Charleston Battery News Release -- www.charlestonbattery.com
Monday, May 28, 2012
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Charleston Battery take on Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday evening at Blackbaud Stadium; gates open at 6 p.m. with kick off set for 7:30 p.m. ($10 - $18, www.charlestonbattery.com / (843) 971-4625). The Battery advanced to the third round by defeating PDL side Reading United AC 2-1 in a second round match played last Tuesday night.
This will be the third time that the Battery has played New York in the Open Cup. The Battery defeated the NY/NJ MetroStars 4-1 in 2001. Then in 2004 the Battery knocked the Metrostars out of the Cup for a second time, winning a fourth round match by a score of 1-0. Both previous games were played at Blackbaud Stadium.
The Battery has also played the New York Red Bulls twice in the Carolina Challenge Cup preseason tournament, losing 1-0 in 2007 and earning a 1-1 tie in 2008.
New York are led by third-year head coach Hans Backe, who has guided his side to the top of MLS’s Eastern Conference in the first part of the 2012 season. Backe has assembled a marquee squad that includes World-Cup winner Thierry Henry and Mexican national team captain Rafa Marquez, although Marquez will be unavailable on Tuesday due to a call up from the Mexican National Team.
Roy Miller (Costa Rica), Joel Lindpere (Estonia) and Dane Richards (Jamaica) have all also been called up by their respective national teams for upcoming friendly matches and will miss the match against Charleston.
The winner of Tuesday’s game will advance to the fourth round to play the winner of the match between New England Revolution and the Harrisburg City Islanders match. If the Battery advances they would either host New England on Tuesday, June 5 or travel to Harrisburg for the fourth round fixture.
New York was a founding member of MLS (1996), but has gone through several name changes. The team was originally known as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars through 1997. From the 1998 season through the 2005 season, the team was known as simply the MetroStars. On March 9, 2006, the team was sold to Red Bull, leading to the team's current name.
Charleston Battery vs New York Red Bulls Tickets
Tickets for the Battery vs Red Bulls match are still available starting at just $10; to purchase tickets, for directions to Blackbaud Stadium or for more information please call (843) 971-GOAL (4625) or visit www.charlestonbattery.com.