Battery keeping strategy simple against Patriots

Charleston coach Mike Anhaeuser has a basic philosophy when facing a team from a lower division — keep it simple and score early.

The Battery will take on the El Paso Patriots tonight in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Blackbaud Stadium. If Charleston manages to beat the Patriots, the Battery will face Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo on July 10 at Blackbaud Stadium.

The El Paso Patriots are from the USL's Premier Development League, which is two divisions below the Battery.

"We know that El Paso is going to come into the game very hungry and ready to prove something," Anhaeuser said. "We know they're a very good team. They're very skilled up front. What we've got to do is play our game, keep it simple, don't try to do too much and worry about what we're doing and not so much what they're doing."

The Patriots advanced to the second round by beating Miami FC, a USL First Division team, on penalty kicks.

"Being so close to Mexico, El Paso has a real Hispanic flair to their game," Anhaeuser said. "They like short passes, they like to possess the ball and attack when they get the opportunity."

The Patriots are in first place in the PDL's Mid-South Division with a 6-3-2 record overall. The Patriots are led by strikers Victor Omar Mora-Gomez, who has three goals and one assist, and Jorge Briones, who has two goals.

"They've gotten some good results this season, so we can't take them lightly," Anhaeuser said. "They've already proven they can beat a First Division team. They've got a couple of very good guys up front."

The Battery beat the Central Florida Kraze, 3-0, in their opening-round match of the U.S. Open Cup. Charleston notched two goals within the first 10 minutes of the match, and got all three goals in the first half.

"That's usually a big key when you're playing against a team from a lower division," Anhaeuser said. "The more a team stays in the game, the more confidence they get and the more they tend to find their legs. Getting those early goals against Central Florida was big, and we're going to try to do the same thing against El Paso."

The Battery is coming off mixed results from this past weekend. Charleston rallied to beat Atlanta, scoring two goals in the final five minutes of the match, in a dramatic 2-1 victory Friday, but could not sustain their momentum in a 2-0 loss to the Carolina RailHawks in Cary, N.C., on Saturday.

"We had a great win on Friday night against Atlanta," Anhaeuser said. "It wasn't one of our best performances, but you've got to be happy with the end results. We just couldn't come away with a good result against Carolina."

Charleston will be without striker Michael Todd, who has four starts already this season. Todd injured his ankle Saturday night in the Battery's loss to Carolina. Midfielder Ian Fuller (hamstring) and defenders Kevin Nylen (foot) and Lee Sandwina will also miss the game with injuries.

"Ian and Kevin are a couple more weeks away," Anhaeuser said. "We're hoping to get them back sometime in July, hopefully sooner rather than later. Lee should be ready on Saturday."

Midfielder Lazo Alvanja, who strained a hamstring Friday night against Atlanta, should be available, Anhaeuser said.

"This is a knockout tournament, so we're not going to hold anyone back," Anhaeuser said. "We don't play again until Saturday, so there's no reason to leave anyone on the bench. The winner gets a crack at Houston, and that's a pretty good prize for any team in the next round."

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