Battery stumbles

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Battery vs. Railhawks

The Charleston Battery fell to the Carolina Railhawks on Saturday at Blackbaud Stadium.

The Battery's first loss at home in league play was quite literally a kick in the head.

Charleston played most of the match without top scorer Randi Patterson, who drew a red card and was ejected in the 24th minute after his boot came down hard on the back of a Carolina RedHawk's head.

Carolina's Sallieu Bundu scored just two minutes later, and the RedHawks held on for a 1-0 victory before 3,826 fans at Blackbaud Stadium on Saturday night.

The loss, Charleston's first at home in USL First Division play, dropped the Battery to 8-3-6 and kept it in a first-place tie with Puerto Rico, each team with 30 points. Carolina evened its season series with Charleston and improved to 8-4-3.

"We had to play with 10 guys, and that's very difficult," said Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser, whose team was coming off a 4-0 loss to the top team in Major League Soccer, Houston, in

U.S. Open Cup play. "We did very well to keep it to where we did. And then when we finally got even in the second half, it was probably too late and they defended very well."

Charleston went a man down in the 24th minute when Patterson, who has six goals this season, was ejected after kicking Carolina defender Caleb Norkus in the back of the head following a tussle for a loose ball.

"Randi put his foot down, but I don't think it was intentional," Anhaeuser said. "But the ref made a decision, to the best of his ability, and I guess you have to live with it."

Less than two minutes after Patterson was sent off, Carolina seized a 1-0 lead as midfielder Josh Gardner got wide on the Battery defense and rolled a nice cross to forward Bundu, who beat his defender to the inside and poked the ball past keeper Dusty Hudock for his second goal of the season. It was just the seventh goal the Battery has allowed in 17 USL matches this season.

The RailHawks nearly scored again before the half when Bundu got loose in front of the goal again. But he could not lift the ball and Hudock snuffed the attempt, sending the Battery into the locker room with a one-goal deficit.

The Battery almost tied it in the 55th minute, when forward Tyoshi Yoshitake drew a yellow card on Gardner. Defender Matt Bobo got his head on Yoshitake's free kick, but sent it just over the crossbar.

Gardner was hit with a second yellow card and ejection in the 63rd minute, putting the squads back on even footing, and the Battery spent the rest of the match pressing the attack.

Midfielder Scott Buete had a golden chance in the 73rd minute, but his blast from straight in front of the goal sailed high. Four minutes later, defender Obrian Woodbine sent a cross just past the far post. And in the 87th minute, midfielder Stephen Armstrong drilled a free kick low and at the left post, keeper Eric Reed diving to knock the ball away at the last second.

Charleston finished with 13 shots, 10 in the second half, to nine for Carolina. Hudock was credited with four saves and Reed had three saves for his fourth shutout.

The Battery is on the road for its next two matches, at Cleveland on July 17 and at Rochester the next day.

Patterson's red card means he will have to sit out the Cleveland match.

Charleston returns home to face the RailHawks again on July 24.