Staff report
The Charleston Battery closes out its regular season tonight against the Hampton Roads Mariners at Blackbaud Stadium.
Charleston (18-3-6, 85 points) is 3-0 this season against division rival Hampton Roads (6-18-3, 29 points), which will be playing its final game of the year.
The match begins at 7:30 p.m. There will be a party starting at 5:30 p.m. with a chance for fans to meet Battery players on Fan Appreciation Night. The first 1,000 fans through the gate also will receive a mini soccer ball.
The Battery already has clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and will receive a first-round bye in the A-League playoffs.
Charleston is coming off a 1-0 victory Wednesday over the Richmond Kickers. John Jones scored the only goal of the match in the 77th minute. Hampton Roads has not played since a 1-0 win Aug. 17 over the Charlotte Eagles.
Entering the final weekend of the regular season, Battery forward Paul Conway is seventh in the league in scoring with 29 points. His 12 goals put him in fifth place.
Charleston goalkeeper Dusty Hudock leads the A-League with a 0.62 goals-against average and with 13 shutouts. He is second with 15 wins.
The Battery will play either Richmond or Atlanta in the playoff semifinals Sept. 13 at Blackbaud Stadium.
Charleston will play on the road Sept. 15 for the second match of the two-game aggregate-score semifinal.
