September 27, 2018 USL Toronto FC II--Charleston Battery vs Toronto FC II game preview (from charlestonbattery.com)
Match Preview: Charleston Battery vs. Toronto FC II By Sarah Cardamone, 09/27/18, 12:45PM EDT The Charleston Battery (13-4-14) hosts Toronto FC II (3-23-4) Saturday night at MUSC Health Stadium in their final home game of the regular season. The Battery will close out a tough stretch of four matches in eleven days Saturday night. Stoppage time goals from Victor Mansaray and Ian Svantesson helped the Battery take all three points against North Carolina FC Wednesday night at MUSC Health Stadium. As the game looked to be heading towards a third consecutive draw, Mansaray connected on a cross from Neveal Hackshaw to put the Battery in front in the 91st minute. Svantesson doubled the lead two minutes later to seal Charleston’s 13th win of the season. Joe Kuzminsky made two saves, including a penalty, in the match against NCFC to earn his 12th and the team’s 14th shutout of the season. Kuzminsky’s 12 clean sheets is the third-highest total in the league. Wednesday’s win earned the Battery their 11th consecutive trip to the USL playoffs. Just one point behind third-place Louisville and three points behind second-place Pittsburgh, the Battery will now turn their attention to securing a home playoff game. If Charleston wins on Saturday and Indy Eleven drop points on the road in Cincinnati, they will clinch a home game in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals set to be played the weekend of October 20. The Battery defeated last-place Toronto FC II, 4-0, when the two sides met at BMO Field on July 1. After a slow start to the match, Ataulla Guerra, Kotaro Higashi, O’Brian Woodbine, and Gordon Wild all found the back of the net in the second half to earn the victory in Canada. Guerra returned from suspension Wednesday night, playing in his first match since August 31. Patrick Okonkwo will return from his one-game suspension Saturday night, giving Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser a full squad to choose from for the first time in a month. Following the clash with Toronto, the Battery will close out the regular season with back-to-back road games. Charleston will travel Georgia to take on Atlanta United 2 on Sunday, October 7 before heading to Canada to play Ottawa Fury FC on October 14 in the final game of the season.
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