Dandy Randi

Patterson scores twice as Battery tops Miami FC

Alan Hawes
The Post and Courier

The Battery’s Lester More (23) and Miami’s Cristiano Diaz fight for a loose ball Friday night.

A two-game winning streak isn't exactly the stuff of legend, but Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser feels like he has his soccer team moving in the right direction after Friday night's 3-1 victory over Miami FC at Blackbaud Stadium.

"Any time you get two wins in a row, you feel great," said Anhaeuser, whose team won for the first time this season last week and followed up with Friday night's victory. "We feel like we've got a little momentum now."

Charleston (2-3-1) got two goals from Randi Patterson and carried the fight to the visitors in the second half.

"Randi has been taking over," Anhauser said. "I tell you, he got that first one and I know that got his confidence going.

The game was tied 1-1 at the half, but Charleston took the lead 2-1 in the 51st minute on a header from Osvaldo Alonso from an assist by Mike Richardson.

Patterson added his second goal of the night and third in two games on a header in the 86th minute.

Patterson just missed with a shot that glanced off the crossbar in the 75th minute.

"They pushed forward with numbers and we were able to counterattack on them," Anhauser said. "We had some chances to really put them under pressure. You want to to do that, m ake it exciting for the fans. We've got speed up front and we want to get them the ball as much as we can."

Miami FC (1-4-1) got off to a fast start in the game and took a 1-0 lead with a goal in the 11th minute by Alex Afonso with an assist from Sean Cameron.

Charleston rallied to tie it in the 37th minute on a goal by Patterson, his second in as many games for the Battery.

But the Battery misfired on several solid scoring chances in the first half and the game went to the second half tied 1-1.

"Going down 1-0 early put a little pressure on us, but the boys reacted very well," Anhauser said. "Randi got us back 1-1 and after that we thought we could wear them down and take it to them in the second half. And it worked out that way. To win 3-1 is a great result."

The two teams had already met once this season, battling to a 2-2 tie in Miami on April 12.

Rookie midfielder Dominic Cianciarulo scored both Charleston goals in his professional debut in a match that the Battery trailed 1-0 and 2-1.

But Charleston came into Friday night's match on a bit of an upswing, having won its first game of the season, a 2-0 victory over the Rochester Rhinos last week.

The Battery also came into the match with a bit of a talent infusion.

Battery defender John Wilson was back in the lineup after serving a one-game suspension last week and midfielder's Chris Corcoran, Ian Fuller and Dominic Cianciarulo all resumed full activity in training in the past week after returning from injury.

The Battery returns to action on Wednesday, playing the Montreal Impact at 7 p.m. at Blackbaud Stadium.

"We've got another tough one Wednesday so we've got to get our focus on," Anhauser said. "Montreal has always been one of the top teams in the league. You know what, if we keep putting goals in the back of the net, we're going to keep putting teams under pressure here in Blackbaud Stadium."