It was an offensive showdown at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on Saturday night, September 13, as the Oakland Roots earned a point against one of the top teams in the USL Championship in a 3-3 draw to end Charleston Battery’s 10-game home winning streak.
Charleston was eager to flex their league-leading offense from the outset. Their high press led to a few dangerous opportunities early on, but the Roots’ goalkeeper, Kendall McIntosh, flashed the gloves with matching saves to keep the game scoreless through 20 minutes.
The Battery opened the scoring in the 26th minute, when Nathan Dossantos worked the ball to the back line left of the box before playing a chip pass to the far post where Cal Jennings was waiting all alone to elevate for a header across the face of the goal, finding the back of the net to make it 1-0 Charleston.
The home team nearly doubled their lead in the 35th minute when a header from inside the box was destined for the twine, only to be cleared over the crossbar at the last second by a heroic header from Oakland’s Neveal Hackshaw.
Momentum stayed mostly with Charleston for the remainder of the frame, but a clumsy play on the backline led to an added-time penalty kick opportunity for Oakland, which EJ Johnson deposited from the spot to level the match at 1-1 just before the halftime whistle.
In the very first minute of the second half, Charleston regained the lead when Battery’s Langston Blackstock charged the right corner and sent a full sprint cross into the box, where Matt Myers was waiting with a leaping left footer to make it 2-1.
Following that goal, the Roots took possession of the momentum in dominating fashion. That Oakland pressure paid off in the 52nd minute when Peter Wilson equalized the match at 2-2 off a wonderful through ball from Faysal Bettache. Wilson found the pass on a run into the box on the right side and threaded the needle to tie it up.
Wilson delivered again for the Roots just moments later, in the 55th minute, to earn a brace on the night with another fantastic run into the box, this time from a Wolfgang Prentice assist after charging down the left side and sending a low cross all the way to the other side of the box. Oakland took the lead for the first time in the match. The score was 3-2.
But momentum flipped again, this time in favor of the home team. The Battery eventually found an equalizer in the 74th minute, when Rubio Rubin worked his way into the Oakland area before delivering a tight angle shot from the right side of the box that deflected off of McIntosh and into the short side twine just inside the near post to make the score 3-3.
Both sides battled desperately for the remainder of the match to find a winner in what was a fantastic exhibition of soccer, but salvation would not be delivered for either club before the whistle.
Oakland is scrapping for points to climb the table into a playoff spot as the number of remaining matches dwindle, but a draw against a club as dangerous as Charleston can go a long way in shifting momentum their way and serving as a springboard for wins to come.
The Roots will return home to host FC Tulsa at the Coliseum next Saturday, September 20, at 7 p.m., in another tough but critical matchup.
Summary
Scoring:
- CHS: Cal Jennings 26’
- OAK: EJ Johnson 45’+
- CHS: Matt Myers 46’
- OAK: Peter Wilson 52’
- OAK: Peter Wilson 55’
- CHS: Rubio Rubín 74’
Discipline:
- CHS: Houssou Landry 28’ (yellow card)
- CHS: Joey Akpunonu 38’ (yellow card)
- CHS: Graham Smith 66’ (yellow card)
- OAK: Wolfgang Prentice 80’ (yellow card)
- OAK: Camden Riley 88’ (yellow card)
- CHS: Arturo Rodriguez 90’+ (yellow card)
Oakland Roots
Lineup: Kendall Mcintosh, Gagi Margvelashvili, Daniel Gomez, Panos Armenakas, Neveal Hackshaw, Bobosi Byaruhanga, EJ Johnson (Wolfgang Prentice), Morey Doner, Ali Elmasnaouy (Tyler Gibson), Faysal Bettache (Camden Riley), Ilya Alekseev (Peter Wilson)
Unused subs: Julian Bravo, Kai Greene, Raphael Spiegel
Line: Shots: 11 | Shots On Goal: 4 | Corner Kicks: 0 | Fouls: 13 | Offside: 0
Charleston Battery
Lineup: Luis Zamudio, Joey Akpunonu, Graham Smith, Nathan Dossantos (Douglas Martínez), Langston Blackstock (Mark Segbres), Matt Myers, Aaron Molloy, Houssou Landry (Rubio Rubín), Cal Jennings, Emilio Ycaza (Juan Torres), Arturo Rodriguez
Unused subs: Viggo Ortiz, Michael Edwards, Christian Garner, Diego Rodriguez, Leland Archer
Line: Shots: 24 | Shots On Goal: 11 | Corner Kicks: 9 | Fouls: 9 | Offside: 0
