
With only a few minutes to play, LouCity didn’t mount a serious attack playing with the man advantage.
City’s lineup contained no changes from last weekend’s victory over San Antonio FC, a first for the boys in purple this year. But rotation is likely moving into a new week with the Charleston trip the first of three away games in eight days.
Next, LouCity plays Major League Soccer’s FC Cincinnati on Wednesday in a Third Round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match before going to Memphis 901 FC next Saturday.
Game Summary: Charleston Battery vs. Louisville City FC
Date: April 22, 2023
Venue: Patriots Point
Kickoff: 8 p.m.
Weather: 68 degrees, partly cloudy
Scoring
Charleston Battery (0, 0, 0)
Louisville City FC (0, 0, 0)
Lineups
Charleston Battery: 25 — Trey Muse, 20 — AJ Paterson, 5 — Leland Archer, 28 — Deklan Wynne, 4 — Chris Allan, 11 — Fidel Barajas (90’+ 3— AJ Cochran), 6 — Dante Polvara, 9 — Augustine Williams, 21 — Tristan Trager (85’ 22 — Jesse Randall), 14 — Derek Dodson, 13 — Nick Markanich (90’+ 19 — Robbie Crawford)
Subs not used: 24 — Daniel Kuzemka, 23 — Juan Sebastian Palma, 15 — Joe Schmidt, 17 — Aidan Apodaca
Head coach: Ben Pirmann
Louisville City FC: 28 — Oliver Semmle, 13 — Amadou Dia, 66 — Josh Wynder, 4 — Sean Totsch, 15 — Manny Perez, 12 — Tyler Gibson (63’ 8 — Carlos Moguel Jr.), 5 — Rasmus Thellufsen (79’ 23 — Elijah Wynder), 36 — Paolo DelPiccolo (57’ 22 — Dylan Mares), 77 — Enoch Mushagalusa (63’ 6 — Wes Charpie), 10 — Brian Ownby, 14 — Wilson Harris (78’ 17 — Cameron Lancaster)
Subs not used: 1 — Kyle Morton, 19 — Oscar Jimenez
Head coach: Danny Cruz
Discipline Summary
Charleston Battery:
7’ Augustine Williams (yellow)
81’ Chris Allan (yellow)
84’ Derek Dodson (yellow)
90’ Augustine Williams (second yellow)
Louisville City FC:
66’ Rasmus Thellufsen (yellow)
88’ Carlos Moguel Jr. (yellow)
Referee: Calin Radosav
