Charleston has been at the forefront of the MLS-USL affiliation since its inception in 2014. The Battery have had affiliations with the Vancouver Whitecaps (2014), Houston Dynamo (2015) and Atlanta United FC (2016-present). Over those years Charleston has dealt with the good and the bad that comes with working directly with an MLS affiliate. And tonight, they’ll deal with a trip to Atlanta to face their affiliate in the US Open Cup.

In 2014, the Battery saw some of their talent shipped over the border and were forced to play players they normally wouldn’t per Whitecaps orders. When Charleston started working with Houston, the relationship was a little better: they did see better players coming in, and there was an added bonus that those players were not being forced into the starting lineup. One of those players, Memo Rodriguez, used his time in Charleston to really learn how to be a professional player and now is lighting it up for Rio Grande Valley in the Western Conference.

The Battery’s current affiliation with Atlanta United FC started on January 15, 2016. I was beyond excited to hear about Charleston and Atlanta linking up. This made perfect sense for nothing else then geography: the proximity makes it a lot easier to move players between the two sides. This advantage was seen early this season when Atlanta sent fullback Mikey Ambrose to play in the place of suspended O’Brian Woodbine.

During the first season of the affiliation, 2016, Atlanta was not an active MLS team yet and sent some players to Charleston in order to begin to develop their club. Many were salivating with the prospect of United signing some world class talent that would spend the 2016 season in Charleston, but Atlanta’s bigger signings stayed put where they were until 2017.

But for the time being, Charleston received the future of Atlanta’s club. Players like Alex Tambakis, Jeffrey Otoo, Christopher Goslin and Andrew Carleton all played in Charleston to help polish and develop their games as professionals.

Also, a new forward came to Charleston by the name of Romario Williams. He has been okay in black and yellow…

Williams jumped on the scene almost immediately. He came in late during the season opener and scored a huge goal to steal a point and ruin Cincinnati FC’s coming out party.

He would end up scoring 10 goals in 2016 and help see the Battery to a home playoff game.

Andrew Carleton didn’t start to show up in the Battery game day roster until a little later in the season, but his impact was felt right away. He brought a flare and sizzle to the pitch that excited any soccer fan that watched him play. Anyone who saw the youngster in the black and yellow stripes knew he was destined for greater things.

That’s me taking a selfie with Andrew Carleton. (Photo Credit: Kim Morgan Gregory Photography)

Alex Tambakis would end up taking the reigns in goal for the Battery in 2016. He would end the season playing 19 matches, making 70 saves, only allowing 20 goals and anchoring one of the best backlines in the league.

I appreciated Tambakis’s play, but I was not upset that Cooper regained his number one spot for 2017. “Tambakis or Cooper” is still hotly contested among many Battery supporters, and that continued into this season when Atlanta loaned Tambakis for the first few matches of the season.