Battery, Thunder battle to draw in defensive struggle

Battery 1, Thunder 1

They say defense wins championships, but it's not always enough to win individual games.

Despite a strong defensive effort, the Battery had to settle for a draw Friday night against Minnesota.

Lazo Alavanja scored for Charleston and Ricardo Sanchez had a goal for Minnesota as the Battery and Thunder had to settle for a 1-1 draw Friday night before a crowd of 4,870 at Blackbaud Stadium.

With the draw, Charleston is 6-3-3 (21 points) on the season and remained in second place in the USL First Division. Minnesota is 4-4-4 (16 points).

The Battery was forced to play without leading striker Randi Patterson, who was suspended for one game by the league after getting a red card in last week's 1-0 loss to the Montreal Impact.

Despite playing without Patterson, the league's second-leading scorer with six goals, the Battery still outshot the Thunder, 7-5, and had more than its share of scoring chances.

"We're not going to make excuses because Randi was out of the lineup," said Charleston coach Mike Anhaeuser. "There are going to be times when guys are not in the lineup and we need someone else to step up and get the job done. I thought we had some forwards that played very well and created some chances for us."

The Battery was solid defensively, as the Thunder didn't get its first shot on target until early in the second half.

"We just gave up a goal on a great strike — a wonder shot," Anhaeuser said. "I thought we did very well defensively. We really limited their chances. They scored on a laser from about 25 to 30 yards out, and that doesn't happen very often. It's an unfortunate result considering how well we played defensively."

The best scoring chance of the first half for either team came off the foot of Alavanja in the 35th minute. After a turnover near midfield, Alavanja nearly caught Minnesota keeper Nick Platter sleeping when he blasted a shot from about 50 yards out that just sailed over the crossbar.

"Lazo got everyone off their feet with that attempt," Anhaeuser said. "He tried to catch their keeper napping, and he almost pulled it off."

The Battery grabbed a 1-0 lead on Alavanja's header in the 55th minute. After a strong buildup inside Thunder territory, Chris Williams got the ball on the right side just outside the 18-yard box. Williams took two strong dribbles and crossed the ball to Alavanja, who easily beat Platter with the header for the score.

"A great cross from Chris, and I've always felt like Lazo is great in the air, he just doesn't show it very often," Anhaeuser said.

The Thunder answered almost immediately on Sanchez's blast from 30 yards out. Sanchez appeared to want to pass on his initial touch, but then wound up and blasted a shot past Charleston keeper Dusty Hudock for the score.

"That's the second time we've given up a goal from distance," said Charleston defender Nelson Akwari. "You've got to give (Sanchez) credit because he hit it well, but Montreal got a goal just like that, so we should have learned our lesson."

Alavanja nearly got his second goal of the night in the 60th minute, but his attempt from about 12 yards out hit the right post.

"I thought their keeper got a piece of that ball," Anheauser said. "If he doesn't get a piece of that ball, Lazo tucks that into the near corner."

Headers

--Defender Brandon Curran and midfielder David Kenga were out with injuries.

--Defender Marco Reda was available as a substitute after missing the last six games with a high ankle sprain and a strained calf muscle.

Reach Andrew Miller at apmiller@postandcourier.com.