The beginning of July is the midway point of the calendar year. Not coincidentally, it is now also the middle of the USL regular season, now that the season has been extended to 34 matches. As the Charleston Battery prepare for Week 17 on the road at North Carolina FC this Saturday, SNST provides a comprehensive look at the past 16 weeks.

USL Honors

Four Battery players have earned spots on the USL Team of Week (TOTW) so far in 2018, with three of them making TOTW two separate times.

Veteran midfielder Jarad van Schaik earned his TOTW spot in Week 2 against Penn FC. Rookie forward Gordon Wild earned his spots in Week 7 against his parent club, Atlanta United’s 2 team, and midweek against Tampa Bay. Wild earned his second spot on the bench in Week 9 against Bethlehem Steel. Defender Skylar Thomas also earned a spot in Week 7 along with Wild as well as in Week 15 against Pittsburgh. Veteran forward Ataulla Guerra earned a spot on the bench in Week 8 against Charlotte and made the starting XI in Week 12 against Indy XI.

Eastern Conference Standings

At 6–3–7 overall, the Battery sit in sixth place through Week 16. While tied with Indy Eleven with 25 points each, the team from Indianapolis has seven wins compared to the Battery’s six.

While that seems low on the table, the Battery are just three points behind second place Pittsburgh and nine points behind conference leaders, WRKP FC in Cincinnati. With 18 matches left in the season, everyone is still in the race, with the exception of Toronto FC II, which has failed to win a single match this season and essentially self-relegated over the weekend to the USL D3 starting in 2019.

In the USL playoffs, the top four teams in each conference will have home field advantage, while fifth through eighth have to travel for the first round.

Week 16 Eastern Conference Standings

By the numbers: Attack

The Battery have scored 22 goals in 16 matches.

Of those goals, 17 goals were inside the box, with five remaining goals coming from outside the box. Out of 59 corner kicks, the Battery have only scored off one: That was in Week 4 at Bethlehem Steel. Jarad van Schaik’s corner kick from the right side was headed in by Skylar Thomas, the only header this season. The Battery failed to convert a penalty kick against Ottawa in Week 10 and had to settle for the draw.

So how are the goals broken down? Guerra is tied for second place in the USL Golden Boot race with eight goals. Wild picked up his fourth goal against TFC II in Week 16. Tah Brian Anunga has three goals, while Kotaro Higashi and O’Brian Woodbine both have two. Three Battery players (Mansaray, Svantesson and Thomas) each have one goal.

Let’s not forget those who setup the goal celebrations: Five Battery players (Guerra, Wild, Neveal Hackshaw, Taylor Mueller, and van Schaik) each have two assists. Five additional Battery players (Woodbine, Patrick Okonkwo, Vincenzo Candela, Jay Bolt, and Ian Svantesson) each have one assist. They certainly share the load when it comes to goal creation on this team.

By the numbers: Distribution

The Battery have averaged a possession rate of 46 percent, with the highest possession percentage being 55.6 percent in Week 16 at TFC II, and the lowest being 24.8 percent against Atlanta United 2. Both of these matches were away games, and both saw the Battery win.

The Battery have completed 4816 passes out of 6467 attempted passes for roughly a 75 percent success rate, with nearly a 45 percent success rate in completed long passes.

Leading the team in passing is Anunga, who with 861 passes is tenth best in the USL for passing and has a passing accuracy of 80.4 percent. Hackshaw with 791 passes has a 74.7 percent passing accuracy. Van Schaik with 683 passes has a 75.7 percent passing accuracy and Mueller with 572 passes has a 78.1 percent passing accuracy.

The Battery have been called offside 41 times through Week 16. In Week 14 at Charlotte and Week 16 at TFC II, the Battery were called offside a season high six times in each match.

By the numbers: Defense

The Battery have conceded 16 goals, tied for third lowest in the league. Of those 16 goals, only nine were from the field of play. Seven goals were conceded on free kicks (4) and penalty kicks (3). The Battery have a better than 70 percent tackle success rate, with Anunga leading that effort with 59 tackles. The Battery have a better than 50 percent duel success rate.

