CHARLESTON, S.C. – Saturday night’s game between the Charleston Battery and Seattle Sounders FC at the 2017 Carolina Challenge Cup will also see the renewal of a coaching matchup that dates back more than a decade, but it would be hard to characterize the relationship between Battery Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser and his Seattle counterpart Brian Schmetzer as anything but warm.

“Oh, yeah, we love Mike,” Schmetzer told reporters on Friday at training. “Mike’s such a great host, and he’s a very, very talented coach. We’ve relied on him over the years, we’ve sent him players, the list over the years – [Micheal] Azira, [Lamar] Neagle, Ossie [Alonso] – there’s been a good connection here, so we’re always happy to try and support the Battery all the time.”

Schmetzer first became the Sounders Head Coach in 2002, and over the years the trips to Charleston and Seattle as part of first the USL A-League and then the USL First Division saw the two historic squads square off on a regular basis.

The sides never managed to encounter each other in the postseason, the closest coming in 2003 when the Battery defeated a Minnesota Thunder side in the championship game that had knocked off Seattle in the Western Conference Final, but Anhaeuser has good memories of the matchups between the clubs, and is looking forward to the chance for his side to take on the defending MLS Cup champions.

“I think it’s tremendous,” Anhaeuser said. “When [Anhaeuser and Schmetzer] were at the MLS Combine we actually talked about this. It’ll be great, but I’ll tell you one thing, he’s definitely not going to want to lose to us, so in the end that’s what it’s all about, you still want that competition. He’s had tremendous success, he did a fantastic job, their organization grew and now Seattle is one of, if not the, biggest club in the United States.”