BY KEITH NAMM
Of The Post and Courier Staff
A wide-ranging Battery road trip that started in El Paso, Texas, and continued in Indiana wraps up with tonight's match at the Southeast Division rival Richmond Kickers.
The pressure is eased a bit on Charleston (17-3-6, 81 points) heading into the 7 p.m. match at U of R Stadium in Virginia. The Battery clinched the top seeding for the A-League's Eastern Conference playoffs with Friday's 3-0 victory at the El Paso Patriots.
More is at stake for second-place Richmond (13-8-6, 65 points), which also is postseason bound. The Kickers, who have lost four of their last five matches, could wind up seeded anywhere from third and fifth in the six-team Eastern bracket. Tonight's match caps their regular season.
"We know that Richmond is always going to be a hard game regardless of the circumstances, and our mission for this match is to ensure a good performance with no injuries," Battery coach Chris Ramsey said.
After the Battery plays its regular-season finale Saturday night at home against the Hampton Roads Mariners, the club can kick back and enjoy a bye past the first playoff round, which starts next Wednesday. The full playoff field is 12 teams, including four with byes.
Charleston will open its playoff bid Sept. 11-15 in the conference semifinals, which like the first round and conference finals (Sept. 18-22) will consist of two-legged, aggregate score home-and-home series. The league championship is a single match set for Sept. 28.
Northeast Division front-runners Rochester and Montreal are battling for the Eastern Conference's other first-round bye.
Tonight's Charleston-Richmond match is the fourth between them this season, and Charleston has two wins and a tie, the latest result a 3-2 home victory on Aug. 14. In the last meeting in Richmond, on July 10, the teams tied 1-1.
The Battery's leading scorer is forward Paul Conway, who has 29 points on 12 goals and five assists - two of those goals coming in the last match with Richmond. Conway scored in five straight matches before Sunday's scoreless tie at the Indiana Blast. He ranks seventh league-wide in points and is tied for fifth in goals.
Forward Josh Henderson leads the Kickers with 13 goals and 28 points.
Battery goalkeeper Dusty Hudock's league-leading shutout total is up to 12 - three more than any other keeper - and his goals-against average is down to 0.66, also the league's best, after Friday's win.
Backup Todd Hoffard recorded his fourth clean sheet in five starts on Sunday.
Tonight, Charleston will be without midfielder Justin Evans, the club leader in minutes played, as he completes a suspension for yellow-card points. Out with injuries suffered against Indiana are midfielder Kevin Anderson and forward Jake Edwards. Midfielder Steve Klein has been out since injuring his shoulder in the last Richmond match.
w Saturday's 7:30 p.m. match at Blackbaud Stadium will be Fan Appreciation Night, featuring a fan and player party before the Southeast Division match.
w In three previous matches with Southeast last-place Hampton Roads, the Battery has outscored the Mariners by a combined 9-1.
