The Charleston Battery triumphed 1-0 over Hartford Athletic on Saturday at Patriots Point. Nick Markanich scored a sensational bicycle goal in the first half that proved to make the difference. Goalkeeper Adam Grinwis tallied four saves while withstanding Hartford’s advances for his fifth shutout of the year. The Battery have now won five games in a row and are unbeaten in their last 10 to start the season.
Picking up where he left off the previous weekend, Nick Markanich opened the scoring in the 12th minute to score his 12th goal of the year. Markanich’s effort was a sensational bicycle kick inside the box after perfectly timing Chris Allan’s ricocheted shot. Allan was credited with the assist.
Charleston continued to apply heavy pressure but were unable to find the back of the net again in the first half. Hartford came close to equalizing in the 43rd minute when Romario Williams redirected Michee Ngalina’s cross off his thigh. Williams’ attempt hit the near post and the Athletic’s best chance of the night came up empty.
The Battery took a 1-0 lead into the break after holding a whopping 70% of possession and out-shooting Hartford, seven to two.
Hartford came out of the break eager to level the score and quickly tested Battery goalkeeper Adam Grinwis with a pair of early shots. Grinwis was up to the task, however, and denied the visitors in the 47th and 52nd minutes.
After Hartford’s early push out of the gate, the game began to slow, only two shots were recorded through the 70th minute, neither of which were on target.
The Battery pressed hard for a second goal with four shots on target in the final 20 minutes plus stoppage time, but goalkeeper Renan Ribeiro made saves on all four.
Hartford’s last-gasp attempt pushed Grinwis to make two spectacular saves in stoppage time, bringing his total to four on the night.
Charleston held on to secure the 1-0 victory, the team’s fifth consecutive win and 10th undefeated match in a row. The Battery’s record improves to 7W-0L-3D (24pts), top of the Eastern Conference standings.
Goalkeeper Adam Grinwis tallied his fifth clean sheet of the season, which puts him alone in first for the most shutouts in the league, as of writing.
Nick Markanich is firmly ahead in the Championship’s Golden Boot race with his 12th goal of the year. He also remains the top goalscorer across all U.S. domestic leagues
