Lesson learned for Battery

Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser hopes his players learned a valuable lesson last week about what it means to be a professional soccer player.

To be a solid professional, you have to play your best, no matter the level of competition.

The Battery certainly wasn't at their best when they faced Regals FC -- an amateur team out of Houston -- in the opening round of the U.S. Open Cup and Dayton -- the worst team in the USL Pro division -- last week. The Battery managed to win both games -- 2-0 over Regals FC and 1-0 over Dayton -- but were not at the top of their game in either match.

The Battery will have to be at their best when they take on Orlando City in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup today beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Blackbaud Stadium.

"I think we played to the level of our competition in those two matches," Anhaeuser said. "I think we went out there with the attitude that we just wanted to get the job done and get out of there. That's not always the best approach. A professional needs to learn to play at a high level no matter the circumstances or the opponent. I hope we learned from that and can put our best foot forward against Orlando City. We're going to need it."

Motivation shouldn't be an issue against Orlando City. At 8-2-4, the Lions have the best record in the USL Pro division.

"Orlando has been at the top of the table most of the season, so we've got something to prove," said Charleston defender Colin Falvey. "They're a quality side, and we know to beat them we've got to play a lot better than we did against Regals and Dayton. That kind of effort won't get us the result we're looking for."

Facing a league opponent during a cup competition can have its own issues.

"Some clubs don't put much of an emphasis on a cup competition because they are more concerned about league games," Anhaeuser said. "From the very beginning, we've always taken the U.S. Open Cup very seriously. We treat it like a national championship, so we place a lot of emphasis on getting our best 11 on the field."

Anhaeuser expects a similar attitude from Orlando. The Lions' Maxwell Griffin leads the USL Pro division with eight goals and is second in scoring with 16 points.

"Griffin is a very technical player who obviously can put the ball in the back of the net," Anhaeuser said. "Orlando has some quality players, some guys who have spent time in the MLS, so I would expect those guys to be in the lineup. I'm anticipating that they'll put their top 11 guys out there against us."

One player who might not see action is former Battery midfielder Ian Fuller. Fuller, who is a player/assistant coach this season for Orlando, has missed the last couple of games with an undisclosed injury. "My understanding is that Ian is injured," Anhaeuser said. "If Ian's healthy, I know he'll be on the field."

There's plenty at stake for both clubs as tonight's winner will take on Major League Soccer's FC Dallas in the third round of the tournament.

"Every club wants to play against the top competition," Anhaeuser said. "Getting into the round where you'd face an MLS opponent is our goal every year in this tournament."