The Charleston Battery faced the Cincinnati Riverhawks for the second time in two weeks and once again it was a dark and stormy evening. At this point it must be said that the field at Blackbaud Stadium was once again meticulous after a solid week or so of rain had drenched Charleston. Also of interest would be speculation over whether or not any of the red mist that fell over the respective teams near the end of their last meeting would affect this match.
For the most part the rematch was played in a fairly even manner with a few frustration fouls coming in at the end of this highly competitive match. The first half started with a lot of pressure from the Battery as they tried to pin the Riverhawks back in their own end. Cincinatti, though, was lucky to absorb most of the offensive pressure until Gregg Simmonds, on loan from the Miami Fusion, was pulled down in the box in the 35th minute. The penalty kick was taken, and scored, by Mac Cozier. Impressive considering their struggles from the spot in the previous week.
Then like the lightning that threatened in the distance Cozier struck for his second goal in the 41st minute to give the Coppertops a 2-0 lead that made things appear beyond the 'Hawks' reach. Cozier's second was scored after Cincinnati's defenders were sloppy in trying to clear a corner kick. As everyone well knows, though, the 2-0 lead is one of the most dangerous in all of sports especially soccer.
Early in the second half I made my way into E4 to join the Regiment for a bit of merriment as the mood seemed well suited to sitting back and enjoying the Battery's cruise to victory. Unfortunately the Riverhawks briefly had ambitions besides losing yet another road game. Masturzo came out fresh from the half and brought Cincinnati within one at the 47th minute. His goal seemed to get the Riverhawks going while the Battery engine was beginning to sputter. Sure enough in the 66th minute R.J. Kaszuba scored for the visitors after Giacobone's run to set him up.
The Battery were definitely on their heels heading into the last twenty minutes of action but the crowd on hand were determined to fire up the home team. The raucous crowd's efforts were rewarded when Ryan Piesner stepped up to take a free kick just outside of the Cincinnati area in the 73rd minute. His cross found its way to Gilbert-Jean Baptiste who headed the ball home as Charleston took the lead for good. Two minutes later the game was finally put out of reach as Gregg Simmonds put away his first Charleston goal off of a nifty pass from Jon Akin.
A couple of minutes later the ejection of a Cincinnati player after a rather chippy sequence brought a rousing chorus for the departing Riverhawks player. As the clock wound down a trip to the Three Lions Pub loomed like the clouds that are probably still hanging over Charleston but if you have to experience a game in these kind of conditions there are few better places to do it.
Charleston-Hoffard (5.5); Jean-Baptiste (6), Calichman (6), Wilson (6); Akin (5.5) (Webster 82 n.g.*), Rantala (5.5), Alvero (5) (Trout 66 (5.5)), Piesner (6.5) (Donnelly 74 (5.5)); Conway (5), Cozier (7), Simmonds (5) (Warham 89 n.g.*)
Total Shots: 26; Fouls: 19; Offsides: 2; Corner Kicks: 6; Saves: 3; Cautions: Jean-Baptiste (29), Alvero (49); Ejections: None
Cincinnati---O'Leary (6), Pickup (6), Descombes (4.5), Roetkker (4.5), Fall (5) (Masturzo 45 (6)), Rockey (5.5) (Kaszuba 64 (5.5)), Burlew (5) (Vaughn 45 (4)), Matis (5) (Giacabone 64 (5.5)), Lowey (4.5), Roberts (4.5) (Monroe 77 (4.5)), Mucino (3.5)
Total Shots: 11; Fouls: 15; Offsides: 0; Corner Kicks: 2; Saves: 7; Cautions: Roetkker (77); Ejections: Mucino (77)
Scoring Summary:
Battery: Cozier, 35 (PK)
Battery: Cozier, 41
Riverhawks: Masturzo, 47
Riverhawks: Kaszuba (Giacabone), 66
Battery: Jean-Baptiste (Piesner), 73
Battery: Simmonds (Aiken), 75
Man of the Match: Mac Cozier
Attendance: 2,720
