NAPLES, Fla. (April 26, 2025) – The Charleston Battery fell 1-0 on the road to FC Naples in Round 1 of the USL Jägermeister Cup group stage on Saturday at Paradise Coast Sports Complex. It was the first all-time meeting between the sides, and the USL League One leaders scored the lone goal of the night in the 18th minute. Pulling back an equalizer proved to be a bridge too far for the Battery, who will have three more group stage matches in the tournament to rally to make the knockout phase.
It was a relatively tame start to the night for both offenses, as only one shot was recorded in the opening 15 minutes by either side, an off-target attempt by Naples’ Luka Prpa.
After the quarter-hour mark, however, the game began to open up more. MD Myers had the Battery’s first shot of the night in the 17th minute, but his short-range shot off Cal Jennings’ cross was blocked. Naples managed to strike first via Karsen Henderlong to take a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.
The hosts nearly doubled their lead in the 31st minute when Andrés Ferrín broke past Joey Akpunonu but had his run redirected by goalkeeper Luis Zamudio, who came way off his line. Chris Allan tracked back to the goal line and blocked Ferrín’s shot with his chest and Akpunonu was there to clear the ball away.
Charleston pushed forward for an equalizer but the Naples defense remained stingy and prevented the Battery from taking a shot through the 45th minute.
Zamudio made a massive save in stoppage time to deny Ferrín after the hosts sprung a promising counterattack but came up empty thanks to the goalkeeper’s resolute efforts.
Naples took a 1-0 lead into the interval. Charleston held a staggering 72% possession, but were unable to have a shot on target and were accurate on only two of 15 crosses.
Charleston came out of the break moving the ball more effectively after Houssou Landry and Johnny Klein entered the match. In the 50th minute, Houssou linked up with Chris Allan, who then played the ball to a crashing Jennings, but the striker’s shot from inside the box was just wide of the target.
Zamudio made another clutch save in the 50th minute to deny Julian Cisneros from just outside the 6-yard box.
Charleston looked to keep the pressure up on offense by introducing Rubio Rubín and Douglas Martínez into the match off the bench in the 72nd minute. It was a noteworthy moment for Rubín, which marked his club debut after joining the Battery in the week leading up to the match.
Aaron Molloy tested goalkeeper Edward Delgado twice in short succession, with powerful shots on target in the 74th and 79th minutes, but both were saved.
With at least 10 minutes of stoppage time added, the Battery aimed to make one last bid for an equalizer and force penalty kicks. Arturo Rodriguez was the closest to achieving that with a curler from the edge of the 18-yard box that hit off the far post in the 103rd minute.
However, Charleston’s attempts at the end were not enough, and Naples secured the 1-0 win in the opening round of the Jägermeister Cup group stage.
The result is an early setback for the Battery in Group 6, placing them sixth in the group. It was also the first time Charleston fell to a USL League One side since 2022.