Nico Rittmeyer opened his professional scoring account with a brace, Ataulla “The Slayer” Guerra scored his league leading 12th goal and GI Joe Kuzminsky recorded his eighth shutout of the year as the Charleston Battery blanked the visiting Richmond Kickers 3–0 in front of 3,221 on fan appreciation night.

Coach Mike Anhaeuser opted to start Rittmeyer, a second-year homegrown player, atop the 3–4–3 formation, with Jarad van Schaik returning to the right wing.

Anhaeuser said before the match that he wanted the Battery (10–3–8) to put early pressure on the visiting Kickers, who shut the Battery out last month in Richmond. That’s exactly what Charleston did.

The Battery pressed hard into the Kickers’ defending half early and it paid off for them. In the 15th minute, the Battery forced a turnover and O’Brian Woodbine found himself with the ball in the middle of the field with plenty of space. Woodbine, the veteran, saw Rittmeyer unmarked running up the left side of the pitch and sent his long pass forward. Rittmeyer collected the pass at the 18 and, with a one-touch-and-shoot, calmly sent his right footed shot between Travis Worra’s outstretched foot and paw to score his first professional goal.

The Battery doubled the score late in first-half stoppage time when Guerra found Woodbine on the right side just outside the six yard box and connected with him. Woodbine’s cross was punched out by Richmond goalkeeper Worra but it landed right in the path of Rittmeyer, who finished with an easy tap in.

The USL heat map for the first half shows a balance of play in the middle third.

First half heat map #CHSvRIC

While one College of Charleston graduate scored a brace in the first half, another recorded his first assist in the second. Leland Archer, the rookie defender and recent CofC graduate in his sixth start of the season, dashed any hope for the Kickers in the 51st minute. A give-and-go between Archer and Tah Brian Anunga saw Archer head towards the end line. His high arching cross to the far post, which found the head of an unmarked Ataulla “The King of Charleston” Guerra. The goal was Guerra’s fifth in six games, giving him a league-leading 12 on the season.

The Kickers, feeling the pressure as the clock dwindled, pressed hard into the Battery’s defending half while Charleston dug in and stopped the Kickers.

Second half heat map.

While the Kickers maintained better than 60 percent of the possession and out passed the Battery 578 to 390 with a 88.1 percent passing accuracy, they failed in two key aspects.

First: the back line committed costly errors. These errors resulted in three Battery goals scored by unmarked players. Two of the three Battery goals were into open nets due to lapses in the Kickers defense.After Guerra’s goal in the 51st minute, each Kicker defender looked at each other with their hands in the air.

Second: poor shot placement. The Kickers took 21 shots, 17 from outside the box. Only five were on frame, resulting in 20 percent shooting accuracy.

To credit the Kickers, it is been hard to score against GI Joe Kuzminsky and his cat-like reflexes. Kuzminsky, who won the USL Save of the Week vote the week before last and lost out to NCFC and former Battery keeper Alex Tambakis last week, made an incredible double save late in the match to earn his eighth clean sheet of the season, just one clean sheet behind the USL leaders.

An interesting fact to note for the naysayers and critics as the Battery close out July: The Battery, with a record of 10–3–8, sit in second place, 10 points and one game in hand ahead of Charlotte with 28 points. This time last year the Battery’s record was 10–5–6. Something to ponder as the Battery make the push for the playoffs in the remaining 13 matches.

By the numbers

The Battery midfield and Neveal Hackshaw had yet another stat-filled night, with Hackshaw leading all Battery players with 54 passes, while Anunga posted a 98 percent PA.

Rookie Angelo Kelly continues to impress with his PA in just his seventh professional start.

On defense, it was another rookie putting up the big numbers. With eight clearances and his first professional assist, Archer is solidifying his spot on the Battery back line.

Match summary

In Defense of Charleston

Nico Rittmeyer: The homegrown College of Charleston grad in his second year opened his Battery scoring account and gave Anhaeuser yet another threat up front. Expect to see him making the USL Team of the Week.

Joe Kuzminsky: Kuzminsky records his eighth clean sheet of the season in 15 starts. After recording five saves on the night, Kuzminsky is well onto his way to the USL Golden Glove.

Box score

Charleston Battery — 3

Richmond Kickers — 0

Goals

15' — Charleston — Nico Rittmeyer (Assist: O’Brian Woodbine)

45'+3 — Charleston — Nico Rittmeyer

51' — Charleston — Ataulla Guerra (Assist: Leland Archer)

Up next

The Battery head back up to North Carolina to face North Carolina FC on Aug. 4 in a Southern Derby Cup match.

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Up the Battery!