Buete's goal powers Battery

On the score sheet, Scott Buete's game-winning goal Friday night against Miami FC Blues will look like a laser from distance.

The fact that Buete got the goal because of a miscue by the Miami FC defense won't matter one bit.

Darren Spicer scored in the first half and Buete added the game winner in stoppage time to lead Charleston past Miami FC Blues, 2-1, before a crowd of 4,003 at Blackbaud Stadium.

With the victory, the Battery, which had not won in a month, improved to 13-5-10 (49 points) and moved into a tie for third place in the USL First Division with the Carolina RailHawks. The Blues dropped to 8-16-4 (28 points) and were eliminated from the playoffs.

With score tied at 1-1, Buete got the ball about 35 yards out and saw his former Atlanta Silverbacks teammates Dan Antoniuk posted up near the 18-yard box.

Buete sent a curling ball that slipped past Antoniuk. Miami FC defender Gale Agbossoumonde and keeper Kenny Schoeni converged on the loose ball. Agbossoumonde attempted to clear the ball, but missed and watch helplessly as it skidded past Schoeni for the score.

"Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good," said Buete, who scored his third goal of the season. "To be honest it wasn't a shot. I saw Dan in the box and I was just trying to get the ball near him so he maybe he could get a foot on it. When it got past their guy, I couldn't believe it."

Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser will take luck over skill any day.

"I thought we played well enough to deserve the three points," Anhaeuser said. "We had a couple of quality scoring chances late in the game that should have gone in, so to get a goal like that doesn't bother me because we probably should have had one earlier."

The Battery defense turned in another smothering performance allowing just three shots on goal, including one in the second half.

"Our shape was fantastic all night," Anheauser said. "They're a team that likes to pass the ball and move and we didn't allow them to do that much. We relaxed a little bit and opened up on their goal, but other than that we were pretty sound defensively all game."

Charleston took a 1-0 lead on Darren Spicer's header in the 30th minute. After a strong build up by the Battery, Randi Patterson got the ball on the left just outside the 18-yard box.

Patterson slipped past a Miami defender and then sent a beautiful cross that Spicer redirected past a diving Schoeni for his fourth goal of the season.

"Randi put it right on my head," Spicer said. "It was a great ball. We've really started to click here lately. It was good to get a win and start building a little momentum going into the playoffs."

Miami FC tied the game in the Aaron King's goal in the 73rd minute. After a strong build up, John Traynor got the ball deep on the left side and crossed it to midfielder Brian Shriver, who had posted up in front of the Battery net. With a Battery defender leaning on Shriver, he calmly slid the ball across to King, a former Battery standout, who drilled it past Charleston keeper Keith Wiggans for the score.

The Battery had an excellent scoring opportunity in the 78th minute when Tsuyoshi Yoshitake crossed a ball into the six-yard box to a wide open Tyler Hemming. But Hemming's volley missed just wide of the net.

Charleston had another quality scoring chance in the 85th minute when Stephen Armstrong crossed a ball to Antoniuk at the top of the 18-yard box. But his volley sailed over the net to end the threat.

Headers

--Rookie striker Tom Heinemann was unavailable after undergoing knee surgery on Wednesday.

Heinemann hopes to return for the playoffs.

--The Battery will play its final two games of the season on the road against Rochester (Sept. 18) and Minnesota (Sept. 20).

--The Battery is expected to host a home playoff game on Sunday, Sept. 27 against an opponent to be determined.