OTTAWA – The Charleston Battery held on late and kept their cool from the spot as the No. 9 seed advanced to the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals with a 5-4 victory in a penalty shootout against No. 8 seed Ottawa Fury FC after the sides had played to a 1-1 draw through regulation and extra time on Wednesday night at TD Place.

Jarad van Schaik scored the decisive goal for the Battery, who will now face No. 2 seed Nashville SC on Saturday night at First Tennessee Park at 8 p.m. ET.

The sides matched each other shot for shot in the opening three rounds of the shootout, but the Battery gained an edge to lead off the fourth round when Ottawa’s Mour Samb rang his shot off the crossbar as he aimed for the top-left corner. Charleston’s Ian Svantesson then put his side ahead with a powerful shot to the left corner that eluded the dive of Fury FC goalkeeper Callum Irving, and while Ottawa’s Thiago kept his side alive with a finish to the left corner in the fifth round, van Schaik made it 5 for 5 for the visitors with a shot to the bottom-right corner to send the Battery on.

Looking for their first postseason victory since 2016l, the Battery had held the upper hand in the opening stages as their compact midfield made it difficult for Ottawa to make inroads and allowed the, to spring forward to create some attacking half-chances. Charleston was unable to take advantage, however, until a gamble by Kotari Higashi in the 27th minute paid off handsomely.

The Japanese midfielder won possession in midfield and tried to find Bosua, but as possession was lost, he drifted into space on the left and was quickly found by A.J. Paterson and broke in on goal. Irving got a hand to his finish but was unable to keep it from putting the Battery ahead.

The goal seemed to spur Ottawa into life, with their only real threat prior to going behind a volley by Samb from the top of the penalty area off a long free kick by Carl Haworth that Battery goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky gathered comfortably. Fury FC started to move more quickly on the ball, and five minutes before halftime Onua Obasi cut in from the left side and sent a pass to Samb, whose first-time finish from 10 yards found the bottom-right corner.

Fury FC went close again just before halftime when Hadji Barry ran onto a long ball over the top by Chris Mannella but sent his finish wide of the left post under pressure from Battery defender Taylor Mueller. Charleston then had an early chance in the second half, but Nicque Daley mishit his finish allowing Irving to save easily.