LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Charleston Battery secured a sensational 0-2 road victory over Louisville City FC at Lynn Family Stadium on Saturday. Charleston commanded much of the rain-soaked affair and were lifted by goals from Laurent Kissiedou and Kirill Pakhomov, along with a three-save shutout by Luis Zamudio. The win was the Battery’s first away triumph at Louisville, snapping the hosts’ 26-game undefeated streak, and marked the 100th career victory for Head Coach Ben Pirmann in the USL Championship.
Saturday’s contest kicked off amid rainy conditions has the Battery aimed to get back to winning ways against the Eastern Conference leaders.
Persistent rainy conditions limited either side’s ability to get an early footing in the match and the game was both shotless and scoreless through the first quarter hour.
The game’s first shot came in the 20th minute, and with it, Laurent Kissiedou fired the Battery into the lead, 0-1. Jeremy Kelly managed to keep Joey Akpunonu’s long ball from going over the byline, which triggered appeals from the Louisville defense for a goal kick. Kissiedou, however, stayed focused on the ball and fired it in off the volley and past goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux for the tally.
Kissiedou’s goal was his first of the year, and Kelly’s assist was his second in league play (third in all competition).
On the other end, goalkeeper Luis Zamudio made his first save of the game in the 27th minute, denying Zach Duncan.
Kirill Pakhomov nearly doubled the Battery’s lead at the half-hour mark with his shot off a free kick. The Russian midfielder’s strike grazed off the wall and forced a save from Fauroux.
As the half wore on, the rain began to intensify, creating even slicker conditions that caused complications for both sides to manage and control.
Charleston took the 0-1 lead into the break, despite the hosts holding narrow majorities in possession (55% to 45%) and shots (three to two).
Play resumed for the second half with the precipitation and slick surface conditions persisting. The Battery’s pressure was unrelenting out of the break, and they continued to put the hosts on the back foot.
Charleston doubled their lead to 0-2 in the 65th minute when Pakhomov was on target inside the box. The ball was recycled into the mixer after an initial corner kick, with Emilio Ycaza lofting a cross that Akpunonu kept in play with a header. The ball landed right to Pakhomov and the Russian guided it home with just one touch past Fauroux.
The goal was Pakhomov’s first of his professional career, and Akpunonu’s assist was his second of the year.
Zamudio came up big three times as Louisville began to make desperate advances forward to find a way back into the match. First, the shot-stopper denied Chris Donovan’s attempt from inside the box off a corner kick in the 74th minute. The second big stop was a punch against Taylor Davila’s free kick to the top corner in the 78th minute. His third major denial was against Donovan again in the 88th minute, a quick reflex save against the header.
Charleston withstood Louisville’s final advances and secured the 0-2 road win to knock off the Eastern Conference leaders. The win was a monumental one on several occasions.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann achieved his 100th career victory in the USL Championship regular season and playoffs, doing so with a 100W-44L-38D record and becoming both the second-youngest manager to reach the mark in the league’s history and the second-fastest to achieve the feat.
The Battery’s victory marked their first in Louisville in the all-time series after going winless in the previous 11 meetings at both of the Kentucky club’s stadiums.
With the loss, Louisville’s 26-game unbeaten streak at home was effectively snapped at the hands of the Battery.
Charleston’s win improves their record to 3W-1L-0D (9pts), snapping their own brief two-game losing streak across all competitions, and elevating the side to third in the Eastern Conference table, as of writing.
The Battery's attack proved efficient despite the season-low output of three shots, with two goals netted. Louisville were also held to a season-low 10 shots during the contest.
With another helper notched today, Jeremy Kelly has the team lead for assists with three across all competitions.
Graham Smith tallied a match-high nine clearances.
Luis Zamudio’s standout performance was highlighted with three saves, three punches and four clearances en route to his first clean sheet of 2026.
Kirill Pakhomov was active on both sides of the ball, scoring one goal, along with registering five duels won, three recoveries, three clearances and two shots on target.
Lineups:
LOU: Fauroux, Totsch (Moguel, 46’), Dayes, Adams, Perez (Gleadle, 83’), T. Davila, Duncan (Niang, 67’), Morris, Wilson (Showunmi, 66’), Serrano (E. Davila, 67’), Donovan
CHS: Zamudio, Houssou (Messer, 58’), Akpunonu, Smith, Martinez (Blackstock, 69’), Kelly (Cabrera, 80’), Suber, Pakhomov, Kissiedou (Foster, 69’), Ycaza, Swan (Berry, 58’)
Scoring Summary:
CHS - Laurent Kissiedou, 20’ (Jeremy Kelly)
CHS - Kirill Pakhomov, 65’ (Joey Akpunonu)