Make no mistake about it: Atlanta came to play on Wednesday afternoon. The Silverbacks of the NPSL made no secret that they wanted this game bad. It was their fourth game in seven days, but they had rested some of their top players in preparation for the Battery and hopefully a long US Open Cup run.

However, it was the Battery that came out on top.

When it comes to the US Open Cup, the Battery knows that the only thing that matters is winning and moving on. The Silverbacks topped the Battery in almost every offensive category… except the one that mattered the most. In the end, Charleston moved on with a 2–1 victory.

The Game

When the Battery plays clubs from MLS, or even other D2 leagues, they always seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to officiating. There always feels like there is a bias for clubs from higher leagues. On Wednesday afternoon, Atlanta supporters had that same feeling. Time after time, the Silverbacks and their supporters barked at the referee to no avail.

What Atlanta and their supporters may not have noticed is that the Battery play a physical style of play. They do not go into challenges lightly, and at times it looks like the Battery are pushing players off the ball or maybe nicking an extra ankle or two… but that is their style and it did the trick against Atlanta. It helped to throw off the Silverbacks concentration (if you don’t believe me, re-watch the match and see how many close chances the Silverbacks missed). That comes down to a lack of concentration and frustration that the Battery seem to manufacture every match, and it has frustrated every club they have faced this year.

As for the match itself, Atlanta held the bulk of possession and had many more chances to finish with the victory but the Battery took advantage of their few chances.

Forrest Lasso (aka Shaq) proved he does not necessarily need Justin Portillo (aka Kobe) on the ball to score from a set piece. In the 20th minute, he put his first Open Cup goal in the back of the net.

24 minutes later Jeffrey Otoo, the Atlanta United loanee, got on the score sheet with his first goal in a Battery uniform

A 2–0 score at half wasn’t going to stay that way: the Battery knew Atlanta would throw everything they had at them. That pressure culminated in a PK called against the Battery in the 73rd minute and Alex Harlley slotted home Atlanta’s only goal on the day.

The Battery back line, which was thrown into panic mode when Forrest Lasso left with an injury in the 1st half, held their own and stayed strong throughout the second half to preserve the win.

Lasso’s injury substitution had just about every Battery supporter holding their breath, but all of those nerves were calmed after the match when Forrest sent out this tweet…

All in all, the Battery did what they went to Atlanta to do. They won, and as I already wrote, in the Open Cup, that is all that matters.

Moyer’s MOTM

Odissnel Cooper

Super Cooper held the backline together and made a number of superman saves to keep the Battery in the game and ultimately walk away victorious and into the 3rd round of the U.S. Open Cup.

He deserves this and would have had a clean sheet had it not been for the penalty kick.

Open Cup History

This was a historic night for the Battery for a few reasons. First, the Battery have now won 12 straight opening matches in U.S. Open Cup play, which is the 2nd longest streak in the “Modern Era.”

The second piece of history made on Wednesday is that Charleston now sits alone in 5th place for most U.S. Open Cup wins. This tweet, from before the game:

Battery’s Cup Run Continues

The Battery will travel to Florida on May 31st to take on the Jacksonville Armada from the NASL. USL vs. NASL match ups draw a lot of attention these days, and this match will definitely have a lot of supporters from both leagues watching. I’ll have more on this matchup as we get closer to the 31st so check back with Soccer ’N’ Sweet Tea the week of the match.

We also found out this morning that the winner of this game gets to play Atlanta United in round four. That could be epic for Charleston.

Previous USOC Matchup

Checkout a recap from 2016 when the Armada defeated Charleston 2–1 in extra time in last year’s U.S. Open Cup.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to check back for more articles about the Charleston Battery, make sure you read about our efforts to chronicle 25 years of supporting the Battery, and of course, follow @SoccerNSweetTea on Twitter for all the latest Carolina soccer news.