Charleston Battery

Charleston Battery

File:Charlestonbattery.png
Full name	Charleston Battery
Nickname(s)	Battery
Founded	1993
Ground	Blackbaud Stadium
Capacity	5,113
Chairman	Tony Bakker
Manager	Michael Anhaeuser
League	USL First Division
2009	in progress
Home colors Away colors

Charleston Battery is an American professional soccer team based in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.

The team plays its home games at the soccer-specific Blackbaud Stadium, where they have played since 1999. The team's colors are yellow, black and red. Their current head coach is Michael Anhaeuser.

History

Battery were formed in 1993 as a member of the PDSL, and joined the A-League (now USL First Division) in 1997. The team's home, Blackbaud Stadium, built in 1999, was the first professional soccer specific stadium in the USL First Division. The Battery won the PDSL championship in 1996 and the A-League championship in 2003, defeating the Minnesota Thunder 3-0 to win the title. The Battery qualified for the U.S. Open Final match for the first time in club history in 2008, playing against Major League Soccer team DC United. In the final the Battery conceded an early goal but bounced back with a quick-fire equaliser through an Ian Fuller goal, assisted by Chris Williams. Later in the half Lazo Alavanja hit the post but at half time the scores were tied at 1-1. At the start of the second half Charleston conceded early again and that's how it stayed, DC winning 2-1. However, in the final seconds of 2nd half extra time Marco Reda put the ball in the back of the net for Charleston, only to have the goal controversially disallowed for an alleged offside.

As of May 31st, the Battery has made an impressive start to the 2009 USL-1 season, recording 5 wins, 4 ties and not a single loss.

The Battery's official supporters' group is called the Regiment. The Battery's most passionate fans stand in section E10.

The Battery competes for the Coffee Pot Cup every time it faces their rival team DC United of Major League Soccer. The trophy was established by the two sides' supporters.

Players

Current roster

as of May 23, 2009 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	USA	Dusty Hudock
2	DF	USA	Nelson Akwari
3	MF	USA	Scott Buete
4	DF	JAM	O'Brian Woodbine
5	DF	CAN	Nigel Marples
6	DF	USA	Matt Bobo
7	DF	CAN	Chris Williams
9	MF	USA	Darren Spicer
10	MF	JPN	Tsuyoshi Yoshitake
11	FW	USA	Ian Fuller
12	DF	CUB	Yeniel Bermudez

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
14	FW	USA	Tommy Heinemann
15	DF	USA	Frank Sanfilippo
16	MF	RSA	Stephen Armstrong
17	MF	USA	Dan Antoniuk
18	MF	USA	Patrick Tate
19	MF	USA	Kenji Treschuk
20	FW	TRI	Randi Patterson
24	MF	CAN	Tyler Hemming
25	DF	USA	John Wilson
30	GK	USA	Keith Wiggans

Notable former players

• Osvaldo Alonso
• Raúl Díaz Arce
• Template:Country data MOR Khalil Azmi
• Jamar Beasley
• Dan Calichman
• Omar Daley
• Linval Dixon
• Seamus Donnelly
• Paul Dougherty
• Jake Edwards
• Gavin Glinton
• Lee Hurst

• John Limniatis
• Barry Moore
• Bo Oshoniyi
• Terry Phelan
• Robert Rosario
• Brent Sancho
• Nicky Spooner
• Dino Maamria
• John Wilson
• Eric Wynalda

• See also: All-time Charleston Battery roster

Year-by-year

Year	Division	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Open Cup	Avg. Attendance
1993	2	USISL	5th, Atlantic	Play-in Game	Did not enter
1994	2	USISL	2nd, Atlantic	Semifinals	Did not enter
1995	2	USISL Pro League	1st, Atlantic	Divisional Semifinals	Did not qualify
1996	4	USISL Pro League	2nd, South Atlantic	Champions	Did not qualify
1997	2	USISL A-League	4th, Atlantic	Division Finals	Did not qualify
1998	2	USISL A-League	4th, Atlantic	Conference Quarterfinals	Did not qualify
1999	2	USL A-League	3rd, Atlantic	Conference Quarterfinals	Semifinals
2000	2	USL A-League	1st, Atlantic	Conference Semifinals	2nd Round
2001	2	USL A-League	2nd, Central	1st Round	3rd Round
2002	2	USL A-League	1st, Southeast	Conference Semifinals	3rd Round
2003	2	USL A-League	1st, Southeast	Champions	Did not qualify
2004	2	USL A-League	8th Eastern	Did not qualify	Semifinals
2005	2	USL First Division	9th	Did not qualify	2nd Round
2006	2	USL First Division	3rd	Semifinals	4th Round
2007	2	USL First Division	10th	Did not qualify	Quarterfinals
2008	2	USL First Division	6th	1st Round	Runner Up
2009	2	USL First Division	in progress

Honors

• USL A-League
  • Winners (2): 1996*, 2003
  • Atlantic Division Champions (2): 1995*, 2000
  • Southeast Division Champions (2): 2002, 2003

• US Open Cup
  • Runner Up (1): 2008
  • Semifinals (2): 1999, 2004
  • Quarterfinals (1): 2007

• Southern Derby
  • Winner (2): 2003, 2005 co-champion

Head coaches

• Michael Anhaeuser (2004-present)

Stadia

• Blackbaud Stadium; Charleston, South Carolina (1999-present)

See also

• Battery Park
• Carolina Challenge Cup
• [1] Battery stuffs Sounders, Charleston Post and Courier Article

External links

• Charleston Battery official site
• Post and Courier Battery section