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The Battery announced the lineup for the 2010 version of the Carolina Challenge Cup, March 13-20. Real Salt Lake, DC United and Toronto will be visiting and those last 2 teams will bring a fair amount of traveling fans to Chucktown. Try to make it out to the matches, it's always a fun time. Here are a couple articles:

MLS champion Salt Lake in field

MLS Champions Real Salt Lake to play in 2010 Carolina Challenge Cup

I will try to make it to at least one game, will try to take pictures and record some on my cell phone and upload the video on youtube.

Thanks for the info!

Games start Saturday and the weather is supposed to clear up and be great. Come on out to the park and welcome the spring.

Anyone have an updated roster for the Battery?

Sorry, but I do have one for the ball boys (girls).
Game 1 at 5pm: Real Salt Lake vs. DC United.

Allie, Jordan, Rachael, Kyle, Emelia, Darby, Katie, Alecia, Emma Grace, and Kennedy.

Please cheer them on and give them a wave. They need a smile after a 0-3 start.

Article in the paper today.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/mar/13/lowcountry-success-leads-to-mls-awards/

Article from Battery website:


http://www.charlestonbattery.com/matches_previews.asp?cid=442

The roster on their website doesn't seem to be current. They've announced John Wilson, Steven Armstrong and Ian Fuller all coming back. Ian in a coach/player role. Some more SC connections....Hunter Gilstrap and Zach Prince are on trial and will most definitely see action this week. The Battery uses the tournament to evaluate players. Kinda quickly separates the wheat from the chaff. Here's a listing of trialists posted on that bs soccer forum:

Chris Cutshaw
Keven Jackson
John Gruenewald
Levi Coleman
Mike Zaher
Brandon massie
Hunter Gilstrap
Chris Murray
Zack Prince
Sani Abdullahi
Lance Laing

2-1 DC over Real Salt Lake in the 1st course
0-0 draw between the Battery and Toronto in the nightcap. Pretty even actually, I'd be worried if I was Preki (the Toronto coach). The Battery have only trained 3 days...I'm always amazed they don't get blown out every game in this tournament when the MLS teams have been together since the start of the year. Good crowd, 3,300+ announced.

From the Chuckie paper: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/mar/14/charleston-optimistic-after-opening-match/

I heard on the news down there that the Battery were now in USL2. This doesn't make sense to me. Is it true? (Guess I can check out their web site).

all you want to know ... USLFans.com -- For the Fans, By the Fans

Charleston, SC. In a continued effort to provide the Charleston community with an entertaining, successful and stable professional soccer team, the Charleston Battery will play in the United Soccer Leagues Second Division (USL2) for the 2010 season. As a USL professional franchise since 1993, the Battery has been a part of Charleston’s rich history and culture for 17 years, winning national championships in 1996 and 2003.

The Charleston Battery joins a league of stable franchises in USL2 that have been a part of USL for many years – Richmond Kickers (since 1993), Charlotte Eagles (1993), Pittsburgh Riverhounds (1999), Harrisburg City Islanders (2004) and Real Maryland Monarchs (2008).

"We believe that the level of competition in USL2 will be very similar to that in USL1 and we expect to field a very exciting and competitive team. We also look forward to renewing old rivalries with Richmond and Charlotte” said Battery President Andrew Bell. “Playing in this division will also substantially reduce our travel costs as we won’t be flying all over the country”, he added.

The current United Soccer Leagues First Division (USL1) is experiencing some difficulties with a group of owners known as the Team Owners Association (TOA) looking to breakaway and form a rival league. The TOA was formed in early 2008 by owners of USL1 franchises to address ownership and management issues. At that time every USL1 team was a member of the TOA with the exception of the Charleston Battery.

An excerpt from an interview with USL Commissioner Tim Holt explains Division 2 (link below). The Battery has dropped down to D2 as a cost cutting measure:

IMS: The USL also lost some teams in USL-2 this past year. Charleston dropped from USL-1 to USL-2 but that still is only 6 teams active for this season. FIFA normally requires 8 teams to run a league. I am hearing that you are working hard on an expansion of USL-2 (D-3). Can you give us any insights into that and where will these teams be coming from?


HOLT: USL-2 is the only USSF-sanctioned DIII Men’s Professional League and the longest-standing active American professional soccer league. No different than USL-1, the main characteristics for USL-2 include a high level of on-field competition, teams positioned to achieve profitability through the support of the USL office/structure, and a connection with our fans in all markets. Although it typically doesn’t get the same spotlight as USL-1, USL-2 is a very important league within our structure and the one which has the most immediate growth opportunity.

We will be expanding USL-2 to form a Western Conference for 2011, which will be comprised of some current PDL teams and expansion teams. At this base level of professional soccer maintaining regional competition and controlling expenses is imperative so there will not be teams traveling coast-to-coast with any regularity except for the post-season. Most USL-2 teams operate on a low to mid six-figure budget and are heavily reliant on local sponsorship, ticket sales, and camp revenue to cover expenses. The current roster of teams for 2010 includes amongst the best operated organizations in the USL system including the likes of the Charleston Battery, Charlotte Eagles and Richmond Kickers and boasts an average of 12 years of USL pro league participation. We believe that this regional competition format model is ideal for lower division professional soccer and that the next 3-5 years will represent a renaissance period for USL-2.

http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2010/03/09...-of-the-league/

We live in a crazy society when U-15 girls can "afford" to play in a national league but USL professional men can't. It appears they can only make it work regionally.

What's wrong with this picture?!?!