By: Battery Media
The USL Championship announced Wednesday that Charleston Battery Head Coach Ben Pirmann was voted the league's Coach of the Month for March. Coach Pirmann led Charleston to an undefeated start to the season in March, his first month of league action since taking the helm in November 2022.
Coach Pirmann's first win with Charleston was a memorable one, a 3-0 victory at an electrified Patriots Point over the Tampa Bay Rowdies on March 25th. The Battery posted a 1W-0L-2D record in league action in March.
The award is the first for Coach Pirmann, who was the 2022 USL Championship Coach of the Year, with the Battery as he continues to lead the turnaround for the club. The March slate of matches was bound to be difficult for the Battery after the team finished near the bottom of the table in 2022, with U.S. Open Cup finalists Sacramento Republic FC and Eastern Conference finalists Tampa Bay Rowdies among the opponents. Charleston, however, took care of business and went undefeated in the month.
“We are always appreciative to be honored with awards,” said Coach Pirmann. “It shows that our team and our club are performing and moving in the right direction. Although there are two or three other managers that really deserved this, it's always exciting when our players and staff earn accomplishments.
“Whether it's coaches, the players, Team of the Week, Goal of the Week, Player of the Month, those types of things, anytime guys are getting awards, then we're doing things the right way.”
He additionally oversaw players Nick Markanich and Fidel Barajas earning Team of the Week nods in Week 3. Markanich started the month of April with another Team of the Week selection (Week 5) and Barajas is currently tied for the league lead in assists (three).
Charleston have continued their strong start into April, advancing to the Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup with a win over Savannah Clovers FC and defeating Hartford Athletic last Saturday. The Battery are also the only remaining undefeated team in the Eastern Conference.
Pirmann earned 40 percent of the ballot to claim the award. Sacramento Republic FC Head Coach Mark Briggs finished in second place, with 29 percent. The USL Championship's Coach of the Month award is voted upon by the USL Championship National Media Panel and the USL Championship Technical Committee, with each group responsible for 50 percent of the overall vote.
Charleston will play a pair of away matches this week before returning to Patriots Point for the next home match on Sat., April 22, the first of three to close out the April slate. Tickets for the three home contests can be purchased via SeatGeek.com, the Battery’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
