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MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – The Charleston Battery dominated Rhode Island FC en route to a 2-0 victory on Saturday at Patriots Point. Cal Jennings’ brace in the first half and Luis Zamudio’s clean sheet powered Charleston to their first three points of 2025.
The Battery started the match with plenty of motivation behind them, from looking to bounce back from the Week 1 result to exacting revenge from last year’s Eastern Conference Final.
“Last year is over, they beat us and won the trophy and we didn’t. If we needed that for extra motivation this year, then so be it. Both teams are in 2025,” said Battery coach Ben Pirmann. “This is their first game, so they’re getting used to a few things. We needed to have a big response. It’s more about us, more about our actions, our attitude, our motivations and desire, versus our opponent. We knew going into the season, that we were playing probably the two best teams in the league. It’s good, it’s good. Three points, we’ll take it. Last year at this point, we only had two points. We just want to keep taking over and get better. And then in 14 days, we got to go to a tough North Carolina [team] and try to do it again.”
Rhode Island nearly scored first after two minutes, but squandered the opportunity when their dangerous cross inside the box was met without a receiver to knock it in.
The Battery had a moment of their own minutes later, when Juan David Torres’ long ball over the top eventually got to Cal Jennings inside the box, but Jennings’ shot was cleared off the line by Clay Holstad. The pairing of Torres and Jennings began to overwhelm Rhode Island early.
Charleston broke the game open in the 15th minute when Jennings struck off a Torres corner kick to give the Battery a 1-0 lead. Torres’ corner kick was pawed away by goalkeeper Koke Vegas, but Jennings shielded the ball brilliantly and then turned and shot the ball into the back of the net.
The goal was the first for Jennings in Battery colors.
“You always want to open the account, you never really know when it’s going to be, so to get on the scoresheet tonight to help the team win, that’s an awesome thing, and moving us in the right direction,” smiled Jennings. “We’ve spent a lot of time in training, working on it. We want to always get something out of a chance like that. Set pieces can be really dangerous opportunities and I felt like we executed really well. Juan served in a great ball and I’m just trying to do my role. Juan put it in a great place, and I saw it coming to me, and my eyes lit up, and I’m happy I got on the end of it. Always happy to score goals.”
As the half wore on, so did the Battery’s pressure on the visitors.
It was essentially déjà vu for Rhode Island when the Battery doubled their lead in the 37th minute. Torres lifted a corner kick toward goal and Jennings was there at the near post to head it home and make the score 2-0.
The first half brace doubled Jennings’ goal tally for 2025 and the assist was Torres’ first of the campaign.
“I don’t know when we scored our first goal, so I’m not sure if it was 15 minutes, we wanted to talk about our aggression, to be relentless, to play the game in their end, fight for goals, but also move the ball quickly, be vertical with our movements. We had two strikers up top that I think caused them problems with some physicality, because they’re good at that,” said Pirmann. “Then, the second phase was that we were breaking lines and turning and going. When you fight, it doesn’t matter the lineup and the systems and the strategy. When you fight, you’re going to put yourselves in good spots. I thought our front four with Juan David, Cal (and) Douglas (were) exceptional tonight, and Johnny Klein. I thought they did a very good job impacting the attacking half. We obviously got to be sharper. We got to fine-tune some things and be a little bit more selfless. But our action, our activities in the final third were very good.”
Charleston took the 2-0 lead into the break after holding Rhode Island to only two shots (0.07 xG) in the first half. The trio of Leland Archer, Graham Smith and Houssou Landry did amicable work to neutralize any advance by the visitors.
The Battery came out of the break swinging early, with Torres and Jennings leading the charge again. The Colombian played a sublime through ball to Jennings, but Jennings’ attempt for a hat trick was saved by Vegas.
Charleston’s defense would solidify more as the half wore on as they aimed to maintain the shutout. Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio made a crucial punch on a cross in the 53rd minute to keep Rhode Island at bay.
Johnny Klein nearly added a third goal for the Battery in the 67th minute when he sliced and diced through Rhode Island and into the box, but his shot was saved. On the opposite end, Klein blocked a Rhode Island shot in the 77th minute which was then cleared away by Houssou Landry.
Zamudio delivered in the 80th minute with a highlight-reel save to keep Rhode Island off the board. He again made a crucial save in the 88th minute to deny Joe Brito.
A noteworthy moment came in the 84th minute when Joey Akpunonu entered the game off the bench to officially make his Battery debut.
Charleston saw out the 2-0 victory, a bit of fitting revenge after last year’s Eastern Conference Finals against Rhode Island. After two draws in the initial two meetings between the sides, the result marks Charleston’s first-ever win over Rhode Island.
The shutout was Zamudio’s first of 2025 and with the Battery. He recorded two saves, six clearances, one high claim and two punches in the evening.
Leland Archer recorded match-highs with seven clearances and four interceptions. Juan David Torres led the game with five chances created.
Charleston will have a bye next weekend and their next match won’t be until the away fixture vs. North Carolina FC on Sat., March 29. The Battery’s next home match is on Sat., April 5, at 5:30 p.m. ET against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Tickets for the home game are on sale now via SeatGeek.com, the club’s exclusive digital ticketing provider.
LINEUPS AND SCORING SUMMARY
Lineups:
CHS: Zamudio, Blackstock, Archer, Smith, Dossantos, Molloy, Houssou, Torres (Drack, 89′), Klein (Akpunonu, 84’), Martinez (Ycaza, 75’), Jennings (Conway, 84’)
RI: Dikwa (Shapiro-Thompson, 78’), Okiyoshi (Stoneman, 70’), Kwizera, Ybarra (Herviaux, 57’), Rodriguez (Brito, 78’), Fuson, Sanchez (Williams, 57’), Nodarse, Yao, Holstad, Vegas
Scoring Summary
CHS: Cal Jennings, 15′
CHS: Cal Jennings (Juan David Torres), 37′
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(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the National Soccer Network regarding club/youth soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with ties to a particular state or states, contact Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com and news@nationalsoccernetwork.com, or call 248-525-2349. Dan Stickradt is a 32-year veteran of the Michigan and national media circles and recently joined the staff full time at PMG in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/NSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@thepremiermediagrp.com.)
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