The Charleston Battery fell 1-2 to Louisville City FC in the season opener on Saturday at Patriots Point. The Battery fought valiantly after initially going down 0-1 with a goal by Juan David Torres to level the score. However, a contentious red card to Arturo Rodriguez in the 70th minute reduced Charleston to 10 men, and Louisville reclaimed the lead minutes later to secure the win.
Charleston will have a chance to bounce back at home next Saturday against Rhode Island FC on March 15, a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Final.
The opening night match between the top two teams of 2024 was off to a cagey start, with the visitors creating the first chances of the game. New Battery goalkeeper Luis Zamudio was called into action early to keep Louisville off the board, denying them in the 7th minute and again 10th minute.
Near the half-hour mark, Zamudio again made crucial interventions to keep the game scoreless. The shot-stopper intercepted a cross in the 28th minute and made a short-range save in the 29th minute, saving Emanuel Perez’s shot.
Charleston’s offense began to find a footing in the latter stages of the first half. Juan David Torres created a chance out of limited space in the 39th minute, firing off a shot that goalkeeper Damian Las could only parry back to the field before being cleared away.
Torres almost connected with Cal Jennings in the 44th minute with a cross dragged to the striker right in front of the mouth of goal, but Jennings was unable to connect with the ball due to Las’ intervention.
It was 0-0 at the break, with the xG (expected goals) dead even between the sides, 0.47 (CHS) to 0.49 (LOU). Charleston held nearly 70% of possession in the first half.
The match resumed for the second half with ample amounts of intensity from both sides. Zamudio came up big with another save in the 53rd minute, but Louisville managed to score off the rebound, taking a 0-1 lead via Ray Serrano.
Charleston, however, remained steadfast to level the score again and increased the pressure on the visitors’ defense, with Jennings and Torres leading the charge up top. In the 59th minute, Torres appeared to level the score, but his strike was waved for a foul just prior to the shot.
The Battery struck back in the 63rd minute when Torres threaded the needle off a free-kick. Torres won the foul from roughly five yards outside the 18-yard box when he was taken down by Louisville’s Kyle Adams. Torres then placed his free kick perfectly over everyone and just inside the far post, outside of Las’ reach.
The goal was Torres and the Battery’s first of 2025.
The complexion of the match was changed in the 70th minute when Arturo Rodriguez was shown a contentious straight red card for contact with Louisville’s Aiden McFadden. Appeals about the call from the Battery were unsuccessful. Charleston were forced to carry on with 10 men for the remainder of the night.
Louisville reclaimed the lead in the 76th minute via Adrien Perez to make the score 1-2.
Charleston pushed numbers forward and fought valiantly to tie the game again despite being down a man. However, time was not on their side, and Louisville held on for the 1-2 opening night win.
It was the first time the Battery were dealt an opening night loss since 2021, snapping a three-game undefeated run in season openers.
