The Charleston Battery are an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club based in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, and member of the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional soccer club in the United States. Charleston are one of the more successful lower-division soccer clubs in the United States, having won four league titles. The Battery won the USISL Pro League in 1996, the

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

in 2003, the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

in 2010 (where they also won the regular season title), and the

in 2012. They were also crowned the USL Championship Eastern Conference champions and league finalists in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. Charleston are also the most successful club in the history of the supporter-led Southern Derby competition with 10 first-place finishes. The Battery have become renowned for their impressive list of alumni to play at the next level, domestically and abroad. These players who were developed at Charleston include Fidel Barajas, Ozzie Alonso, Lamar Neagle, Maikel Chang, Dante Polvara, Trey Muse and Brian Anunga, among others. Charleston Battery currently play at Patriots Point Soccer Complex in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Previously, the club played its home games at the soccer-specific MUSC Health Stadium in the Daniel Island section of Charleston from 1999 to 2019. The team's colors are black and yellow, with a traditional red scheme for away uniforms. From 2004 through the 2021 season, their head coach and general manager was Mike Anhaeuser.

History

Charleston Battery was formed in 1993 by an ownership group of local soccer enthusiasts led by Tony Bakker, a native of London who had relocated his software company

Blackbaud Blackbaud, Inc. is a cloud computing provider that supports nonprofits, foundations, corporations, education institutions, healthcare organizations, religious organizations, and individual change agents. Its products focus on fundraising, webs ...

to the Charleston area in 1989. The club hired experienced college coach and

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

graduate

Tim Hankinson Timothy Milledge Hankinson (February 18, 1955 – September 22, 2022) was an American soccer coach. He initially coached American college teams, before becoming head coach in Major League Soccer, as well as managing teams in Iceland, India, an ...

to develop the team, and Battery started as a member of the USISL, which eventually evolved and came to be known as the USL in 1995. The Battery won their first league championship in 1996 under Portuguese manager Nuno Piteira, defeating the

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles is an American amateur soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at the ...

3–2 in the final. In 1997 Charleston became one of the original clubs of the newly branded

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

(later the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

). In 1999 Charleston Battery moved into what is now known as MUSC Health Stadium, becoming the first non-

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

professional club in the United States to build its own stadium, and forged a reputation as one of the country's most well-established lower division clubs. The Battery hired veteran English coach Alan Dicks and signed many experienced domestic players such as Paul Conway, Dan Calichman and

Eric Wynalda Eric Boswell Wynalda (born June 9, 1969) is an American soccer coach, television commentator, and former player. He was formerly an analyst and color commentator for soccer coverage on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN. Previously, he served as head coach ...

while also bringing in notable foreign signings such as Terry Phelan and

Raúl Díaz Arce Raúl Díaz Arce (born February 1, 1970) is a Salvadoran former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is El Salvador's most prolific goal scorer, with 39 goals in just 68 appearances. Playing career From 1985 to 1986, Arce play ...

. In 2001 Dicks was replaced by fellow Englishman Chris Ramsey, who led Charleston to the A-League championship in 2003 with a 3–0 victory in the final over

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional association football, soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. T ...

in Charleston. Following Ramsey's departure in 2004, the club promoted longtime player and assistant coach Mike Anhaeuser to be the club's new coach. In 2008 Charleston Battery reached the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup final for the first time, playing against

team D.C. United at

RFK Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. located on East Capitol Street near the Anacostia River. Opened in 1 ...

. In the final the Battery conceded an early goal but bounced back with a quick-fire equalizer through an

Ian Fuller Ian Fuller (born August 31, 1979) is an American former association football, soccer player who currently serves as the head coach for One Knoxville SC, One Knoxville in USL League One. Career Youth and college Fuller grew up in Tualatin, O ...

goal, assisted by Chris Williams. Later in the half Lazo Alavanja hit the post but at half time the scores were tied at 1–1. At the start of the second half Charleston conceded early again, but in the final seconds of extra time

Marco Reda Marco Reda (born June 22, 1977) is a Canadian former association football, soccer player who began his professional career in the USL A-League with the Toronto Lynx where he developed his skills as a solid defender. This led to his transfer to Eur ...

