The regular-season stretch run for the Charleston Battery took a couple small hits as they ended up below a top-four finish in the Eastern Conference table. A stronghold member of the USL and a fixture in the USL Cup Playoffs having made the postseason every year of the league’s history, Charleston will need to do its damage on the road in the postseason. The Battery dropped two of their final three home matches to wrap up the regular season, but this veteran club caused some damage away from MUSC Health Stadium this season. In Charleston’s past 11 road matches, the club has posted a stellar 6-1-4 record. The Battery will hope that trend carries over when they head into enemy territory in Cincinnati.

2016 USL Playoffs: Quarterfinal matchup:
No. 6 Charleston Battery (2), No. 3 FC Cincinnati (1) – The Battery overcame a first-half deficit to defeat Cincinnati in front of a USL Cup Playoff-record crowd of 30,187 on Sunday, Oct. 2, at Nippert Stadium. Charleston's Chris Tsonis and Zach Prince tallied the equalizer and winner, respectively. Cincinnati's Eric Stevenson opened the game's scoring with a 30-yard strike in the 19th minute. - RECAP

2016 USL regular season:
Records:
Overall: 13-8-9 (48 points) | Home: 7-5-3 (24 points) | Road: 6-3-6 (24 points)

Goals For: 38 | Goals Against: 33

Leaders:
Goals: 1. Romario Williams 10; 2. (tie) Maikel Chang, Justin Portillo 6; 4. (tie) 2 tied with 3
Assists: 1. Maikel Chang 6; 2. (tie) Justin Portillo, O’Brian Woodbine 4; 4. Zach Prince 3
Saves: 1. Alex Tambakis 70; 2. Odisnel Cooper 26

Clinched its postseason … Aug. 31; clinched with a 1-1 draw against the Richmond Kickers

Defining moment: In the grand scheme of things, Charleston’s 3-2 road win against the New York Red Bulls II on July 23 was probably its strongest in terms of the Eastern Conference table. The defense had its work cut out as NYRBII posted a pair of second-half goals, so statistically it wasn’t one of the Battery’s best efforts. On the flip side, though, the Battery offense had one of its better performances of the season, with outside back O’Brian Woodbine also playing a role in the first two goals from Maikel Chang and Romario Williams. His setups led to the Battery enjoying a 2-0 lead by the 29th minute. Chang would set up Heviel Cordoves’ second-half tally in the 76th minute, and that served as the winner. The three goals conceded were the most NYRBII gave up in a match all season.

Three keys to a championship run:
1. Coping without Portillo: Midfielder Justin Portillo has been one of Charleston’s premier players as a creative presence and playmaker, but he is out for the postseason after medical staff diagnosed that he is suffering from acute appendicitis. He was sidelined before the Battery’s regular-season finale against the New York Red Bulls II, and that is a significant setback. Charleston’s other midfield pieces such as Zach Prince and Ataullah Guerra will need to step up. Combined with the already steady efforts from Maikel Chang, the Battery do have some good options in the midfield to overcome the loss of Portillo, but it will not be easy. Portillo is not the type of player who can simply be replaced considering his skillset, especially on set-piece duties.
2. Veteran defense: The Battery have had the luxury of a back line that is pretty unified, and while the results haven’t been the strongest of late, Charleston can lean on its defense to step up in the postseason. The Battery have had some good defensive stretches this season, particularly in the first third of the season when Charleston posted five clean sheets in its first 10 matches. Shawn Ferguson and Taylor Mueller have been paired at center back with O’Brian Woodbine and Quinton Griffith as the outside backs. Ferguson, Mueller and Griffith went through the playoff stage together last season, so the familiarity is quite resilient among this group.
3. Finishing prowess: Charleston tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference with 38 goals – not a bad showing, but certainly something that could be improved upon. Charleston ranks in the upper half of the league in shots taken, but they slip into the bottom half for shots on frame. Romario Williams has done the brunt of the damage with his 10 goals in 27 games, but few others have been able to step up to that level. A player to watch here could be U.S. U-20 interrnational Jeremy Ebobisse, who is playoff eligible after his late-season loan from MLS,, while Heviel Cordoves will need to pose a more significant threat offensively.

QUOTABLE:
“It showed us a few mistakes that we can’t commit [in] the first round of the playoffs if we’re going to extend our season. It was a tough loss, but we’ve shown that we can play with the best teams in this league and we’re looking forward to moving into the playoffs.” – Charleston Battery Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser following loss to New York Red Bulls II