Staff report
The Charleston Battery takes a break from its A-League schedule to play the Greenville Lions of the D3 Pro League tonight in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup.
The match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Sirrine Stadium in Greenville, and will be broadcast on WTMZ 910-AM. The Battery qualified for the U.S. Open Cup with a pair of wins over A-League rival Charlotte in late May, while Greenville scored a first-round victory over an amateur side from Austin, Texas, on June 10.
The winner of tonight's match will play host to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer in one of eight third-round games played on July 17. The Rapids' roster includes midfielder Pablo Mastroeni, who recently competed for the U.S. national team in the World Cup.
Charleston, which has won nine straight games and has a six-point lead on the rest of the A-League, beat Greenville 3-1 in an exhibition game in April. The Lions, who hold a record of 5-3-3 in D3 Pro League play, are coached by former Battery forward Garth Pollonais.
"These are the type of games that supposedly big clubs dread," Battery coach Chris Ramsey said, "as they are potential banana skins that can affect the rest of your season, if you do not come out with the right result."
The Battery lost to MLS' New England Revolution in the third round of last year's U.S. Open Cup, an 89-year-old tournament open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the nation. The Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS won last year's Open Cup title.
• Battery midfielder Justin Evans was named to the latest A-League Team of the Week for his work in Friday's 2-1 overtime victory over Atlanta, the first of home-and-home wins over the Silverbacks for the overall league leaders.
Evans scored on two diving headers in the second half after Charleston fell behind 1-0 to its Southeast Division rivals. They were the first two goals of the year for the first-year Battery player, who was with the Dallas Burn of Major League Soccer last season.