put the ball in the back of the net for Charleston, only to have his goal controversially disallowed as offside. D.C. United would go on to win the match 2–1. CharlestonBattery2012

In 2010 Charleston was invited by several other USL clubs to join the breakaway league eventually known as the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

, but Battery chose to remain in the USL system and self-relegate to the

, which eventually became the chief USL professional division. In their first third division season in 2010, Charleston led the league standings for the entire year and went undefeated at home. Charleston defeated the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

2–1 in the final to claim the club's third league championship. Lamar Neagle was named the USL-2 league MVP and lead the league in scoring with 13 league goals. Anhaeuser was named the league's coach of the year, his second time receiving the honor. In 2012 Charleston Battery won their fourth league title in club history, defeating local rivals Wilmington Hammerheads 1–0 in the final. Micheal Azira scored a 74th-minute winner after Jose Cuevas slipped a pass to him on the left side of the penalty area. In recent years Charleston Battery have had loan affiliations with several Major League Soccer clubs, beginning with a one-year deal to become the USL Pro affiliate of

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

in 2014. For the 2015 season, Battery signed a one-year deal to affiliate with the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

. On January 15, 2016, it was announced that the club would be partnering with the

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...

for the 2016 MLS season prior to Atlanta's entry to MLS in 2017. In February 2016, it was announced that longtime majority owner Tony Bakker had sold the club to B Sports Entertainment, an investment group led by local tech executives. Club president Andrew Bell and coach Mike Anhaeuser remained in charge of team operations after the ownership transition. In early 2018 it was announced that Bell would be leaving the club to take over operations of an announced USL expansion club in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, ending a two-decade career in the Charleston front office. Bell was replaced by club operations officer Mike Kelleher. In October 2019, it was announced that B Sports Entertainment had sold the club to Rob Salvatore of HCFC, LLC with a move to Patriots Point Soccer Complex in Mount Pleasant. At the conclusion of the 2021 season, the Battery announced on November 1, 2021, that the club and Mike Anhaeuser had parted ways. Anhaeuser joined the Charleston Battery as a player in 1994, and switched into a coaching role in 1999. In 2004, he was named head coach of the club and led Charleston Battery to a U.S. Open Cup Final appearance in 2008 as well as two USL Championships in 2010 and 2012. On December 20, 2021, Battery announced that they had hired Conor Casey as head coach. However, on October 12, 2022, with one match remaining in the season and the Battery near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, the club and Casey opted to part ways by mutual agreement. Assistant coach Dennis Sanchez was named interim head coach while a search for a permanent replacement began. On November 17, 2022, Battery announced that they had hired Memphis 901 FC head coach Ben Pirmann for the same position in Charleston. Pirmann was named the 2022

Coach of the Year after leading Memphis to a 2nd-place finish in the Eastern Conference and a spot in the conference semifinals. In 2023, the Battery bounced back with the best turnaround campaign in USL Championship history, amassing a 17-9-8 record in the regular season to finish third in the conference, a 34-point improvement from 2022. Charleston won a league-best 29 points away from home and tied for the most road wins (eight), along with winning 16 points from losing positions (sixth-most in the league). The Battery advanced to the 2023 USL Championship Final after defeating Indy, Birmingham and Louisville in the earlier rounds to claim the Eastern Conference title, the club's first trophy since 2012. Charleston were narrow runners-up in the Final to Phoenix Rising FC at home. The season was highlighted by the break-out campaigns of Fidel Barajas, Nick Markanich, Derek Dodson, Dante Polvara and Trey Muse, and Augustine Williams was the top scorer for a second consecutive year. Barajas matched the single-season assists record with 11, became the club's youngest all-time goalscorer, and was named the USL Championship Young Player of the Year and All-League Second Team. Pirmann was named a finalist for Coach of the Year. Barajas and Muse were sold to MLS sides

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

and

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

, respectively, in the following offseason prior to the 2024 campaign.

