Tough-luck tie for Battery in home opener

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Battery hosts Sounders

The Charleston Battery and Seattle Sounders played to a 1-1 tie at Blackbaud Stadium on Saturday night.

The good news is the Charleston Battery played the defending United Soccer Leagues champion Seattle Sounders to a 1-1 draw. The bad news it felt more like a loss.

The Battery played its home opener of the 2008 season on Saturday at Blackbaud Stadium in front of 4,324 fans and had the Sounders down 1-0 when the match went to extra time. Hugo Acaraz-Cuellar set up for a free kick near the midfield sideline and angled a ball across to the right side of the penalty box. A line of Battery defenders knocked the ball down, but it cleared in front of Kenji Treschuk, who drilled a low drive past keeper Dusty Hudock's dive and just inside the left post.

Until that late goal, the Battery (0-0-2) was looking at earning three points in the USL standings for a victory. Instead, the draw nets the team only one.

"It definitely feels like a loss, especially coming in the last minute. We played so hard and defended so well. It's really a bummer," said midfielder Louie Rolko, who provided Charleston's only goal in the first half. "It was just one of those things. The ball was at the top of the box and we got it out of there. It was just an unlucky break."

In many ways, the Battery got the better of Seattle (0-0-1). Charleston controlled most of the action in the first half, getting more opportunities to set up on the Sounders' half of the field.

After several good runs and shots at the Seattle goal, the Battery finally broke through in the 37th minute of the first half. Aaron King crossed the ball from the left side across the top of the penalty box where Rolko wasted no time firing a low shot past Sounders goalkeeper Chris Eylander.

In the second half, it was the Sounders who were able to control the ball better, and Seattle outshot Charleston, 8-3. Even so, the Battery had several close shots snuffed by Eylander.

In the 62nd minute, Randi Patterson was taken down on a breakaway inside the penalty box. Mike Richardson took the penalty kick and drilled a low shot to the left post where Eylander just knocked it away with a diving attempt.

Seattle's keeper made another tough stop in the 75th minute on another Patterson run.

"We had a lot of great opportunities. That was a good thing," Rolko said. "We have to start finishing. Their keepr made a couple of great saves. We just had a couple of unlucky bounces."

The Sounders began their final season of USL play before joining Major League Soccer next year. They have won two of the past three USL championships, and their lineup is essentially the same as last year's title winner.

"Overall, it was a good performance," Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser said. "If that's what we match up against, then we have to build on that.

"It's disappointing any time someone scores in extended time when you're winning, especially at home. We had plenty of chances to put it away. If we finish, it doesn't come down to that."

The Battery's next game will be against the Carolina RailHawks on April 26 at Cary, N.C. Charleston's next home game will be May 2 against the Rochester Raging Rhinos.

Reach Bill Henley at 937-5595 or by email at bhenley@postandcourier.com.