The Charleston Battery defeated Indy Eleven, 2-1, in front of a sold-out crowd at Patriots Point on Saturday. The win punched Charleston’s ticket to the 2025 USL Championship Playoffs, their third consecutive year reaching the postseason. Cal Jennings bagged a brace with goals on both sides of halftime.
Charleston started the match on the front foot, eager to rebound from the previous weekend’s result. Aaron Molloy recorded the first shot on target of the night in the 6th minute, an opportunistic attempt amid appeals for a penalty after Arturo Rodriguez was taken down in the box. Goalkeeper Hunter Sulte made the save.
The Battery continued to apply pressure as the half wore on. Cal Jennings saw his shot in the 8th minute drift just wide of the post and Joey Akpunonu uncorked a missile from the edge of the box in the 16th minute that forced another save from Sulte.
A breakthrough moment for Charleston came in the 36th minute when they were awarded a penalty in the 36th minute, after MD Myers was brought down in the box by Ben Ofeimu.
Jennings stepped up to the spot in the 38th minute and made no mistake, burying the goal to put Charleston ahead, 1-0.
The goal was Jennings’ 13th of the year in league play, placing him back into a tie for first in the Championship Golden Boot race, as of writing. It was his 14th goal of 2025 across all competitions.
Ben Pirmann was forced to make a pair of early substitutions after Douglas Martinez and Jeremy Kelly appeared to pick up knocks in the 31st and 42nd minutes, respectively. Juan David Torres and Emilio Ycaza entered the game in their spots.
The Battery took the 1-0 into halftime after dominating many phases of the game, including retaining nearly 86% possession, recording three shots on target to Indy’s zero and winning 67% of the first half duels.
Play resumed in the second half with Charleston looking to maintain the momentum established during the first 45 minutes.
After knocking on the door repeatedly, Jennings doubled Charleston’s lead in the 67th minute with his second goal of the night, capitalizing on Indy’s defensive error. Ycaza created the issue by sending a long ball into Indy’s defensive third. Jennings’ pressure and chase forced Brian Schaefer to make a hasty header back to Sulte, and the goalkeeper misplayed the ball. Jennings beat Sulte into the box and poked the ball into the net to make the score 2-0.
The brace brings Jennings’ league total to 14 goals, lifting him back into sole possession of first in the Championship Golden Boot race, as of writing. His 15 overall goals tie him with MD Myers for the team lead across all competitions.
Indy managed to pull one back in the 72nd minute through Jack Blake, cutting the score to 2-1.
Charleston nearly restored their two-goal lead just minutes later. In the 74th minute, Ycaza played a clever ball through to Myers, whose on-target strike from inside the box was saved by Sulte. The rebound fell to Torres, and his shot forced another save by Sulte.
Rodriguez nearly sent a header into the net after Torres picked him out with a cross, but his attempt went fractionally wide of the post.
On the opposite end, the Battery’s defense held firm to keep Indy from scoring an equalizer. Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio made a key save against Ofeimu in the 89th minute and Graham Smith made an important block in the 90th minute.
Charleston secured the 2-1 win over Indy, their fifth consecutive win over the Indiana club, completing the season sweep.
With the win, the Battery officially punched their ticket to the USL Championship Playoffs. It’s Charleston’s third straight year making the postseason under Ben Pirmann’s guidance.
The result advances the Battery’s record to 16W-5L-2D (50pts), good for second in the Eastern Conference.
Cal Jennings now leads in the Championship Golden Boot race with 14 goals in league play.
Aaron Molloy was active all over the pitch with a game-high 105 accurate passes, along with six duels won, four clearances, two interceptions, two chances created and six recoveries.
Juan David Torres, despite entering around the half-hour mark, led the match with four chances created.
Leland Archer tallied a game-high eight clearances.
Charleston’s next match will be home vs. Oakland Roots SC on Sat., Sept. 13, as the club celebrates Hispanic Heritage Night at Patriots Point. Tickets for the rematch are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups:
CHS: Zamudio, Blackstock (Edwards, 90’), Archer, Akpunonu, Martínez (Torres, 32’), Kelly (Ycaza, 45’ (Dossantos, 90’)), Molloy, Houssou, Rodríguez, Myers (Smith, 90’), Jennings
IND: Sulte, Musa, Ofeimu, O'Brien, Schaefer, Murphy (Collier, 88’), McRobb (Foster, 61’), Rendón, Soumaoro (Lindley, 76’), Kizza (Williams, 61’), Brynéus (Blake, 60’)
Scoring Summary:
CHS - Cal Jennings, 38’
CHS - Cal Jennings, 67’
IND - Jack Blake, 72’ (Ben Ofeimu)