Battery hopes Sanfilippo is the answer

For three seasons, Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser has been searching for an answer at right back.

And for three seasons, Anhaeuser has been trying to lure former USL First Division defender of the year Frankie Sanfilippo to the Lowcountry.

Anhaeuser finally landed Sanfilippo in January, signing the former Carolina RailHawks captain to a three-year contract, in hopes the former San Jose State star can be the missing component the Battery has been looking for in its search for a third league title.

"Getting Frankie here is a big pick-up for us and someone we've been trying to sign for a number of years," Anhaeuser said. "We went after him pretty hard last year and we tried a couple of years before that, but just couldn't get it done."

Last October, the RailHawks ownership group replaced head coach Scott Schweitzer, a teammate of Sanfilippo's with the Rochester Raging Rhinos for a season, with Martin Rennie, and the 27-year-old Sanfilippo figured it was time to move on.

"They were making a lot of changes, and I wanted something a little more stable," Sanfilippo said. "I looked around the league and felt like Charleston would be a good fit.They had a great reputation around the league, they've got a great following, a great facility and I knew what kind of players they were bringing in."

Sanfilippo's first impression of the Battery came during his rookie year in 2004 when the Battery was coming off its USL First Division championship.

"I remember they were the defending champs and they had some really good players," Sanfilippo said. "You could tell that this was a team that wanted to win and expected to win every time they stepped on the field."

Sanfilippo played for Rochester for two seasons and helped the Rhinos advance to the USL First Divison championship game in 2006. That was the same season Sanfilippo was named First Team USL First Division and earned the league's defender of the year honor.

"It's pretty unusual to see an outside back win the defender of the year," Anhaeuser said. "Usually it's the guys in the middle, so that just shows you the kind of quality he brings to the field."

With veteran defenders Nelson Akwari, Matt Bobo and John Wilson anchoring the Battery's back four, Anhaeuser said he wanted to add another experienced player to the mix. A player that was not only solid defensively, but who could also bring an offensive flair when called upon.

"We had a pretty good core of defenders already, but we wanted to tighten things up in at right back," Anhaeuser said. "(Sanfilippo) has been in the league for a number of years in that position and brings a lot of energy.

"He's a pretty vocal guy in the locker room and on the practice field. He brings an abundance of energy. He goes 100 percent every single day and that's a great thing to have and a great asset."

If the first game of Sanfilippo's Charleston tenure is any indication, he might be just what the Battery and Anhaeuser have been looking for at right back.

The Battery traveled some 3,000 miles to Vancouver, Canada, and played the USL First Division champion Whitecaps to a 0-0 draw on opening night. Sanfilippo was solid defensively and created the Battery's best scoring chance in the second half.

"It was a great result and a great start from Frankie," Anhaeuser said. "He played exactly the way I thought he would defensively and he was able to push the ball up the field and create a scoring chance. He just did miss scoring a goal for us. That's the kind of impact we were hoping he'd have when we signed him."

Reach Andrew Miller at apmiller@postandcourier.com.