USL PRO Season Preview
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
For Charleston Battery midfielder Nicki Paterson, one game in particular stands out from his club’s championship season in 2012.
“It just seemed to come to us on a road trip at the end of the season where we went to play Rochester,” Paterson said recently. “We beat them 4-0 on the road, and that just changed the whole mentality. The whole team just seemed to pull together, we found a starting 11 that was working and everybody was playing well and healthy, and we went on a four-, five-game winning streak at the end. It was just that relief that you could do it, and then as soon as Wilmington beat Orlando in the semifinal, and we knew we were hosting the final, I don’t think anybody on our team thought we were going to lose that game.”
The Battery’s run to the title was an impressive one, with the side finding the consistency it needed at just the right moment to make their run through the USL PRO Playoffs. Now, six months later, many familiar faces are back at Blackbaud Stadium as Charleston not only prepares to defend its title, but also aims to find greater consistency throughout the season.
While the club has lost some important pieces from last year, Tony Donatelli and Kyle Hoffer joining expansion club VSI Tampa Bay FC and Ryan Richter currently on trial with Toronto FC, when Paterson looks around the locker room, he sees a more experienced group than the Battery have had in recent seasons.
“Coach [Mike Anhaeuser] has picked up a few guys who will definitely fill the void of those guys leaving,” Paterson said, “and then guys like Jose Cuevas, going into his second year, John Wilson and Colin Falvey have been at the club for several years, I’m now in my third year here, Zach Prince is in his third year, there’s a lot of guys who aren’t rookies anymore.”
Cuevas in particular could be set for an even more successful campaign than 2012, which saw him claim Rookie of the Year honors. Paterson believes Cuevas has matured this offseason, now having a better understanding of what it takes to reach the next level thanks to a spell with the Seattle Sounders FC this preseason.
“The one thing anyone will know about Jose when you see him play is the boy’s got talent,” Paterson said. “He’s quicker than a lot of people give him credit for, his feet are really good, a lot of quality, but the most important thing for Jose is that he knows where the goal is, and whether it be a practice game in training, whether it be a league game, or whatever, we know that if he gets a chance, more often than not he’s going to score.
“He’s had a little taste of what training’s like in MLS with Seattle for a week, he knows the work those guys put in, and then the little things like his diet and the way he lives off the field, he’s only going to get better and better and better. If he keeps improving there, his output on the field is only going to get better, so I’m expecting the same, if not more from him this year.”
As for Paterson, he has some impressive performances to live up to himself. After scoring 18 goals in USL PRO’s regular season the past two years, taking All-League First Team honors in the process last fall, Paterson’s eye for goal has been a big key to the Battery’s success.
While Paterson certainly would like to match his goal-scoring performances of the past two seasons, however, his principle focus is on doing what he can to make sure the Battery’s title defense is a successful one.
“It’s funny, I remember the year before I scored eight goals and I thought to myself, ‘well, I’m up against it this year, I’m going to have to score eight goals just to keep the coach happy and the fans happy’,” Paterson said. “I didn’t know where those eight goals had come from, because I had been playing defensive midfield the year prior to that, so having scored eight, I was like, ‘if I can score eight again, I’ll be quite happy’, and then last year it was 12.”
“I wouldn’t say I surprised myself, because I always feel like I’m capable of scoring, but I’m excited to see how it goes again this year. If I don’t score 12 goals, if I score five and we win a championship again, that’s success for me. As everybody knows, I’m a team guy first and foremost, and if they need me to come up and score goals then I’ll do everything I can, wherever coach wants to play me.”
That attitude, and ability, was what caused the New York Red Bulls to take a long look at Paterson this offseason, with the 28-year-old being one of the last players released at the end of the preseason. The extended spell with New York has seen Paterson get some extra rest of late in the Battery’s preseason, with Anhaeuser making sure one of his key players is fresh to start the season. With the Battery now focused on their April 13th opener against Richmond, Paterson is eager for the new season, and the league’s new era, to arrive.
“These affiliations with MLS teams, the games between the MLS [reserve] teams [and USL PRO teams], just the overall level of things like the USL Combine, and guys who don’t catch on with MLS teams coming down, I think the relationship is huge,” Paterson said. “I would love to be 21 again and have the USL be at this stage. I think it’s exciting, and I think it’s only going to get better over the next few years.”