WHO:

Charleston Battery, 11-6-8, 41 points, 3rd place Eastern Conference

WHAT:

A home USL match

WHEN:

Saturday, September 2, 2017, 5:00 P.M.

WHERE:

Louisville Slugger Field, 401 E. Main Street, Louisville, KY 40202

WATCH:

At the game! But also on WBNA 21 and on YouTube. No radio for this because of college football :/

WHO, AGAIN?

Charleston has slipped from what seemed like a tight grip on first place early in the season. That doesn’t mean this will be a walk in the park. LouCity did pretty well to get two draws out of its two trips down to Daniel Island earlier in the season, but surely they’d like to pick up three points in this one.

James O’Connor will have some decisions to make with an already small roster even further depleted by some absences this weekend. As we know, City will be without Mark-Anthony Kaye and Speedy Williams due to national team callups. Kyle Smith will also be out on the last of his three-game suspension for that red card he picked up against Bethlehem Steel.

So does City try George Davis at right wingback for the third straight match, or try something else? Has he figured out a way to beat a high press when DelPiccolo and Abend have to play in the center of midfield? Was the OCB game just an abberation? It’s difficult to say.

For their part, Charleston will be without its star goalscorer Romario Williams, who is joining Speedy for Jamaica’s match against Canada on Saturday. Still, the Battery have a stout defense and talented midfielders that will make City earn any points they manage to get.

Charleston is always a tough match, but City rarely drop points after a loss. Let’s hope the boys in purple see this one out for three.

COME ON, CITY!