Battery beat Loudoun in regular season finale with goals from Torres, Rodriguez

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – The Charleston Battery took a 2-1 win over Loudoun United FC in the regular season finale on Saturday at Patriots Point. After a scoreless first half, second-half goals by Juan David Torres and Arturo Rodriguez propelled Charleston past Loudoun. The win is the Battery’s 18th of the year, setting a new club record for most wins in a season in the USL Championship era.

The focus for Charleston now shifts to the playoffs, where they will host the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Nov. 2 at Patriots Point. Tickets for the match are on sale now via SeatGeek.comthe club’s exclusive digital ticket provider.

Charleston dictated the early stages of the match, providing pressure and possession against Loudoun. MD Myers had the first shot on goal of the night in the 4th minute, a header that was saved by goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux.

The battery tested Fauroux more as the half wore on. Juan David Torres almost went through with a pair of shots on goal from outside the box in the 20th and 25th minutes. Both attempts required strong saves from Fauroux.

However, Loudoun began to find their feet on the half hour mark and forced goalkeeper Adam Grinwis into action. Grinwis made a sliding stop in the 29th minute to deny Riley Bidois. He then made a pair of saves in the 31st and 32nd minutes to keep Loudoun off the board.

Neither team had a shot on target after Grinwis’ saves on the half-hour mark. The match went into halftime tied, 0-0. Charleston held 58 percent of possession in the first half.

The Battery came out of the break hot, looking to score the first goal of the evening.

Torres was the man to break the deadlock with a powerful strike in the 51st minute from outside the box. The game started with a dropped ball by the referee which Torres then took to the edge of the box. Torres then hit a perfect shot that curled back inside the near post.

The goal was Torres’ seventh of the season.

Charleston’s initial lead was short-lived as Loudoun equalized in the 61st minute through Kwame Auah. It came moments after Auah was denied by a sliding tackle from Robbie Crawford. Despite conceding, the Battery was determined to restore its lead.

Arturo Rodriguez was the man of the moment after coming on on the hour mark. Rodriguez made an instant impact off the bench and scored in the 68th minute from Torres’ corner kick to restore the Battery’s lead to 2-1. Rodriguez received the ball in the box and collected a perfect shot into the 6-yard box.

Rodriguez’s strike was his third goal of the year.

The game began to heat up in the final moments, amplified by Loudoun’s desperation to keep its playoff hopes alive. Chris Allan, subbing at left-back, made a crucial block in the 71st minute to deny Florian Valot.

Charleston withstood Loudoun’s attempts to get back into the game and effectively neutralized its offense after Allan’s block, the visitors didn’t register a shot the rest of the night.

The Battery sealed the 2-1 win to close out the regular season and complete the season sweep of Loudoun. It also extends the battery’s unbeaten streak against Loudoun to 10 games.

Charleston’s win extends their record to 18W-6L-10D (64 points), setting a new club record for most regular season wins in the Battery’s USL championship era, surpassing the previous record set just last year.

Nick Markanich officially claimed the 2024 USL Championship Golden Boot at the close of business on Saturday, with his 28 goals leading the league by a wide margin. His 28 also makes him the leading scorer in all of America’s professional domestic leagues.

Looking ahead, the Battery will be the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, hosting the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Nov. 2 at Patriots Point. Tickets for the match are on sale now via SeatGeek.comthe club’s exclusive digital ticket provider.

Head coach Ben Pirmann, midfielder Jay Chapman and goalkeeper Adam Grinwis addressed the media after the win, with key quotes to follow.

Coach Pirmann finished the regular season with a win…

This game will be the most difficult game of the year. We are delighted to be at home, we love playing in front of our supporters, tonight was a celebration of that.

I am so proud of the group. They fought for a record tonight, but they fought for (the fans) and that’s what it’s all about. Football is, in my opinion, a great equalizer in the whole world and our club, our community, our supporters are the best, they are fantastic. They love to play for themselves and they pushed us over the line tonight. We managed to set a record and go on a high note. Hopefully next weekend they can push us because we will need it.

Coach Pirmann on his takeaways from tonight’s game…

Credit to Grinwis, he made the saves tonight because we weren’t great. Ryan (Martin) got his guys going, they were in full attack mode and we struggled to be honest. They very easily could, probably should, have won at half time. We scored a beautiful goal, Juan David with great individual effort. We also had a few chances, but we were in second place. Proud of Arturo, elegant finish. It was an animal. Credit to Loudoun, they played a great game. We’ll take all three points and go from there.

Chapman on ending the regular season with a win…

It’s huge. We have secured second place (in the ranking) for some time. In the last three games, we played teams that are on the ropes and played for their season. They were really challenging games, two wins in the last six, we were disappointed with that. We didn’t perform terribly, but we just didn’t get the results. Super, super happy to end the season with a win and break that team record.

This is a club with high expectations, they went to the final last year and come back this season with a sour taste in their mouths, wanting to right the wrong. You can see by the body of work this season that we are hungry, hungry to win a championship for this city.

Chapman on his mindset heading into the playoffs…

When I came here in the middle of the season, all that was said was, ‘Hey, look, come here, let’s win a championship.’ So that’s the mentality of this group. Everyone bought from top to bottom. We’re going into November 2nd with a whole new intensity and hope to bring a championship to South Carolina.

Grinwis on his assessment of the night campaign and the regular season…

This is a historic club and we are lucky to be a part of it and have our little piece of history in it. It’s a great team and we’re very grateful to be together. It was a great season. We’ve just picked ourselves up as we progress and we’re ready for the playoffs.

(Loudoun) were good. They needed a win and they wanted it. We had to manage that pressure for the first half and then they ended up getting one (goal). Overall I felt the guys held strong and we did our job.

Grinwis capitalized on tonight’s momentum in preparation for the postseason…

Going into the playoffs, we wanted to be in good shape. We wanted to treat every game here like it was November 2nd. This is where we move on to the next game and I think we’re good to go.

(The win) was massive. We trained hard. We’ve been preparing for this moment for the past few weeks, almost the past month. The playoffs are why we’re here. That’s why players, like me, are all here. It’s for those games and we can’t wait to get started.

The Battery return home to begin the USL Championship playoff run on Saturday, November 2 against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Tickets for the match are on sale now via SeatGeek.comthe club’s exclusive digital ticket provider.