The Charleston Battery hit the road in Week 12 of the USL Championship season to face Detroit City FC on Sat., May 24. Kickoff at Keyworth Stadium is set for 4 p.m. ET. The match will air on national television on TUDN (Spanish) and stream on ESPN+ (English).
Charleston and Detroit clash for the first time in 2025.
The Battery (7W-2L-0D, 21pts) arrive in Michigan after defeating San Antonio FC, 4-0, at Patriots Point. Charleston overwhelmed the Texas club throughout the night as Cal Jennings bagged a birthday brace and Johnny Klein scored his first goal for the club. Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio recorded his second shutout of the year.
Detroit (4W-1L-5D, 17pts) return home after a three-game away stand. Le Rouge are currently on a five-game undefeated run, most recently playing Birmingham Legion FC to a 1-1 draw in Alabama. It was the third consecutive occasion where Detroit shared points.
Looking at the Eastern Conference Standings, the Battery are in first and Detroit are in fifth.
Storylines of the Match
All-Time Series – Entering this weekend, Detroit hold the lead in the all-time series with a 3W-1L-2D record since joining the Championship in 2022. The most recent meeting in October 2024 ended in a 2-2 draw at Patriots Point. Charleston’s lone win in the series came at Keyworth Stadium in 2023.
In-Form Sides Meet – Only three teams in the league are currently on undefeated runs of at least five Championship matches: Charleston, Detroit and Louisville. The Battery enter this weekend on a six-game winning streak that propelled them to the top of the Championship Players’ Shield standings, and Detroit have gone 2W-0L-3D in their last five contests. Those two wins for Le Rouge came at home, where they are yet to lose a game this year.
Top-10 Strikers – On display on Saturday could be two Championship’s most prolific attackers in Charleston’s Cal Jennings and Detroit’s Sebastian Guenzatti. Jennings and Guenzatti rank tied for eighth and seventh, respectively, for the most all-time regular season goals in the league.
Pirmann Homecoming – It will be a return to old stomping grounds for Head Coach Ben Pirmann, a Detroit native and the former boss at Detroit (2013-18). Coach Pirmann additionally played collegiately at Michigan State University, where he was later an assistant coach at the same time as leading Detroit.
Chapman Faces Former Club – On the opposite end, it will be the first game for Jay Chapman against his former club. Chapman joined the Battery on loan midway through the 2024 season and helped the Battery make the Eastern Conference Final. The midfielder signed with Detroit in the offseason and has started in all but one of their league matches.
Jennings’ Historic Run – The brace against San Antonio extended Cal Jennings’ streak of consecutive league games with a goal contribution to eight. Jennings’ eight-match run with a goal contribution is only one shy of the Championship’s longest individual streak, co-held by Solomon Asanté (2019) and Leo Fernandes (2022). Both players went on to win the league’s Player of the Year award at the end of the regular season.
Martinez Milestone Watch – Forward Douglas Martinez is currently approaching 150 appearances in the USL Championship regular season. The Honduran international has 147 going into this weekend.
Drack, Soto Depart – Prior to last Saturday’s match, the Battery saw two players depart the club, one permanently and one on loan. Josh Drack completed a permanent transfer to USL League One side Westchester SC, and Zeke Soto was loaned out to League One club Greenville Triumph SC for the 2025 season.
National Television 2025 Debut – Saturday’s match will mark the Battery’s first of four currently scheduled matches on national television this year. The game will air on TUDN with Spanish-language commentary.
MATCH INFO
Detroit City FC vs. Charleston Battery
Saturday, May 24 – 4 p.m. ET Kickoff
Keyworth Stadium
HOW TO WATCH:
Saturday’s contest will air on national television on TUDN in Spanish.
The match will also stream on ESPN+ domestically and through the league’s YouTube channel for free internationally in English.