The Charleston Battery secured a 1-0 victory over Monterey Bay FC in Week 29 of the USL Championship regular season at Patriots Point on Saturday. Camilo Sánchez provided the heroics off the bench with the match-winning goal in the 78th minute. Daniel Kuzemka notched a clean sheet in his first appearance since 2024. With the win, the Battery officially punched their ticket to the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs, becoming the second team in the league to do so.
Charleston and Monterey Bay kicked off with the hosts aiming to punch their tickets to the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs with a victory.
The Battery nearly opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Douglas Martinez sent in a tantalizing cross right in front of the goal, but both Emilio Ycaza and Colton Swan were unable to redirect the pass into the net. Another promising opportunity came in the 19th minute following some sublime build-up play, but Miguel Berry was unable to take a shot amid his charge into the box.
Goalkeeper Daniel Kuzemka, making his first start of the year and his first appearance since May 2024, was tested in the 26th minute to make a save on Sebastian Lleget’s free kick.
Berry threatened again before the break with a shot on target in the 42nd minute, but the strike lacked the pace to make it past goalkeeper Jacob Jackson.
The game went into the break scoreless. Possession narrowly favored Charleston and each side had one shot on target in the first half.
Play resumed for the second stanza with all still to play for given the 0-0 scoreline.
Monterey Bay started the half on the front foot, but Kuzemka was up for the challenge. Omari Glasgow and Lleget recorded shots on target in the 52nd and 56th minutes, respectively, and Kuzemka saved both attempts.
A notable moment occurred in the 59th minute when Camilo Sánchez entered the game off the bench for his first appearance at Patriots Point. The Colombian striker made his club debut in Week 28.
Charleston continued to apply pressure against Monterey as the game neared the final quarter-hour of action as they searched for the night’s opening tally.
In the 78th minute, Sánchez provided the heroics to score the go-ahead goal off a Jeremy Kelly corner kick, sending the Battery ahead 1-0. Kelly's service was placed perfectly to Sánchez in the middle of the six-yard box, and Sánchez stuck out his right leg while fighting off Jackson to knock the ball into the net, sending Patriots Point into a frenzy.
Sánchez’s goal was his first in Battery colors to put an exclamation mark on his home debut.
Kelly’s assist was his 10th across all competitions, matching a single-season career high. It was also his ninth of the league campaign, placing him first in the Championship Golden Playmaker race, as of writing.
From there, the Battery closed out the 1-nil victory over Monterey Bay, moving their record to 13W-8L-4D, 43pts.
With the win, Charleston officially punched their ticket to the 2026 USL Championship Playoffs. Next on the Battery’s to-do list will be securing a top-four finish in the Eastern Conference to lock in home field advantage for at least the opening round of the postseason.
Charleston’s triumph over Monterey Bay extended their undefeated run against the California club to three games in the all-time series (2W-0L-1D), and concluded the interleague portion of their 2026 regular season schedule with a 3W-2L-1D record.
Daniel Kuzemka recorded three saves and six recoveries en route to his first clean sheet of the year.
It was an especially meaningful night for Ben Pirmann, as the Battery boss celebrated his 41st birthday with three points at home.
Head Coach Ben Pirmann, defender Douglas Martinez and forward Camilo Sánchez addressed the media after the victory, with key quotes to follow.
Charleston’s next match will be at home vs. Rhode Island FC on Sat., Sept. 26, at Patriots Point. Tickets for the game are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
Lineups:
CHS: Kuzemka, Messer, Akpunonu, Smith, Martínez, Kelly (Suber, 90’+2), Ycaza (Allan, 68’), Kissiedou (Pakhomov, 68’), Foster (Blackstock, 68’), Swan (Sánchez, 59’), Berry
MB: Jackson, Ritchie, Egwu (Farnsworth, 77’), Gordon, Garcia, Nakamura, Ross (Tavares, 81’), Montes (Canete, 58’), Lletget (Leggett, 81), Barajas (Glasgow, 46’), Paul
Scoring Summary:
CHS – Camilo Sánchez, 78’ (Jeremy Kelly)