Battery Travel to Memphis for Saturday Away Match

By: Battery Media

The Charleston Battery will hit the road one last time this month, to take on Memphis 901 FC on Sat., June 24. Kickoff at AutoZone Park is set for 8:30 pm.

Charleston and Memphis square off for the first time this season. Dating back to 2019, the all-time series between the two clubs is evenly split at two wins apiece.

The Battery (8W-4L-4D, 28 pts) enter Saturday’s contest looking to build upon the momentum of their dramatic 3-4 victory over Hartford Atheltic last weekend. Charleston rallied back from being down 3-1 in the second half to score three goals in the final 30 minutes of play. Nick Markanich bagged a brace, Derek Dodson scored the equalizer and AJ Paterson won it on a goal-of-the-year worthy strike in the 90th minute.

Memphis (7W-2L-4D, 25 pts) are among the most in-form teams in the league and are on an 11-game unbeaten run coming into Saturday’s match. The Tennessee outfit defeated FC Tulsa on Wednesday, a 4-0 home victory where 901 FC overwhelmed Tulsa throughout the evening. Memphis have not lost a match since March 18 and currently sit third in the conference standings.

Arturo Rodriguez is a player to watch for the Battery. The crafty midfielder played an important role in setting up two of the Battery’s four goals against Hartford and earned Championship Team of the Week honors for his complete performance.

Aaron Molloy is one to keep an eye on for 901 FC. The 2022 MVP runner-up has picked up where he left off last year and currently leads his side in assists (three, tied) and chances created (38).

There will be plenty of familiar faces taking on their former clubs this weekend. Players Derek Dodson, Chris Allan and Trey Muse, and coaches Ben Pirmann and Devin Rensing will take on Memphis for the first time since arriving in Charleston this offseason. On the opposite side, 901 FC’s Laurent Kissiedou faces the club who he made his professional debut for in 2017.

Charleston are due to receive a boost on offense as Augi Williams will return from international duty ahead of the match after competing for the Sierra Leone national team last weekend in AFCON 2023 qualifiers. He played a full 90 minutes against Nigeria.

Looking at the stats leaderboard, Fidel Barajas is tied for the league lead in assists (five), Williams has the seventh-most goals (seven), and Muse is tied for the second-most clean sheets (six).

Charleston will be without Leland Archer, who is off on international duty with the Trinidad and Tobago national team for the Concacaf Gold Cup.

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