Who: TFC II (2-3-2, 8pts) vs. Charleston Battery (3-2-3, 12pts)
When: Saturday, May 14 at 7:30PM
Where: MUSC Health Stadium - Charleston, SC
Livestream: tfc2.ca
A busy week for the Young Reds will be capped by a visit to South Carolina for Saturday’s match against the Charleston Battery at MUSC Stadium.
Jason Bent’s side is riding high after defeating the Richmond Kickers 1-0 on Wednesday at the Ontario Soccer Centre. Substitute Sal Bernal scored the game’s only goal in the 75th minute after receiving an excellent ball from Adam Bouchard. T
oronto FC II will need more scoring from the likes of Bernal due to the absence of forwards Raheem Edwards and Jordan Hamilton, who are with Canada’s U23 team in the Caribbean. Edwards is the team’s leading goal scorer with four tallies on the year. Captain Chris Mannella and Skylar Thomas are also away with the Canadian National Team.
Others will have to step up in their absence. “A chance like this is big for the players who haven’t received many minutes this season to show the coaching staff they have something to prove,” said midfielder Malik Johnson.
Two players expected to feature on Saturday night in Charleston are Brian James and Wes Charpie, who did not play against the Kickers.
The Battery won their first road game of the season on Monday, defeating the Harrisburg City Islanders 3-2 at FNB Field. Romario Williams recorded his team leading fifth goal of the season. Williams, on loan from the Montreal Impact, has been a revelation for head coach Mike Anhaeuser’s side.
Like Bent, Anhaeuser has rotated his squad heavily with four games in two days. He employed two very different lineups in Charleston’s past two games, but look for the likes of Williams, Shawn Ferguson and Justin Portillo, the spine of the Battery, to start on Saturday night.
Players to Watch
Romario Williams. The Montreal Impact picked Williams with the third overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, but the Jamaican striker has only made two appearances with the big club thus far. He’s finding his footing with the Battery, however, and ranks third in the league in scoring.
Maikel Chang. The 25-year-old Cuban playmaker has an interesting connection with Toronto. He defected to the United States in 2012 while with the Cuban national team in Toronto when they were set to take on Canada in World Cup Qualifying.
Toronto FC II take on the Charleston Battery this Saturday, May 14 at 7:30 PM ET. Follow along on Twitter @TorontoFCII using the hashtag #CHSvTOR and watch the action via livestream at tfc2.ca
