Cleveland Rocked

With two minutes left in regulation, Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser sat on the team's bench with his arms folded across his chest waiting for the final whistle and a couple of days off.

With the Battery leading by three goals, it was a rare chance for Anhaeuser to enjoy a lopsided victory.

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Battery vs. Stars

The Charleston Battery cruised to a 4-1 win over the Cleveland City Stars on Tuesday night at Blackbaud Stadium to move back into first in the USL First Division.

Tsuyoshi Yoshitake scored two goals as Charleston piled up three first-half goals and cruised to a 4-1 win over Cleveland on Tuesday night before a crowd of 2,908 at Blackbaud Stadium.

The Battery improved to 12-4-8 (44 points) and moved into sole possession of first place in the USL First Division.

The last-place City Stars fell to 2-14-7 (13 points).

It was the third game in five days for the Battery. And after an arduous 6,000-mile round trip to the West Coast this past weekend, it was an especially sweet victory for Anhaeuser and the Battery.

"It's been a pretty tough stretch here the last week with the amount of games we've had in such a short period of time," Anhaeuser said. "The road trip took a lot out of us, but the guys responded with a very solid effort. We came out a little sloppy, but after we got that first goal we really started clicking.

"We're going to give the guys a few days off, maybe have a short practice on Thursday, and get some guys rested and healthy again."

The Battery played back-to-back games this past weekend in Vancouver and Portland. Then they faced a 3,000-mile flight back to the Lowcountry on Sunday. But bad weather in Chicago forced the team to spend an extra night on the road before finally returning to Charleston on Monday afternoon.

"I know a lot of teams have faced similar situations, but I know I was drained when I got home," said Battery midfielder Stephen Armstrong. "This game was about our mental approach more than anything physical. Mentally, we knew we had to win this game, and we came out and got the job done. It was a very professional performance."

The Battery wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard, scoring just two minutes into the contest on Scott Buete's goal.

Armstrong sent a searching ball into the 6-yard box. The ball deflected off the head of Charleston defender Matt Bobo to a wide-open Buete, who was 25 yards out.

Buete blasted a shot past Cleveland keeper Richard Gilstrap for the score.

"With all the traveling, we needed something good to happen for us early to get our legs under us," Armstrong said. "We haven't had too many quick starts, so to get a goal that early after what we've been through the last five days was exactly what we needed."

The Battery pushed its advantage to 2-0 on Yoshitake's penalty kick in the 20th minute.

Yoshitake's penalty kick was set up when Cleveland defender Ibrahim Kante tripped Charleston striker Darren Spicer just inside the 18-yard box. Yoshitake beat Gilstrap with a low shot to the left post.

Charleston made it a 3-0 game on Armstrong's header in the 24th minute off a beautiful cross from midfielder Ian Fuller.

"What a great pass from Ian," said Armstrong, who scored for the second time in three games. "I just put my hand up and I don't think Ian even looked at me. He knew where I was and put it right on my head."

Cleveland closed the gap to 3-1 on Leo Gibson's penalty kick in the 35th minute.

The Battery finished off the scoring in the 86th minute with a beautiful display of passing just outside the 18-yard box. Yoshitake and striker Dan Antoniuk worked the give-and-go play to perfection. Yoshitake slid the ball to the former Carolina RailHawks striker, who flicked it back to Yoshitake. Yoshitake got a step on Cleveland defender Warren Ukah and slipped the ball past Gilstrap for the score with less than three minutes left in regulation.

"Yoshi has a very good understanding of the give-and-go," Anhaeuser said. "Dan's a big target and he knows what to do with the ball in that situation. He left it off for Yoshi and he got a great little finish to kind of cap off the night."

Headers

--Keeper Dusty Hudock (knee), Tom Heinemann (hamstring) and defender John Wilson (foot) missed the game with injuries.

--Charleston midfielder Chris Williams was suspended for two games by the USL First Division after receiving a red card in the Battery's 3-1 loss to Portland this past weekend.

Williams will be eligible to play Aug. 28 against the Timbers.