Battery back in first place

Montreal — Former Montreal forward Dan Antoniuk scored against his old club Sunday afternoon at Saputo Stadium in front of 11,581 to lift the Charleston Battery to a 1-0 victory over the Montreal Impact.

Antoniuk blasted home the winner in the 68th minute as Charleston (8-2-6, 30 points) claimed three points and moved into first place in the USL First Division standings.

"It was a great overall team performance, and in the second half we started to control the game," said Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser. "Dan hit a great strike to give us the lead and then the team did a good job to close off the game defensively."

Battery goalkeeper Dusty Hudock recorded seven saves for his league-leading 10th shutout of the season.

The Battery almost scored within the first 30 seconds after Antoniuk flicked a header into the path of striker Randi Patterson, who accelerated past an Impact defender, but he pushed his right-footed shot wide of the far post.

Charleston continued to press and created a second chance in the 14th minute. Tsuyoshi Yoshitake took control of the ball, but his hard shot was blocked away by the Montreal defense.

The Impact came to life in the 30th minute and almost scored as the ball was worked out to forward Rocco Placentino at the back post. Placentino hit a stinging first-time volley but Hudock was well-positioned and managed to smother the shot around the post.

The breakthrough came after substitute midfielder Scott Buete struck a cross from the left wing to Antoniuk, who scored to give the Battery the victory.

The Battery returns to Blackbaud Stadium for a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match Tuesday night at 7:30 against Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo.