The Charleston Battery returns home Saturday night to take on the Tampa Bay Rowdies after four straight matches on the road. Saturday’s match is the Battery’s first at MUSC Health Stadium since their 1-0 win over Penn FC on March 24.

The Battery enters the clash with the Rowdies coming off of a 3-0 win against Atlanta United 2 at Coolray Field Tuesday night. Ian Svantesson and Gordon Wild put in standout performances to help Charleston to the midweek win, their first on the road of 2018.

Svantesson opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with a strike from distance that rung off the post and went in. The goal was Svantesson’s first for the Battery in USL play. Wild scored a second-half brace to secure the three points. Wild’s goals were the first of his professional career. The match against Atlanta was the first time the Battery has scored multiple goals in a game against a professional side in 2018.

The Battery will be looking to carry the attacking momentum into the game against the Rowdies and continue their climb up the Eastern Conference Standings. The win over Atlanta moved them into seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-2-2 record. Charleston has a 1-1-0 record in their two matches at MUSC Health Stadium. The Battery dropped a tight match to FC Cincinnati in the opening match of the 2018 season, then defeated Penn FC the following week.

The Rowdies enter the match against the Battery in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 4-2-0 record. Tampa Bay defeated Western Conference side Real Monarchs in their previous match. Goals from Joe Cole and Georgi Hristov lifted the Rowdies to the 2-0 win over the Monarchs in St. Petersburg. Hristov leads the Rowdies in scoring with four goals on the season.

Tampa has been impressive at home this season, winning all three of their matches at Al Lang Stadium and outscoring their opponents 9-0; however, they’ve won just once in three times on the road. The Rowdies beat Bethlehem Steel FC, 3-1, in Pennsylvania on the opening weekend of the season, then lost 1-0 to Louisville City FC at Slugger Field and 5-0 to New York Red Bulls II at Red Bull Arena.

The Battery had the better of the Rowdies in the three matches between the two teams in 2017, winning two and losing one. Charleston earned a 3-2 victory on the road and a 2-0 victory at home before dropping a 2-0 result at Al Lang Stadium in the final match between the two sides last season.

Saturday’s match is the Battery’s first of six straight at home, while it’s Tampa’s first of three in a row on the road. The Battery hosts Charlotte Independence next Saturday and the Rowdies will travel to take on Penn FC at FNB Field next Friday.