(April 12, 2025) — A first-half lead slipped away from the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, as goals by Aaron Molloy and Cal Jennings gave the Charleston Battery a 2-1 win tonight at Patriots Point Soccer Complex in Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Bradley Sample opened the scoring for the Hounds (2-2-1) shortly before halftime, but the Battery (3-2-0) came back with goals in the 67th and 80th minute to snap the Hounds’ two-match winning streak.
Eric Dick made a season-high six saves for the Hounds, who trailed in possession for the first time all season with only 37.2 percent of the ball
First half
The game opened up with much of the play locked in the middle of the field, but Augi Williams was able to get the only shot on goal in the first 20 minutes with some clever footwork in the box, forcing a save from former Hounds goalkeeper Luis Zamudio in the Battery net.
Dick came up with his biggest stop of the first half in the 32nd minute, when Jennings broke into the box on a counter attack. The striker’s initial shot was saved by Dick diving to his right, and the goalkeeper recovered across the face of goal quickly to force MD Myers to shoot wide on the follow-up attempt.
The Hounds opened the scoring right on the 40-minute mark, when the Battery were unable to fully clear a Robbie Mertz free kick. The ball fell to Sample at the top of the box, and the midfielder placed a left-footed shot through traffic and into the right side of the net for his first of the season.
The half ended with Battery receiving a penalty kick after Dick was ruled to have tripped Jennings while sliding to collect a loose ball wide of the goal. Any controversy over the call was forgotten moments later after Jennings, the Battery’s top scorer, fired the spot kick well over the goal.
Second half
The Battery’s possession forced the Hounds to do lots of defending in the second half, and eventually the home side broke through.
Juan Torres forced a low pass forward to Myers, who laid a pass back to Molloy standing 25 yards from goal. The Irish midfielder took two touches to his right before teeing up a shot that sailed its way into the top right side of the net to tie the match.
Dick came up with another big save minutes later, diving to stop a free kick by Torres and scrambling the rebound out of play while on the ground. But in the 80th minute, Torres slipped another pass through to Jennings running into the right side of the penalty area, and the striker finished with a shot across the goal and inside the back post.
Modelo Man of the Match
Despite having his two-match shutout streak broken, Eric Dick kept the Hounds in tonight’s match with six saves, more than doubling his total of five from the first four matches. It tied his second-highest saves total as a member of the Hounds, trailing only his eight-save performance on Aug. 3 last season in a win at Sacramento.
What’s next?
The Hounds have a quick turnaround to get ready for the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. They will face Columbus Crew 2 out of MLS Next Pro at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio.
Riverhounds SC lineup (4-2-3-1) — Eric Dick; Junior Etou, Sean Suber, Illal Osumanu (Pablo Linzoain 81’), Luke Biasi; Jackson Walti, Beto Ydrach (Jorge Garcia 81’); Robbie Mertz (Jason Bouregy 81’), Danny Griffin, Bradley Sample (Aidan O’Toole 66’); Augi Williams (Max Broughton 66’)
Charleston Battery lineup (4-2-3-1) — Luis Zamudio; Nate Dossantos, Joey Akpunonu, Leland Archer, Nanan Houssou;, Aaron Molloy, Chris Allan; Emilio Ycaza (John Klein 66’), MD Myers (Jackson Conway 90+1’), Juan Torres (Mark Segbers 90+1’); Cal Jennings (Langston Blackstock 84’)
Scoring summary
PIT — Bradley Sample 40’
CHS — Aaron Molloy 67’ (MD Myers)
CHS — Cal Jennings 80’ (Juan Torres)
Discipline summary
CHS — Juan Torres 21’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Augi Williams 56’ (caution – persistent infringement)
CHS — Leland Archer 60’ (caution – reckless foul)
