Battery hopes to return to USL playoffs

The Charleston Battery is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2007 season that saw the USL first division soccer team go 8-14-6 overall and miss the playoffs.

If the Battery hopes to return to the postseason for the second time in three years, it will have to answer these five questions:

1. Can the Battery win on the road?

Had the Battery won just one more game on the road in 2007, it would have qualified for the postseason.

The Battery was a dismal 2-11-1 in road games last season.

'Our biggest problem on the road last season came on defense,' said Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser. 'If you can defend properly on the road it gives you a better chance to win. If we can defend a little better than we did last year, I think we can get five, six or seven wins on the road and be in the playoffs again.

'If the game is a little more boring for the fans that helps when you're playing on the road. You want to limit the home team's chances and take advantage of the ones you get.'

The Battery opened the 2008 regular-season with a 2-2 draw against Miami FC on the road.

2. Can the Battery finally replace defender Mark Watson?

For the last two seasons, the Battery has searched for a strong middle defender in the back of their formation.

The Battery gave up 39 goals a year ago, which was third-worst in the USL First Division.

Charleston has added three former Major League Soccer defenders in Marco Reda, John Wilson and Nelson Akwari, who all can play in the middle.

'I feel like we've definitely got a core group of guys that can get the job done in the back,' Anhaeuser said. 'Marco has eight years of pro experience and Nelson has six years of experience at the professional level. John Wilson can play in the middle if we need him, so we're a lot deeper and a lot more experienced in the back than we were a year ago.

'We don't have to rely on rookies like we did last year and it's not something that we're having to work on a lot during practice because the guys know where they need to be.'

3. Will the Battery have a 10-goal scorer this season?

Stephen Armstrong was the only 10-goal scorer for the Batter in 2007. When the Battery advanced to the USL First Division semifinals in 2006, Gavin Glinton and Ben Hollingsworth each had 13 goals and Armstrong added eight goals.

The Battery was among the league leaders in goals scored in 2007, but Armstrong is more of a center midfielder than a pure goal scorer.

Striker Randi Patterson was a prolific goal scorer at UNC Greensboro and Aaron King, who had four goals last season, has made strides from last season.

'Aaron and Randi are two guys that have the potential to score for us,' Anhaeuser said. 'We've got other guys that have the ability chip in as well.'

Anhaeuser believes that Ian Fuller can score as long as he stays healthy.

'I'm not sure if we've got that one guy that is going to score 13, 14 or 15 goals,' Anhaeuser said. 'Ian needs to stay healthy and I think Lazo Alavanja is a guy that put the ball in the back of the net.'

4. Can the Battery roll up enough points from its home games?

Like most USL First Division teams located in the South, Charleston has a front-loaded schedule with 12 of 15 home games to start the season. The Battery was a respectable 6-3-5 at home in 2007.

'It's like that every season,' Anhaeuser said. 'You want to get as many points at home as possible. If you can get 30 points from your home games, you should be in a pretty good position at the end of the season.'

The Battery will have just three home games after July 23.

5. Can the Battery avoid injuries?

Charleston didn't have a ton of injuries in 2007, but the ones they did have hurt in more ways than one.

Ian Fuller (hamstring) and Kevin Nylen (broken leg) missed most of the season with injuries.

'We didn't have a lot of depth a year ago, so when we did have injuries, it really put us behind the eight ball,' Anhaeuser said.

Fuller (hamstring) and Chris Corcoran (Achilles' tendon) have missed most of the preseason with injuries, but Anhaeuser said he feels better about the team's depth.

Reach Andrew Miller at apmiller@postandcourier.com.