CHARLESTON, SC - Three Battery goals in the finaI twenty-four minutes of regulation time sends the Charleston Battery into the US Open Cup for the second consecutive year before a Blackbaud stadium crowd of four-thousand and forty-three. The Express, winners against the Battery in their last six head-to head meetings dating back to 1998, got things going in the thirty-first minute mark when Starting Forward David Obua recovered a loose ball inside the box and quickly places the ball into the wide open net with a right footed shot past Battery keeper Dusty Hudock to make it 1-0 Express. Meanwhile, the home side had their best chance in the first half three minutes later when Bulgarian striker Velko Iotov, drawing his first home start of the season, fired a curling left footed free kick into the box but Express goal keeper Chris Lewis palms the ball away by reaching high to his right side.
In the second stanza, the visiting Express increased their lead to 2-0 at the fifty-seventh minute when Midfielder Carson White picked up a Gilbert Jean-Baptiste failed clearence across the middle and knocks the ball in the roof of the wide open net to give the visitors a commanding 2-0 lead. Not to be dismayed, the hometown Battery began their comeback and scored their first goal of the match nine minutes later at the sixth-six minute mark when Striker Mac Cozier fired a blistering shot at the top of the box from a nice feed by Temoc Suarez to put the Battery on the scoreboard making the count 2-1 Raleigh. Four minutes later, the home side tied the match when Midfielder Dean Sewell knocks in a Suarez shot with a header in a goal mouth scramble inside the six yard box before the Battery fateful. For Sewell, he records his third goal of the season. The frantic pace continued into extra time, when subsitute Forward Jon Akin received a brilliant cross from Defender Darren Warham and knocked in the game winning goal with a hard left footed shot erupting Blackbaud Stadium into a frenzy thereby ending the six game losing streak against a determined Capital Express club. With the win, the Battery will host a second round US OPEN CUP match in Blackbaud Stadium on June 14th against a team to be determined. This is the second consecutive year in which the Battery will be in the tournment. Last season, Charleston advanced to the US OPEN CUP Final Four defeating MLS power DC United on its way to the elusive Final Four. The Battery will continue A-League action next Friday June 2nd on the road against the Richmond Kickers, the match can be heard locally on WTMZ 910-AM with the pre-game show beginning at 6:45pm.
Game Report by Herman Howard
May 27, 2000 1st 2nd/OT Final
Raleigh Capital Express 1 1/0 2
Charleston Battery 0 3/0 3
Scoring Summary:
Express: Obua 32
Express: White (Byaruhanga) 57
Battery: Cozier (Suarez) 66
Battery: Sewell (Suarez) 69
Battery: Akin (Warham ) 90
CHARLESTON BATTERY - Hudock, Sancho, Baptiste, Woods, Warham, Sewell, Spooner (Alvero 84), Miller, Cozier (Akin 84), Conway, Iotov (Ilarionov 72) (Suarez 63)
SHOTS:13 ; FOULS :17 ; SAVES:Hudock 4; CORNER KICKS:4 ; OFFSIDE:2; CAUTIONS: Spooner 58; EJECTIONS: None
RALEIGH CAPITAL EXPRES-Lewis, Rodriguez (Mormon 76), Jakins, Edwards, Farris, Merkel, Walker (DiSalvo 68) White, Dotsenko, Obua, Byaruhanga,
SHOTS:13 ; FOULS :16 ; SAVES:5 ; CORNER KICKS:4 ; OFFSIDE:6 ; CAUTIONS: Edwards 34; Byaruhanga 72; Rodriguez 72; EJECTIONS: None
Referee: Kermit Quisenberry; Robert Mann; Referee's Assistants: Christopher Sculthorpe; Jason Sessions,
Attendance: 4,043
Weather: Warm and Hot
Blackbaud Players of the Game: Mac Cozier and Jon Akin
