Charleston Battery News Release -- www.charlestonbattery.com
Friday, August 24, 2012
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Charleston Battery square off with the Harrisburg City Islanders in a USL PRO Playoffs quarterfinal on Saturday night at Blackbaud Stadium; gates open at 6 p.m. with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. If the Battery advances it will move on to face the Rochester Rhinos in a semifinal match in Rochester on Friday, August 31.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast live locally on 1340 AM with the pre-game show starting at 7:15 p.m. Playoff tickets are on sale now starting at just $10; to purchase tickets please call (843) 971-GOAL (4625) or visit www.charlestonbattery.com.
The Battery clinched the No.3 seed in USL PRO and with it the right to host a quarterfinal match. The sixth-seeded Harrisburg City Islanders defeated the Los Angeles Blues 1-0 last Sunday night in the final game of the USL PRO regular season to earn their berth in the postseason, edging past the Charlotte Eagles by one point.
The Battery played the Harrisburg City Islanders twice in the regular season winning 3-1 at home on June 23 behind goals from Jose Cuevas, Navion Boyd and Ryan Richter. Charleston lost the return match 3-0 in Harrisburg on August 8.
Saturday’s game will mark the first time that Charleston and Harrisburg have met in a playoff game. In 2011 the City Islanders advanced to the USL PRO Championship match, losing in a penalty-kick shootout to Orlando City.
The Battery were also eliminated by Orlando City in 2011, losing a quarterfinal match 3-1 in overtime in a game played at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
The Battery have advanced to the postseason 17 times in the past 20 years missing out on three occasions in 2004, 2005 and 2007. Charleston has won three championships in 1996, 2003 and 2010.
USL PRO playoff matches are single elimination; if Saturday’s game is tied after 90 minutes there will be 30 minutes of overtime followed by penalty kicks if necessary.