Unbeaten Battery scores another shutout victory

Mike Anhaeuser called the shot, and Chris Williams made his coach look good.

"Coach told me to get one tonight," Williams said after the Charleston Battery's 2-0 victory over the Cleveland City Stars before 3,920 fans at Blackbaud Stadium on Saturday night. "He said, 'Better yet, I bet you get one.' "

Williams, playing in his 37th match with the Battery's soccer team, and Kenji Treschuk each scored his respective first goal in a Charleston uniform as the Battery remained the only unbeaten team in the USL First Division.

With 19 points, Charleston (5-0-4) is in second place in the First Division, behind only the Carolina RailHawks (7-2-1, 22 points).

Saturday's match was a test of the Battery's depth against the stamina of the travel-weary City Stars (1-5-1), who lost 1-0 Friday night in Cary, N.C., giving up a goal in the 90th minute to the RailHawks.

The Battery's depth won out, as Charleston, missing four starters, dominated play with 10 shots and two corners against the City Stars' five and two.

Keeper Dusty Hudock did not need to make a save to record his sixth shutout, and the Battery has not allowed a goal in 377 minutes of match time, a stretch of four games dating back to a 2-1 win over Carolina on May 9.

"The guys stepped up tonight," said Anhaeuser. "The guys stepped in and filled the shoes, but that's what they expect to do when they get in there. They want to push for time and more minutes."

Williams, starting for injured midfielder Tsuyoshi Yoshitake, played in 31 games for the Battery last season without scoring a goal. But making his sixth start of this season, he remedied that situation in the 38th minute.

Treschuk's throw-in from the left side was a beauty, forward Ian Fuller flicking it on to the far post, where the ball went off a City Stars defender. Williams headed it past keeper Evan Bush for a 1-0 lead.

"It feels great to get that first one," said Williams, who is from Tornoto and has played for the Canadian men's national team. "We have a few injuries right now, but we seem to be a tight-knit group. We'll try to keep it rolling until we get everybody back fit."

Treschuk, who is from Hawaii and played college ball at Penn State, scored a goal of his own in the 77th minute, stripping a City Stars defender at about 25 yards out and driving a low ball to the far post beyond the reach of Bush for a 2-0 lead.

"I saw a defender looking to play midfielder, and I read it and took a touch in front of him," said Treschuk, who played the previous two seasons with the Seattle Sounders. "The next touch was a shot, and I struck it well, luckily in the right area."

Just three minutes after Williams' opening goal, the Battery narrowly missed scoring again when Darren Spicer ripped a right-footer, saved by a diving Bush. And in the 42nd minute, Fuller wheeled and blasted a right-footer off the corner where the post meets the crossbar. Spicer headed the rebound into the net, but was called offside.

Forward Randi Patterson was credited with three shots for the Battery, while Fuller and Spicer had two each.

The Battery played without four regulars — striker Dan Antoniuk and midfielders Stephen Armstrong and Yoshitake, out with injury, and midfielder Tyler Hemming, playing for the Canadian national team.

Charleston is at Austin for two matches June 5 and 7, and returns home June 13 to host the Portland Timbers at Blackbaud Stadium.

Also, the Battery will begin its 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign with a home match June 9 against Atlanta FC. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.