Battery offense batters Brooklyn to extend unbeaten run at home to 23 matches
· Yahoo Sports
MOUNT PLEASANT — Five different players scored as the Charleston Battery ran riot over Brooklyn FC in a dominant 5-0 victory at Patriots Point on Aug. 1.
Wilmer Cabrera, Maalique Foster, Laurent Kissiedou, Miguel Berry, Emilio Ycaza all scored as Charleston extended its undefeated streak in the regular season at home to 23 games dating back to last year. Luis Zamudio notched his fourth clean sheet in the win.
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“Tonight is a great game. We've been training all week. It's not about Brooklyn, it was about ourselves. That's the main thing this week, and we really go there and perform as we should,” Foster said. “It’s a physical game, so it’s always going to be battles and matchups. Once we have the fans, which is the 12th man, they call it, that always gives you a motivation, and you always take care of home.”
Charleston (9-6-3, 30 points) kicked off against Brooklyn amid the celebration of the 1996 USISL Pro League title-winning team at Patriots Point, aiming to harness that team’s championship energy to get back to winning ways.
The Battery opened the scoring after just 21 seconds when Cabrera knocked in a cross from Berry to put the Battery ahead 1-0. Foster initiated the play with a cross to Berry, who managed to reclaim possession from Brooklyn inside the box. From there, Berry sent the ball across the face of goal to Cabrera, who made an acrobatic effort to knock the ball in after beating his marker.
Cabrera’s goal at the 21 second mark was the fastest in the league this year, the Battery’s fastest goal in their USL Championship era and is tied for the 18th-fastest goal in league history.
The tally brings Cabrera’s goal total to four on the year and Berry’s assist total to three.
On the other end, Joey Akpunonu made a clutch goal-line clearance in the 9th minute to deny Markus Anderson after goalkeeper Zamudio was caught off his line.
Zamudio then made a pair of saves in quick succession, denying Juan Obregón both times, first a diving effort in the 10th minute and again in the 11th minute.
Foster broke through in the 43rd minute to put Charleston ahead 2-0. Douglas Martínez whipped a ball into the box from the right to Cabrera, whose effort was saved by Lukas Burns. However, Burns’ save was spilt and the rebound fell right to Foster, who was crashing into the box and slid in to knock the ball home.
Foster’s goal was his eighth of the season, and his sixth in league play.
Charleston went into the break leading 2-0. Brooklyn had three shots on target but Zamudio saved each attempt.
In the 54th minute, Laurent Kissiedou struck from distance to extend Charleston’s lead to 3-0. Foster controlled the ball along the right side of the attacking third, beating two defenders before playing a pass to Kissiedou. From there, Kissiedou created space for himself in the middle and teed up a stunning strike from outside the box that tucked just inside the post.
The goal and assist were Kissiedou’s and Foster’s third of the year across all competitions, respectively.
Berry advanced the Battery’s lead to 4-0 in the 57th minute, his first goal for the club at home. Kissiedou was at the center of the play with his pressure at the top of Brooklyn’s own box, expertly winning the ball from Gabriel Alves. He then played a clever no-look pass to Berry, who needed just one touch to settle before unleashing a strike to the far post.
Berry’s goal was his fifth of 2026 across all competitions, and Kissiedou’s assist was his first.
In the 61st minute, Berry nearly added another goal on a free-kick, but his bending effort hit off the woodwork.
Sean Suber appeared to score in the 73rd minute, but the referee’s flag was raised for offside.
Both teams were reduced to 10 men in the 79th minute when Charleston’s Kissiedou and Brooklyn’s Tommy McNamara were shown red cards following a coming together on the field.
The Battery tacked on an additional goal in the 90th minute via an Emilio Ycaza header to go up 5-0. Nathan Messer provided the stellar service on a free kick, and Ycaza flew in for the goal that capped off the night.
Charleston avenged an earlier loss against the New York club and snapped a four-game winless run.
“July wasn't a good month. We wanted a good response. I thought the boys were fantastic. I think it was a deserving result,” Battery coach Ben Pirmann said. “But, we need to handle those emotions a little better. But incredible effort. Scored early, kind of up and down, and then we put it to them. So, strong performance, good to get a shutout, good to respond well. Complete performance from the team and the players and the staff.”
Coming up
Charleston’s next two matches will be away, against Loudoun United FC on Aug. 8 and at Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Aug. 15.
The Battery’s next home game will be on Aug. 22 against Miami FC. Tickets for the match are on sale now via seatgeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.