|
Charleston Battery is an American professional soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the United Soccer League and, along with the Richmond Kickers, is the oldest continuously operating professional club in the United States. Charleston is one of the more successful lower division soccer teams in the United States, having previously won the USISL Pro League in 1996, the USL A-League in 2003, and the final season of the USL Second Division in 2010.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=United Soccer Leagues (USL) )〕 In 2012, the team won the USL Pro Championship, winning its fourth title in club history. The club has played its home games at the soccer-specific MUSC Health Stadium in the Daniel Island section of Charleston since 1999. The team's colors are black and yellow, with a traditional red scheme for away uniforms. Since 2005, their head coach and general manager has been Mike Anhaeuser. ==History== The Battery was formed in 1993 by an ownership group of local soccer enthusiasts led by Tony Bakker, a native of London who had relocated his software company Blackbaud to the Charleston area in 1989. The club hired experienced college coach and University of South Carolina graduate Tim Hankinson to develop the team, and the Battery started as a member of the USISL, which eventually evolved and came to be known as the USL in 1995. The Battery won the their first league championship in 1996 under Portuguese manager Nuno Piteira, defeating the Charlotte Eagles 3–2 in the final. In 1997 Charleston became one of the original clubs of the newly branded A-League (later the USL First Division). In 1999 the Battery moved into what is now known as MUSC Health Stadium, becoming the first non-Major League Soccer club in the United States to build its own stadium, and forged a reputation as one of the country's most well-established lower division clubs. The Battery hired veteran English coach Alan Dicks and signed many experienced domestic players such as Paul Conway, Dan Calichman and Eric Wynalda while also bringing in notable foreign signings such as Terry Phelan and Raul Diaz Arce. In 2001 Dicks was replaced by fellow Englishman Chris Ramsey, who led Charleston to the A-League championship in 2003 with a 3-0 victory in the final over Minnesota Thunder in Charleston. Following Ramsey's departure in 2004, the club promoted longtime player and assistant coach Mike Anhaeuser to be the club's new manager. In 2008 the Battery reached the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup final for the first time, playing against Major League Soccer team D.C. United at RFK Stadium.〔http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/aug/Charleston defeated the Richmond Kickers 2–1 to claim the championship, the third in the history of the club. 13/battery_stuffs_sounders50669/〕 In the final the Battery conceded an early goal but bounced back with a quick-fire equalizer through an Ian Fuller goal, assisted by Chris Williams. Later in the half Lazo Alavanja hit the post but at half time the scores were tied at 1–1. At the start of the second half Charleston conceded early again, but in the final seconds of extra time Marco Reda put the ball in the back of the net for Charleston, only to have his goal controversially disallowed as offside. D.C. United would go on to win the match 2–1. Charleston remain the most recent non-MLS club to play in the Open Cup final. In 2010 Charleston was invited by several other USL clubs to join the breakaway league eventually known as the North American Soccer League, but the Battery chose to remain in the USL system and self-relegate to the USL Second Division, which eventually became the chief USL professional division. In their first third division season in 2010, Charleston led the league standings for the entire year and went undefeated at home. Charleston defeated the Richmond Kickers 2–1 in the final to claim the club's third league championship. Lamar Neagle was named the USL-2 league MVP and lead the league in scoring with 13 league goals.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=United Soccer Leagues (USL) )〕 Anhaeuser was named the league's manager of the year, his second time receiving the honor.〔 In 2012 the Battery won their fourth league title in club history, defeating local rivals Wilmington Hammerheads 1-0 in the final. Micheal Azira scored a 74th-minute winner after Jose Cuevas slipped a pass to him on the left side of the penalty area. On January 23, 2014, it was announced that the Battery had signed a one-year deal to become the USL Pro affiliate of Vancouver Whitecaps FC. For the 2015 season, the Battery signed a one-year deal to affiliate with the Houston Dynamo on December 22, 2014. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Charleston Battery」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|