The Charleston Battery are set for a midweek cross-country trip to face Sacramento Republic FC on Wed., Oct. 22, in the penultimate match of the USL Championship regular season. Kickoff at Heart Health Park is set for 10 p.m. ET and the match will stream for free on the CBS Sports Golazo Network.
Charleston and Sacramento square off for the first time in 2025. The Wednesday match was previously scheduled for October 5, but was forced to be rescheduled due to Republic FC’s participation in the USL Jägermeister Cup Final that same weekend.
The Battery (28W-5L-5D, 59pts) make the trip to California after playing Detroit City FC to a 1-1 draw last Saturday. MD Myers put Charleston in front just after the hour mark, but a quick response by the visitors forced the points to be ultimately shared. The result extended the Battery’s current undefeated run to six matches.
Sacramento (12W-7L-9D, 45pts) return to the state capital following a 2-2 road draw against Lexington SC on Friday. Republic FC were staring down defeat going into the final 10 minutes of the match, but managed to salvage a point after late goals from Cristian Parano and Juan Herrera. The draw snapped a two-game losing streak for Sacramento.
Looking at the respective tables, Charleston are second in the Eastern Conference and Sacramento are second in the Western Conference.
Storylines of the Match
All-Time Series – Charleston and Sacramento have met four previous times, dating back to 2014. The California club hold a slight advantage in the all-time series with a 2W-1L-1D record. The Battery picked up their first win against Republic FC in last year’s meeting, a 2-1 triumph at Patriots Point on goals by Nick Markanich and Emilio Ycaza.
Final Away Day – The Battery’s penultimate regular season match is also their final away day. Charleston currently sport the second-best away record in the Eastern Conference and tied for the most points won away from home with a 7W-4L-3D record (24pts).
Busy Last Matchweek – After the original Sacramento-Charleston match was rescheduled due to the Jägermeister Cup, the Battery now face a congested week with three matches in eight days. Charleston drew 1-1 with Detroit last Saturday, head to Sacramento midweek, and close out the regular season on Saturday at Patriots Point.
Wins Record in Reach – With their 18th victory of the regular season last Monday, the Battery tied the club’s single-season wins record in their Championship era. Their 19th win will reset the record for the third consecutive season, after the 2023 and 2024 teams also set new win records during their respective seasons. Two regular season contests remain to achieve the feat.
Charleston vs. Western Conference – Charleston face their final Western Conference opponent of the regular season and are aiming to remain undefeated in interconference play. The Battery, 5W-0L-2D against the Western Conference, earned wins over San Antonio FC, Phoenix Rising FC, New Mexico United, El Paso Locomotive FC, and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, and recorded draws against Oakland Roots SC and Orange County SC.
Myers Matches Career-High – With his 19th goal scored across all competitions on Saturday, MD Myers matched his single-season career best scoring mark. Myers tied his career high set in 2023, when he won the MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot with New York City FC II. The striker is also nearing a spot in the Battery record books and could become the sixth player in club history to record 20 goals in a single year. His current mark of 19 is also the sixth-best single-season tally (all competitions) in club history.
Ycaza, Allan Near Century Marks – Midfielders Chris Allan and Emilio Ycaza are both closing in on 100 overall appearances for the Battery. Allan currently has 97 matches to his name and Ycaza has 96. The midfielders have been staples to Charleston since both joined prior to the 2023 season and could achieve the milestones during the USL Championship Playoffs.
Golden Awards Watch – Going into the final week of the regular season, the race for the Golden Boot and Golden Playmaker awards have never been hotter. For the Golden Boot, Cal Jennings and MD Myers find themselves in second and third place, respectively. Myers has closed in on the competition after scoring five goals in the past five matches. With 10 assists, Juan David Torres is tied for the lead in the Golden Playmaker race with two others.
Smith Approaches Milestone – Graham Smith continues to close in on 15,000 career minutes played in the USL Championship regular season and has 14,849 to his name heading into the last two contests.
MATCH INFO
- Sacramento Republic FC vs. Charleston Battery
- Wednesday, October 22 – 10 p.m. ET Kickoff
- Heart Health Park
HOW TO WATCH:
Wednesday’s match will stream for free on the CBS Sports Golazo Network! The Golazo Network can be accessed for free via the CBS Sports App (under the ‘Live TV’ section), Pluto TV, Roku TV, Paramount+ app (no subscription needed), the PlutoTV app or on the channel’s website: https://www.cbssports.com/