Battery ready to face rival'

Familiarity breeds contempt,' captain says of Silverbacks

While the Charleston Battery-Atlanta Silverbacks soccer rivalry doesn't quite measure up to sports' greatest rivalries, it still remains one of the longest-standing feuds in the USL First Division.

Over the past decade, Charleston and Atlanta, who meet today at 8 p.m. at Blackbaud Stadium, have met 32 times, more than any other team in Battery history. Charleston leads the all-time series 15-12-5.

"We always seem to play them three or four times every season," said Charleston keeper and team captain Dusty Hudock. "Familiarity breeds contempt and we certainly know Atlanta pretty well because of the proximity of the two clubs and the number of times we play them. The games are usually pretty ugly and pretty heated, but that's a good thing.

"As a player, you enjoy playing in games like that. You should be a little angry when you step on the field. You should feel a little hostility towards the other team. To me, that's what makes a good rivalry."

While Atlanta doesn't have any former Charleston players on its roster this season, over the years the Silverbacks have raided the Battery's lineup for talent, including players such as Mac Cozier, Alan Woods, Velko Iotov, Jon Akin and Josh Smith.

"It's where Battery players go to die," Hudock said, laughing. "There have been a lot of guys that have played on both sides and that only makes the rivalry that much more intense and that much better. They tend to drum it up for us and we drum it up for them."

Rivalry aside, Charleston coach Mike Anhaeuser said tonight's game is important for the Battery's playoff push. With the top six teams advancing to the playoffs, the Battery (4-4-3) is currently in fifth place in the USL First Division with 15 points. The Silverbacks (3-4-4, 13 points) are in 10th place, but only two points back in the standings.

"It's a big game as much for the rivalry as where we were in the standings," Anhaeuser said. "It's crucial to get your wins at home. You want to put on a good performance for the home fans, but you also want to go those three points. Every point is so crucial when it comes to the playoffs. One win, one draw could mean the difference between making the playoffs or staying home. If you have a slip up you want to have it on the road and not at home."

The Battery beat Atlanta, 2-0, last month in the only match-up between the two clubs this season.

"That doesn't mean a whole lot at this point," Anhaeuser said. "They've brought in some new players, so I'm sure we'll get a little different look from them."

The Battery is coming off a 1-0 win over Montreal and a 5-2 loss to Rochester this past weekend.

"You go into any road trip trying to get as many points as you can," said Battery defender Brandon Curran. "We got three points out of the weekend, but we felt like we should have had six points. We made a couple of mistakes against Rochester and they ended up in the back of our net. We'll learn from our mistakes against Rochester and take the three points we got in Montreal and build on that."

Headers

--Striker Byron Alvarez is tied for the league lead in goals with six. Alvarez has 13 points on the season.

"Byron got off to a bit of a slow start, but he has really turned it up the last month," Anhaeuser said.

--The Battery will wear Charleston Fire Department patches on their uniforms in honor of the nine fire fighters that died in Monday's blaze. The team will also observe a moment of silence.

--The Battery will take on El Paso Patriots in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Blackbaud Stadium.

If the Battery beats the Patriots, it would host Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo in the third round on July 10.

Reach Andrew Miller at 937-5599 or apmiller@postandcourier.com.