Colors and badge

Charleston's traditional colors are yellow, black and red. In Charleston Battery's first few seasons, the home kit was typically black and white with a red accent. Beginning in 1997 the club began using black with yellow stripes, which has remained in use as the home jersey ever since. The Charleston away kit has typically been a combination of red, white and black, though for the 2017 season the away kit is either the 25 Anniversary black and silver combination, or white and black. The club badge remained the same iconic logo from 1993 through the 2019 season, other than minor adjustments in color, resolution and the addition of four stars representing each of the team's league championships. It is a classic shield in the club's signature yellow and black stripes, featuring a pair of crossed artillery cannons (alluding to the city's naval history and current presence) above a depiction of a football ball. In December 2019, the club unveiled the new branding for 2020 and moving forward. Matthew Wolff, who has designed a number of logos for soccer clubs around the world, was instrumental in working with Battery ownership to create a modern representation of Charleston's crest. The new logo featured crossed cannons on a black circle, with the iconic crescent shape, with Charleston emblazoned across the top and 1993, the year the club was established at the bottom.

Stadiums

* Stoney Field;

(1993–1998) * MUSC Health Stadium (formerly Blackbaud Stadium); Daniel Island, Charleston, South Carolina (1999–2019) *

Patriots Point Soccer Complex Patriots Point Soccer Complex is a soccer-specific stadium located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Since its opening in the fall of 2000, it has been home to the College of Charleston Cougars soccer teams, a mem ...

; Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (from 2020) Charleston Battery played their first six seasons in downtown Charleston at Stoney Field, a facility they shared with various college and high school sports teams. The club moved to MUSC Health Stadium (previously known as Blackbaud Stadium) in the suburban Daniel Island area in 1999. The first privately funded

soccer-specific stadium A soccer-specific stadium, mainly in the United States and Canada, is a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-purpose stadium whic ...

built in the United States, it seats 5,100 people. MUSC Health Stadium is modeled on lower level English soccer stadiums and features an on-site pub called The Three Lions behind the west stand. The stadium site also features a training field and club offices. In 2016, the ownership built the second-largest video board in the Southeast. MUSC Health Stadium's jumbotron is 3,000 square feet. When comparing the square footage to stadium seats ratio, the video board is the largest in the world. Additionally, the complex includes sky boxes, a plaza for corporate entertaining, and state-of-the-art media capabilities, making it one of the premier professional soccer venues in the U.S. In 2019, under new ownership led by Rob Salvatore, the club announced that Charleston Battery would move off Daniel Island to Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The current stadium complex is home to the College of Charleston soccer, baseball and softball teams. Situated off the Ravenel Bridge in Mt. Pleasant, Battery's new stadium is back in the heart of Charleston. Patriots Point sits a short drive from all corners of the Holy City and minutes from the best bars, restaurants and attractions the city has to offer. After extensive renovations and expansion in early 2020, Patriots Point opened to limited fans during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The stadium held its grand opening during the 2021 season as fans 'packed the Point' to cheer on the Black and Yellow. The ownership group has continued to expand developments at Patriots Point, with the introduction of premium seating options via shipping containers transformed into suite-like boxes with multiple levels. The stadium currently holds three "suite boxes" that fans can rent out for matches.

Club culture

The independent supporters' group is ''The Regiment'', who stand in Supporters Section directly behind the north goal of the stadium, along with other supporters' groups including the American Outlaws-affiliated ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' and the Spanish-speaking ''Charleston Barra Brava''. Charleston Battery competes for the Coffee Pot Cup every time it faces their rival team D.C. United of Major League Soccer, a trophy established by the two sides' supporters and currently held by DC. The clubs have regularly faced each other in friendlies and cup competitions, with the 2008 US Open Cup final remaining the highest profile match between the two clubs to date. Charleston are also longtime league rivals of the

. The supporters' groups compete with supporters of the Norh Carolina FC in the Southern Derby Cup, which Charleston Battery had won a record 10 times. The supporters' groups compete with supporters of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Ralph's Mob and the Skyway Casuals, in the No Quarter Derby. Halfway through the 2021 season, the club introduced a cannon in the stadium to fire off after each Battery goal and at the start and end of matches.

