The Charleston Battery completed a 2-1 comeback victory over Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday at Patriots Point. After going down 0-1 before halftime, the Battery rallied in the second half with goals from Nick Markanich and Emilio Ycaza for the victory. Markanich tied the USL Championship’s single-season goal record by scoring his 25th goal of the year. The win keeps Charleston in the Players’ Shield hunt (regular season title) and puts them within reach of clinching a playoff spot in their next game.
It was a physical start for both sides early as two of the league’s top sides looked to solidify their spot in the table ahead of the playoffs starting. The defenses held firm and neither club recorded a shot through the opening 15 minutes.
The visitors managed to score first in the 18th minute via Aldair Sanchez from the left flank.
Nick Markanich and Jackson Conway were the main drivers of the offense but were unable to find the right combination for an equalizer. Grinwis came off and produced a big save to deny Sacramento in the 36th minute after Sanchez broke through for a shot similar to his first goal.
The match went into the break with Sacramento leading 1-0. Charleston held over 67% possession but did not record a shot on target in the first half.
Charleston came out of the break firing, eager to level the score quickly.
As he has on 24 occasions prior, Markanich was the man who put the Battery on the scoreboard in the 50th minute to tie the game, 1-1. Markanich’s goal tied the USL Championship single-season goal record of 25 goals.
The counterattack was brilliantly initiated by a run from Chris Allan, whose cross found Markanich on the opposite side of the box. Markanich struck the ball first time, beating goalkeeper Danny Vitiello to the far post. The assist was Allan’s fourth of the year.
As the half wore on, the momentum of the match began to tilt further in Charleston’s favor with the Battery asking more questions of Sacramento’s defensive stamina. Torres and Segbers nearly combined for a goal at the hour-mark, and MD Myers and Emilio Ycaza came off the bench to provide additional sparks in attack.
The pressure finally paid off in the dying moments of the match when Ycaza came up with the match-winning goal in the 87th minute. Markanich played an initial cross into the box that was punched out by Vitiello, but the ball rebounded right to Ycaza at the top of the box. From there, the midfielder lined up his shots and slotted it through traffic to beat the defense and Vitiello at the near post.
Ycaza’s goal was his fourth of the season.
Torres nearly added a third goal in stoppage time, but his attempt was just fractionally wide of the post.
Charleston completed the comeback for the 2-1 victory over Sacramento. It was the Battery’s first win over Sacramento in the all-time series.
The Battery’s record improves to 16W-4L-8D (56pts). It was their 11th win at home, an impressive accomplishment over the Western Conference’s best away team.
Charleston’s comeback victory also means the Battery have won 17 points from losing positions in the league this year, more than any other team.
The magic number for the Battery now stands at 2, meaning the club would clinch a playoff spot with their next win, among other result combinations around the league.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann, forward Nick Markanich and midfielder Emilio Ycaza addressed the media after the match, with key quotes to follow.
