GAME SUMMARY
Saturday, September 26, 2015 MUSC Health Stadium
Charleston Battery 2 (Kelly 108’, Lasso 114’)
Richmond Kickers 1 (Own Goal 92’)
CHARLESTON, SC – The Richmond Kickers suffered a 2-1 overtime loss to the Charleston Battery in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Saturday night at MUSC Health Stadium. Scoreless through regulation, the Kickers took the lead two minutes into the first overtime period on an own goal but Charleston avenged the defensive mistake with two goals in five minutes in the second period, courtesy of Dane Kelly and Forrest Lasso, to level the all-time series record of 24-24-8 and end the Kickers 2015 campaign.
The Kickers first tested Battery goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper in the 10th minute when Samuel Asante collected the ball in the midfield and fed a weighted pass through the middle, finding George Davis IV who split defenders but collided with the diving keeper as his shot to the far post glanced just wide.
Immediately, the Battery returned the favor when Cooper’s long ball was chested down by Hugh Roberts at the top of the box but the poor clearance was collected by Maikel Chang who squared the ball for an onrushing Ricky Garbanzo only to have his shot denied by Kickers goalkeeper Ryan Taylor.
Less than 10 minutes later, Kickers midfielder Yudai Imura drew a foul in Battery territory. Michael Callahan centered the ball for Alex Lee who lofted a curling ball to the left post, connecting with Jason Yeisley but his header was redirected just wide by a Battery defender.
The back and forth affair continued as the half hour mark approached when Chang raced down the left flank and sliced a cross into the box but Lee cleared it over the endline. The subsequent corner kick was cleared out but Emmanuel Adjetey collided with Callahan and was awarded a free kick 25 yards out. Chang’s shot was blocked by the defensive wall but the rebound eventually fell back to Chang who blasted a follow up shot from the top of the box that soared over the crossbar.
With the halftime whistle looming, Taylor launched a ball into the Battery half that pinged around before Callahan collected it and served a leading pass to Martin on the left edge of the box. Under pressure, he backheeled a pass to Braeden Troyer on the left sideline who floated a cross to the far post but Yeisley’s nod was smothered by Cooper.
An hour in, the Battery earned a throw in at the corner flag on the right side, causing a scramble in the box that found its way to Adjetey on the opposite flank. Adjetey laid the ball off for defender Shawn Ferguson who fed it to Chang on the left wing. Heavily marked, the ball bounced free but Portillo latched onto the loose ball 20 yards out and launched a shot over the bar.
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Later, a Kickers throw in on the right side was intercepted and played to Kelly who eluded his defenders and charged into the box but Taylor shut him down. Charleston immediately recovered and fed the ball back to Kelly but this time his shot from the top of the box was parried away by the leaping goalkeeper.
With overtime on the horizon and just four minutes remaining in regulation, the Kickers nearly capitalized when Lee received the ball on the right touchline and floated it to the far post where Anthony Grant eluded his defender raced into the six yard box but his right footed volley was blocked by Cooper.
Two minutes into overtime, the Kickers grabbed the lead when Lee intercepted the ball and carried it through the midfield before centering it for Matthew Delicate who switched it to Davis on the left channel. Davis lofted a cross to the near post, searching for Delicate but Battery defender Taylor Mueller rushed in and deflected it on target, clipping the underside of the crossbar and in for an own goal.
The dramatics ensued with an off the ball red card ejection was issued to Garbanzo who had been subbed out two minutes earlier as the Kickers carried the advantage through the first half of overtime.
The celebrations were short-lived as the home side leveled the score three minutes into the second period when Griffith played a long ball to Ferguson who collided with Roberts in the air, sending the Kickers defender to the ground. The Richmond defense cleared it out, but with the Kickers man still down, Portillo settled it for Dante Marini who sent a cross back into the mix where Kelly was posted at the top of the six and made no mistake with a flick on header to bury the controversial equalizer.
The shift in momentum led to three consecutive corner kicks for the Battery that ended with a Portillo inswinger from the left side. The ball was destined for the fray at the far post and overtime substitute Forrest Lasso leapt above the rest to direct a header just inside the upright.
With just seconds remaining in stoppage time, the Kickers fought for the late equalizer when Sascha Goerres eluded his mark and floated a left footed ball to Lee at the back post. Lee’s volley found Delicate at the top of the six but his one-time volley was blocked by Cooper. Troyer was there to collect the rebound but his follow up shot from five yards whistled just wide to end the Kickers 2015 season as Charleston advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Box Score First Half Second Half First OT Second OT Final
Charleston 0 0 0 2 2
Richmond 0 0 1 0 1
Scoring Summary
92nd minute: Richmond: Own Goal (Taylor Mueller)
108th minute: Charleston: Dane Kelly (Dante Marini)
114th minute: Charleston: Forrest Lasso (Justin Portillo)
Lineups
Battery: GK Odisnel Cooper, Quinton Griffith, Taylor Mueller (Forrest Lasso – 105’), Shawn Ferguson, Emmanuel Adjetey (Sebastien Thuriere – 119’), Zach Prince (Navion Boyd – 74’), Justin Portillo, Jarod van Schaik, Maikel Chang (Dante Marini – 94’), Ricky Garbanzo (Heviel Cordoves – 94’), Dane Kelly
Kickers: GK Ryan Taylor, Hugh Roberts, Alex Lee, William Yomby, Braeden Troyer, Michael Callahan (Sascha Goerres – 114’), Yudai Imura (Fred Owusu Sekyere – 68’), Collin Martin (Matthew Delicate – 75’), Samuel Asante (Uriah Bentick – 110’), George Davis IV, Jason Yeisley (Anthony Grant – 75’)
Shots Saves Fouls Corners
Kickers: 12 Kickers: 9 Kickers: 14 Kickers: 3
Battery: 19 Battery: 6 Battery: 19 Battery: 8
Cautions:
109th minute: Navion Boyd (Charleston)
114th minute: Forrest Lasso (Charleston)
120th minute: Navion Boyd (Charleston)
Ejections:
96th minute: Ricky Garbanzo (Charleston)
120th minute: Navion Boyd (Charleston)
Referee: Matthew Kreitzer
Assistant Referees: Mark Cahen, Logan Brown
Fourth Official: Wayne Pavlischek
Weather: Overcast, 78º
Attendance: 3427