Gray Television Gray Media, Inc., doing business as Gray Television, is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 statio ...

holds local media rights with an arrangement similar to USL club Phoenix Rising FC, which has rights with the various Arizona's Family Sports. WCSC 5.3 is the flagship station with games airing in the Columbia market on Gray station WIS 10.4.

Players and staff

Current roster

Out on loan

Staff

* Lee Cohen – ''Club President'' * Ben Pirmann – ''Head Coach'' * Robbie Crawford – ''Assistant Coach'' * Tim Daniels – ''Assistant Coach'' * Brian Jones – ''Assistant Coach'' * Devin Rensing – ''Assistant Coach'' * Bobby Weisenberger – ''Head Athletic Trainer''

Notable former players

This list includes those former players who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left. * Nelson Akwari *

Osvaldo Alonso Osvaldo Alonso Moreno (born November 11, 1985) is a Cuban former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He defected from Cuba in 2007 and became a U.S. citizen in 2012. During his decade-long career with Seattle Sounders ...

* Mike Anhaeuser * Brian Anunga * Lazo Alavanja * Stephen Armstrong * Khalil Azmi * Fidel Barajas * Dan Calichman * Ted Chronopoulos * Paul Conway * Omar Daley *

* Linval Dixon * Colin Falvey * Adam Grinwis * Ben Hollingsworth * Dusty Hudock * Lee Hurst * Gilbert Jean-Baptiste * Dane Kelly * Forrest Lasso * Troy Lesesne *

John Limniatis Ioannis "John" Limniatis (Greek: Ιωάννης "Τζον" Λημνιάτης; born 24 June 1967) is a retired professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He captained and later became the head coach of the Montreal Impact. Born in ...

* Nick Markanich * Lester More * Trey Muse * Lamar Neagle * Patrick Olalere * Bo Oshoniyi * Nicki Paterson * Terry Phelan * Dante Polvara * Zach Prince * Robert Rosario * Brent Sancho * Dean Sewell * Nicky Spooner * Temoc Suarez *

Mark Watson Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is an English comedian, novelist and producer. Early life Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh people, Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul Watson (footba ...

* John Wilson *

* Velko Yotov * Paul Young

Head coaches

(1993–1994) * Nuno Piteira (1995–1999) * Alan Dicks (1999–2001) * Chris Ramsey (2001–2004) * Mike Anhaeuser (2004–2021) *

Conor Casey Conor Patrick Casey (born July 25, 1981) is an American former soccer player. He played for 16 seasons as a forward, finishing his career with Columbus Crew SC, before turning to coaching with his former club Colorado Rapids. Playing career ...

(2022) * Ben Pirmann (2023–Present)

Presidents

* Tony Bakker (1993–1998) * Nigel Cooper (1999–2008) * Andrew Bell (2008–2018) * Mike Kelleher (2018–2022) * Lee Cohen (2022–Present)

Honors

* USISL Pro **Champions (1): 1996 **Atlantic Division Champions (1): 1995 *

**Champions (1): 2003 **Atlantic Division Champions (1): 2000 **Southeast Division Champions (2): 2002, 2003 *

**Champions (1):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

**Regular Season Champions (1):

**Champions (1):

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

**Runner Up (1):

** Eastern Conference Champions (Playoffs) (1):

* U.S. Open Cup **Runner Up (1): 2008 **Semifinals (2): 1999, 2004 **Quarterfinals (3): 2007, 2009, 2010 * Southern Derby **Winner (10): 2003, 2005^, 2009^, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2024 ^ as co-champions * No Quarter Derby ** Winner (4): 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024

Record

Year-by-year

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Charleston Battery. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Charleston Battery seasons. 1. Avg. attendance include statistics from league matches only.
2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league play, playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, and other competitive matches.

Record vs. International and MLS teams

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Record: W:8–D:1–L:13
Carolina Challenge Cup Record: W:5–D:9–L:20

Exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

Record: W:5–D:2–L:7

References

External links

* {{South Carolina Sports Soccer clubs in South Carolina Association football clubs established in 1993 USL Championship teams USL Second Division teams USL First Division teams 1993 establishments in South Carolina