First-half goals keep Battery in first place

The Charleston Battery had a week to work on its game after a 3-1 home loss to Puerto Rico, but the layoff may have proven beneficial in more ways than one.

Charleston bounced back with a 2-0 victory over Portland Saturday night at Blackbaud Stadium, giving the Battery (9-4-3, 30 points) sole possession of the USL First Division lead.

"We were very solid defensively," said Battery coach Mike Anhauser. "They were lumping it into the box and trying to cause us problems, but other than a couple free kicks and corners, they didn't have too much to put us under pressure."

Charleston led 2-0 at halftime after a goal by forward Darren Spicer in the

27th minute and a goal by midfielder Stephen Armstrong in the 32nd minute.

Spicer came on as a substitute in the sixth minute after an ankle injury to Lazo Alavanja.

Spicer scored off an assist from Marco Reda.

Armstrong's goal came off an assist from Randi Patterson.

"I thought it was a very good first half," Anhaeuser said. "Unfortunately, we had the injury but Darren stepped in and got a goal for us right away.

"Then it was a great goal by Stephen Armstrong. That was just a great first-time shot. You don't see that very often, but he has the quality to do that. Then we just killed the game off."

Charleston's fresh legs may have made a difference Saturday night. The Battery had not played since last Saturday, while the Timbers were playing less than 24 hours after a 1-1 tie at Atlanta.

"It was very humid for both teams," Anhaeuser said. "They played last night and I think even our guys got caught up in playing with some heavy legs."

Saturday night's game closed out a five-game homestand for Charleston, and now the schedule gets really hectic for the Battery.

The Battery will play seven USL First Division games, five of them on the road, before its U.S. Open Cup semifinal against the Seattle Sounders on Aug. 12 at Blackbaud Stadium.

Next up, Charleston heads to the West Coast for games against Vancouver on Wednesday and, in a preview of the U.S. Open Cup semifinal, a match against Seattle on Saturday.

The Battery's next home match will come Aug. 3 against Vancouver.

"We've got to take care of some injuries and get some guys healthy, and now we've got to take it on the road," Anhaeuser said.

Reach Charles Bennett at cbennett@postandcourier.com.