Battery top Charlotte, advance to postseason
After the second goal, Charleston Battery midfielder Mike Zaher could only look at the team bench and shrug his shoulders.
It was that kind of night for Zaher and the Charleston Battery.
Zaher scored twice and Zach Prince and Dane Kelly each scored as Charleston held off a furious Charlotte rally to hang on and beat the Eagles, 4-3, Friday night before a crowd of 4,771 at Blackbaud Stadium.
With the victory, the Battery will face Orlando City next Saturday night in the opening round of the USL Pro men's soccer playoffs.
Facing a must-win scenario to advance to the postseason, the Battery turned in their best offensive performance of the season.
The Battery needed a victory in regulation to advance to the postseason.
Charlotte needed only a draw for a playoff spot.
"I think everyone knew what was at stake and rose to the occasion," Prince said. "For us, this was the start of the playoffs and we played our best soccer at the right moment. We knew Charlotte would be playing for a draw, so we had to put them under pressure from the very beginning and that's what we did."
Moving Zaher from his normal left back position to the midfield proved to be crucial for the Battery's attack.
"We moved Mike to the midfield last week against Orlando and he did a great job for us, so we wanted to keep him there," said Charleston coach Mike Anhaeuser. "We wanted a little more offense coming out of the back, and Mike provided that for us. He had a couple of great chances tonight and finished them, and that's something we've struggled with all season."
Zaher couldn't remember the last time he had two goals in a single match.
"It was probably back on a club team," Zaher said. "I got a little taste for it in Orlando, so I came out here pretty hungry tonight. I'm not saying I could score two goals every night, but I got some chances tonight, and I was lucky enough to take advantage of chances when I got them."
The Battery's anemic offense had managed just one goal in their last four matches.
It took just five minutes for the Battery to take a 1-0 lead on Prince's goal. After a nice build-up, Kelly got the ball at the top of the 18-yard box. Kelly heeled the ball back to Prince, who came storming into the penalty area and ripped a shot past Charlotte keeper Eric Reed for the score.
Two minutes later, the Battery doubled their lead on Zaher's first goal of the night. Nikki Patterson played a beautiful long ball to Zaher on the back post. Zaher took a dribble and then blasted a shot that hit the post and ricocheted into the net for a 2-0 advantage.
Zaher gave the Battery a 3-0 lead in the 30th minute when he almost single-handedly beat the Eagles defenders. Patterson again slipped a pass through the Eagles defense that Zaher ran onto. Zaher then dribbled past two Charlotte defenders, cut to the middle of the field just outside the 18-yard box and whipped a bending shot past Reed for the score.
Charlotte made things interesting at the end of the first half when Jorge Herrera scored a set piece from about 25 yards out in stoppage time.
Kelly finished off the scoring in the 61st minute. Battery defender Sean Flatley, a former College of Charleston star, played a perfect long pass to the speedy Jamaican. Kelly ran onto the ball, splitting two Charlotte defenders, and chipped it over a diving Reed for the score.
Charlotte got two late goals in stoppage time from Salieu Bundu and Miguel Ferrer to make the final seconds more interesting than they should have been.
"Hopefully, we've learned a valuable lesson," Anhaeuser said. "We can't let up and give a team a chance to get back into the game."
Headers
--Veteran Battery defender John Wilson missed Friday's game after receiving a red card last week against Orlando City. Wilson, a former Clemson star, received a two-game suspension for the incident and will miss next weekend's playoff game with Orlando City as well.
