Preseason Continues for The Battery
Posted 06:34 p.m., April 3, 2008
I’ve been stuck in Stingrays land for the past week or so, but I’m back, at least for a couple of days.
I’m hoping to update The Battery blog on a regular basis – at least a couple of times a week – until the end of the season.
OK, so let’s catch up on some Battery news.
The Battery is less than 10 days away from its season opener against Miami FC on April 12. The game with Miami is on the road. The Battery will have its home opener on April 19 against the Seattle Sounders, the defending USL First Division champions. The Sounders have signed every starting player that played in last year’s championship game, which is rare at the minor league level. The Battery will find out a lot about themselves against Seattle and Miami.
Of the 270 minutes Charleston played during Carolina Challenge Cup, the Battery looked solid in 225 minutes. They had one bad half against San Jose, but other than that, they looked to be a much-improved squad from last season, especially defensively.
On the subject of defense, however, the Battery appears to have lost defender Jack Stewart to a team in Norway. Stewart didn’t play in the final CCC game against Toronto, a 2-0 win for the Battery, as he was leaving for Europe. Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser isn’t optimistic that Stewart will be back. That still leaves Marco Reda as the anchor in the middle and the former MLS defender has looked sharp in the preseason.
The Battery is still missing two key players – Stephen Armstrong and Lazo Alavanja. Both are playing in the MISL – Armstrong for the Chicago Strom and Lazo for the New Jersey Ironmen.
The regular season for Chicago and New Jersey is nearly over, but it looks like Chicago will make the playoffs. Both teams are on the postseason buddle. Steve is fourth on the Storm in scoring with 47 points, while Lazo is third on the Ironmen in scoring with 51 points.
Anhaeuser is hoping that both players will be back by the Battery’s home opener with Seattle. Augie isn’t optimistic about getting either back for the Battery’s opener against Miami.
Someone asked me earlier about Andre Toussaint’s status. Toussaint was in camp earlier, saw some action in the first game of the CCC against New York, and hasn’t been seen since. According to sources, he is no longer with the team and I say good riddance. He had flashes of brilliance when he first arrived last summer, but the guy was the “Human Dive” in my opinion. And before you soccer nuts come out and bash me, “diving” isn’t a part of the game Writhing in pain on the field when you’ve been tripped up doesn’t make the game beautiful, just the opposite as a matter of fact. I’m sure Puerto Rico has some spots left on their roster for Toussaint’s antics.
Striker Randi Patterson continues to impress. He had two goals against Toronto in the CCC and has followed that up with a goal against Duke and the Charlotte Eagles, a USL Second Division team, Wednesday night.
I was told that Patterson will be here for the entire season. An MLS team would have to pay a pretty hefty “transfer” fee to get him out and most MLS teams are not likely to do that.
The Battery rebounded from a “hangover” performance against Duke – a 2-1 loss to the Blue Devils – with a solid outing against Charlotte on Wednesday. Anhaeuser thought the team was just a little sluggish against Duke because of the success they had against the MLS teams in the CCC.
See you on The Pitch,
APM
Comments
Posted by Mikey on April 4 at 6:40 a.m.
Stewart in the back would have given the team some needed depth in the back line. Hopefully the defense can stay healthy and the backline consistant this season.
Toussaint seemed to start brightly and then just fade. Not sure what happened with him.
If the Battery finallize the deal with Agulera and Alonso, im thinking Lazo might have a hard time cracking the line up. But I heard a rumor from a friend of a friend he was coming back as a player/assistant coach role this season, much like watson was his final playing year. Hopefully he will play with some passion this season and not look bored out there.
Once again thanks for the blog,
mikey
Posted by TPLesesne on April 4 at 3:16 p.m.
I think Nelson Akwari will help fill the void left by Jack Stewart's going to Norway.
Post a comment