Battery expects battle

Provided

Mike Anhaeuser

Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser has been in the other locker room many times during his career.

Anhaeuser knows the emotions and intensity a team from a lower division can bring to a match because he has been on the other side when the Battery takes on a team from Major League Soccer.

This time it's Anhaeuser and the Battery that have the targets on their backs.

The Battery takes on the ASC New Stars, an amateur team based out of Houston, in the opening round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tonight at 7:30 at Blackbaud Stadium.

"They don't have anything to lose and everything to gain," Anhaeuser said. "I've been there as a player and a coach. You work extra hard when you're playing against a team in a higher division. We know they're going to put everything forward and aren't going to quit until the last whistle. We have to be ready for that and match their intensity level."

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation's national championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest annual team tournament in the United States and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world having crowned a champion for 94 consecutive years dating back to 1914. In 1999, the

competition was renamed to honor longtime soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.

The ASC New Stars qualified for the U.S. Open Cup through the U.S. Amateur Soccer Association Region III tournament. This will be the New Stars' first appearance in the national competition. The New Stars qualified with a 2-0-1 record, and won their group by a single point.

The New Stars lost the Region III Final 2-1 to the Clearwater Galactics (USASA, Florida) who also qualify for the U.S. Open Cup.

"I think over the years we've done a really good job of making sure we don't focus on where a team plays or what division they play in," Anhaeuser said. "They've obviously had success and that's what I've told our guys. They had a very good tournament in their region, so we've got to be prepared for anything.

"We need to come out and play like we need to play, and that's been our focus the last couple of days. When you're a professional, you should be prepared to play every time you step on the field."

The Battery won three games in last summer's tournament, defeating the Central Florida Kraze, the El Paso Patriots and Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo before falling to MLS' FC Dallas in the quarterfinals.

Charleston has twice advanced to the semifinal stage of the tournament (1999 and 2004), but has never reached the final.

"This is a big tournament for the club," Anhaeuser said. "We take the Open Cup seriously, where some teams don't look at it as highly. We look at it as an opportunity for our players, for the club and for the community because if you manage to win a couple of games, you can bring in some big-name clubs down the road."

Some of the more established Battery veterans might see only limited action against the ASC New Stars.

"Some of the guys who have not played as much are probably going to get a chance to play," Anhaeuser said. "The guys on the bench are trying to prove they belong in the starting lineup. If they perform (tonight), then they'll get a look and a chance to play more. If they don't, then they probably don't get a chance to break into the starting lineup.

"Some of the older guys might not get much playing time. We've got a couple of guys with some injuries. Some of the younger guys are going to get a chance to show what they can do."

Reach Andrew Miller at apmiller@postandcourier.com and check out the new Battery blog at, www.charleston.net/blogs/battery/.