On Thursday morning, the Charleston Battery traveled to Bethlehem, PA to face the Steel in a match while most of us were still on our first cup of coffee. The Battery prevailed, dominating most aspects of the game, and while they didn’t score as many as I predicted in my preview, they still took all three points, thanks to yet another goal from Super Romario Williams.

While watching this match, I kept thinking that this looked like a Varsity vs. JV Scrimmage. The Battery played together and just had so much more skill on the ball. The 1–0 score line and 40–60 possession stat line may make others think differently, but the Battery are playing on a different level then the clubs they are playing.

The win puts the Battery three points clear of the rest of the USL Eastern Conference with a game still in hand over 2nd place Tampa Bay.

Thursday’s performance was another match where the Battery simply did what they needed to do to win. They came out with a game plan to outwork BSFC and force them to play at a high rate of play early, and it paid off with Charleston’s 7th win in their first ten matches.

The Game

I personally was a little worried to see how the Battery would come out and play before noon in the middle of the week without two of their usual starters, but in front of a crowd filled with young students on a field trip, the Battery took Bethlehem to school.

It was nice to see a lot of young faces in the crowd, and the neutral fan in me wanted them to see their home team win… but as a Battery supporter, I hope to see a few of those kids in black and yellow when the Battery return to Lehigh University next season.

Now back to the game.

The Battery came out with a lot of confidence and that showed with the flare that Charleston continues to bring every game this season.

Charleston took the lead in the 32nd minute when Super Romario finished a B-E-A-UTY of a shot from distance. Williams’ eighth goal of the season keeps him in contention for the coveted USL Golden Boot Award, as long as Atlanta doesn’t take him away from us before the season comes to an end.

When the second half started, the Battery came out strong and made it clear that they were the best team on the pitch. However, they were unable to finish a number of quality chances, no thanks to Bethlehem’s keeper Jake McGuire who turned in a great performance and really gave his club an opportunity to take something from this match.

Bethlehem did start to throw some numbers forward and pressure the Battery’s backline, but in the end, the Boys in Black and Yellow came to play and picked up another three points on the road.

Moyer’s MOTM

Super Romario

This one was a little tougher for me, since no one player stood out from the rest outside of the goalsheet. Everyone put in a hard day’s work and came to play. However, when you are on the road and need someone to step up and put a goal in the back of the net, you have to look for your top goal scorer to step up. SUPER Romario did just that.

Time and time again this season he has stepped up and scored some big goals. We can add Thursday’s strike to that long list, which I am sure will continue to grow throughout the rest of the season.

Up Next

The Battery finish their 3 game road trip with a visit to the defending USL Champs NYRBII. Checkout my full preview for the match. I am hopeful that the Battery can take home at least one more point from this road trip which includes three games in eight days.

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 @SoccerNSweetTeaon Twitter for all the latest Carolina soccer news.