The Battery back line has been key to the teams success so far this season. Captain Taylor Mueller leads the team in clearances (79) and blocks (12). Thomas and Hackshaw follow right behind the Captain in clearances.

By the numbers: Goalkeeping

The Battery have recorded a total of seven clean sheets, tying them for third best in the USL. Coach Mike Anhaeuser not only changed the formation in Week 7 from a 4–4–1–1 to the 3–4–2–1, but he made a change at goalkeeper as well.

In his sophomore season with the Battery, Joe Kuzminsky has started the past 11 matches in place of veteran Odisnel Cooper. Kuzminsky has recorded six clean sheets in his 11 appearances, third best in the USL this season. Six of the eight goals Kuzminsky has conceded were from free kicks (4) and penalty kicks (2), allowing only two goals from the field of play, one against Richmond in Week 13 and the other against Charlotte in Week 14.

By the numbers: Discipline

Fouls conceded and yellow cards have been Charleston’s “Achilles Heel” this season. Tied for ninth worst in the league with 29 yellow cards and tied for fourth worst with two red cards, the Battery’s aggressive and physical style of play has been on the receiving end of the officials whistle more times than not.

219 fouls conceded have cost the Battery crucial three points in several matches. A free kick conceded in Week 11 against Nashville resulted in a draw when the Battery should have won. The following week at Indy Eleven, all three goals conceded came from free kicks (2) and penalty kicks (1). The Battery managed to score late in stoppage to salvage a draw again. The following week at Richmond, another foul resulted in a free kick Richmond was able to convert for a goal, resulting in the Battery’s third loss of the season.

What is working for the Battery

Defense. The back line and midfield have been the Goliaths on the field for Charleston in 2018. With the exception of the win in Week 16, the Battery averaged less than 50 percent possession in each of their wins. The team has conceded just 16 goals, third best in the USL, with only nine of those having come from the run of play. Since Kuzminsky has started in goal, only two of the eight goals he has conceded have come from the run of play.

What is not working for the Battery

Fouls. The Battery are renowned around the league for being a tough and physical team, especially at home. Because of this, some teams have used this to their advantage in a textbook play from the “Neymar School of Diving” in soliciting empathy from the officials.

The other times the Battery have committed fouls in dangerous spots deep in the defending third, and it has burned them. As mentioned before, Week 11, against Nashville, Week 12 at Indy Eleven, and Week 14 at Richmond all were affected by bad mistakes late in the game, and points were left on the table.

Those nine possible points could have had the Battery tied for first in the East.

What needs to improve for the Battery

Converting in the attacking third. The Battery have scored 22 goals, which is tied for 10th best in the USL, but there is still room for improvement. With a thin roster, injuries could slow down the offensive output for the Battery. It is crucial that Svantesson and Okonkwo be able to produce and finish in the attacking third. The bright spots have been Higashi, who has scored two goals in the last three matches, Guerra who is tied for second in the Golden Boot race, and Wild who scored his fourth goal. It should also be noted that in all three games Wild has scored in, the Battery have won.

Converting from set pieces. The Battery have only converted one of 59 corner kicks this season. That is a roughly a 1.6 percent conversion rate. Nothing else needs to be said.

Overall mid-term progress report

The Battery seemed to find their groove in Week 16 at TFC II. Scoring four goals in the last 30 minutes will no doubt re-ignite a machine that saw the Battery draw in five of the last six matches, prior to the win this past Sunday. The back line and midfield continue to be solid, and a four goal injection could be what the Battery offense needed to get them out of the summer slump.

Mid-Term grade: B-

Thanks for reading! Be sure to check back after the games for our Battery recaps, read all our Battery coverage here, and, as always, follow Soccer ’n’ Sweet Tea on Twitter for all the latest Carolina soccer news. Up the Battery!