The Charleston Battery extended their undefeated streak to 10 matches in USL and U.S. Open Cup by salvaging a 1–1 draw against visiting Nashville SC Saturday night in front of 2,697 fans.

This is the first time Nashville SC has played the Battery. But Nashville did their homework as Nashville coach Gary Smith deployed a 5–3–2 formation in an effort to counter the Battery offense.

#CHSvNSC Starting XI

Both teams probed each other in the first 20 minutes of play without much success. Kotaro Higashi tried to put the Battery on the board in the 21st minute but his shot was off frame to the right.

For the second time in as many weeks, a questionable call by the head referee cost the Battery. This week, head referee Jonathan Bilinski called a foul against Battery captain Taylor Mueller, who was standing still with his arms down at his side beside a leaping defender who had no chance to head the incoming pass. Bilinski awarded a gift of a free kick to Nashville just outside the 18-yard box in the 25th minute.

Nashville forward Lebo Molato toe tapped the free kick to defender Liam Doyle, who (in one of the few minutes he wasn’t complaining to every official) sent the ball through a opening in the Battery’s wall and into the right side of the net past a diving GI Joe Kuzminsky. The goal is only the second goal conceded by Kuzminsky in six starts, both coming from questionable calls that could have been overruled if the USL implemented video assistant refereeing.

The Battery came out in the second half and evened the score at 1–1 in the 50th minute. Defender Jay Bolt took the ball and defender Justin Davis down to the goal line and sent his cross into Ataulla “The Slayer” Guerra. Guerra fired his shot past two Nashville defenders and a diving Matt Pickens to score his sixth goal of the season, keeping him in the third place tie for the USL Golden Boot.

The Battery had four more opportunities to secure three points, but saw their shots deflected or off frame. Nashville tried to take the win late in the second half but was denied by Kuzminsky.

The draw keeps the Battery in third place in the Eastern Conference with Louisville City moving back to the top of the table after blanking the second place team 2–0 in some city on Ohio that starts with C.

When asked if the Battery created enough chances to win, coach Mike Anhaeuser said:

“ It’s a tough one. You look up and the shots are pretty even. I think we created some quality chances, but in the end we didn’t hit the target enough. They defend well. They defend with eight and they’re a tough team to break down, so you have to give them credit for not conceding a second goal. I think in the second half we played a lot better and we created better chances. The guys did a great job to tie it up and fight back from being down.”

By the numbers

The Battery had nearly 50 more passes than Nashville, with Neveal Hackshaw leading the Battery with 69 passes.

The Battery back line was critical to Defended Charleston. The defense also broke up and frustrated the eight Nashville played in the back.

Match summary

In Defense of Charleston

Kotaro Higashi: Higashi, #ultraman, does not get the press that he rightfully deserves. He plays with a tenacity that far exceeds his 5-foot-6 frame. Higashi has an 85.3 percent passing accuracy and a 78 percent tackle success rate. Against Nashville he displayed his ability to slice and dice through any defense like a hot knife through butter.

Joe Kuzminsky: In six starts, GI Joe has only conceded two goals. Both of them — a free and penalty kick — awarded by questionable calls. His four clean sheets and 14 saves, like this one, are one of the reasons the Battery have climbed from the bottom of the table in April to nearly the top by May.

Box score

Charleston Battery — 1

Nashville SC — 1

Goals

25' — Nashville — Liam Doyle (Penalty Kick)

50' — Charleston — Ataulla Guerra (Assist: Jay Bolt)

Up next

The Battery (5–2–4) start another road stand. They travel to Indianapolis to face Indy XI (4–4–2), a team playing in its inaugural USL season after leaving the now defunct NASL. Indy lost its last match 4–1 to the Baby Bulls. The match will be streamed in ESPN+ and kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 30.