The two teams with the longest active unbeaten streaks in the USL meet Saturday night at Nippert Stadium as FC Cincinnati (14-3-6) hosts the Charleston Battery (11-3-10). Kickoff for the match is scheduled for 7:30 PM.

The Battery earned five points from three games last week, capping off a busy seven days with a 1-0 victory over an Atlanta United 2 side that played ten MLS players at MUSC Health Stadium last Saturday. Ian Svantesson, who returned from six weeks on the sidelines due to a quad injury in the match, scored the game’s only goal from the penalty spot in the 41st minute.

After back-to-back road games in Raleigh and Tampa, Head Coach Mike Anhaeuser made nine changes to the starting XI for the match against Atlanta. Tah Brian Anunga, Ataulla Guerra, Joe Kuzminsky, and Jarad van Schaik all started on the bench. Prior to Saturday’s win over ATL UTD 2, Anunga had played every minute of every match for the Battery this season. The game against Atlanta provided Anhaeuser an opportunity to rest key players ahead of the clash with Cincinnati, while giving others the chance to step up in their absence.

Despite the wholesale changes to the team, the Battery continued their defensive dominance, earning their fifth clean sheet in a row and twelfth of the season, which is second-most in the USL. Odisnel Cooper earned his 40th career shutout in the match, setting the record for the USL modern era.

The Battery will put their 450 minute shutout streak on the line against one of the league’s best attacks Saturday night. Led by Emmanuel Ledesma and Daniel Konig, FC Cincinnati have scored 43 goals in 23 games this season. Both Ledesma and Konig have scored ten goals this season and Nazmi Albadawi is not far behind with seven.

FCC bolstered their attack three weeks ago with the signing of former Portland Timbers forward Fanendo Adi as a Designated Player ahead of their jump to MLS next year. Adi has played 30 minutes in his two appearances for Cincinnati this season, coming on as a substitute in their draw with Nashville SC on August 4 and win over Penn FC on August 12. FCC also added Fatai Alashe from the San Jose Earthquakes. Alashe has not made his FCC debut yet.

Regardless of who plays up front for Cincinnati, Saturday night will be a battle of one of the league’s best attacks versus one of the league’s strongest defenses. The Battery has only conceded 14 goals in twelve matches on the road this season. Eight of those goals came across two games: a 5-2 loss to NY Red Bulls II and a 3-3 draw with Indy Eleven. On the other side, FCC has scored 26 goals in 13 games at Nippert Stadium.

Much of the Battery’s defensive success this season has been credited to Anhaeuser’s choice to shift from a four back to a three back after the 5-2 defeat in New York. Cincinnati earned a 1-0 win at MUSC Health Stadium, the Battery’s only loss at home in 2018, in the season opener back in March, but the win came prior to the change in shape.  

Anhaeuser has never lost at Nippert Stadium. The Hall of Fame Head Coach is 1-0-2 all-time at Nippert, earning two regular season draws and a win in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in 2016. The Battery will need to continue their success against FCC Saturday night to keep the race at the top of the table tight. First-place Cincinnati has a five point lead on third-place Charleston with a game in hand.

Saturday’s match is the last of six straight home games for FCC; they’ll play seven of their final ten on the road, while the Battery will play five of their final nine matches at MUSC Health Stadium. Charleston will return home following the clash in Cincinnati to host New York Red Bulls II next Saturday, August 25.