Late penalty kick thwarts Battery
Thunder 2, Battery 1
Blaine, Minn. — The Charleston Battery lost to the Minnesota Thunder, 2-1, Thursday night at the National Sports Center.
After conceding an early goal, the Battery had fought to level terms with a second-half goal from midfielder Osvaldo Alonso, but a late penalty-kick goal denied the Battery a share of the points.
The Battery (10-7-4, 34 points) remains atop the USL First Division despite the loss.
Minnesota (6-9-6, 24 points) took the lead in the seventh minute after the ball was played diagonally to the back of the Battery box then quickly crossed to the middle. Thunder forward Rico Sanchez latched onto the pass and blasted home from the edge of the 6-yard box.
In the 16th minute, forward Lazo Alavanja earned a free kick 20 yards out. Alavanja took the kick himself, but his curling attempt was smothered on the goal line by Thunder goalkeeper Nick Platter.
The Battery almost scored at the stroke of halftime. Alonso held off a defender at the edge of the box, then played a short pass to Stephen Armstrong as he broke forward. Armstrong ran onto the pass, but his hard left-footed shot flew wide of the far post.
Charleston dominated the second half and created chance after chance as the Thunder defended.
The pressure finally told in the 77th minute after Minnesota failed to clear from an Armstrong free kick. The ball bobbled across the face of the goal and Alonso reacted first by lashing the ball into the back of the net.
The game turned in the 81st minute after the referee awarded Minnesota a penalty for a hand ball in the box by defender Marco Reda. Reda protested the decision, claiming it was unintentional contact but to no avail, and forward Alen Marcina coolly converted to give Minnesota the lead.
The Battery continued to pile on the pressure in the waning moments but could not break through before time ran out.
Charleston travels to Portland, Ore., for a 10 p.m. match on Saturday against the Portland Timbers.
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