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Battery returns to friendly confines against Islanders

It has been a tale of two seasons for the Charleston Battery this summer.

In the friendly confines of Blackbaud Stadium, the Battery have been nearly unbeatable with a 9-2-2 mark in USL First Division play. But traveling away from the Lowcountry has been an entirely different story as the third-place Battery has just one win in 12 road matches.

The Battery will take on second-place Puerto Rico tonight at 8 at Blackbaud Stadium.

"It does seem like it has been two different seasons for us," said Charleston captain Nelson Akwari. "At home we've played with a lot of confidence. We've been able to keep our shape defensively, possess the ball offensively and then score when we've gotten our chances.

"It's not like we've played that badly on the road, but it seems like every mistake we've made has ended up in the back of our net. It's something that we've got to correct if we're going to get very far in the playoffs."

Charleston keeper Dusty Hudock said the team needs to be less aggressive and tougher mentally away from home.

"I think a different style needs to be played on the road than what we play at home," Hudock said. "I think we need to be a little more conservative on the road, a little more careful about making mistakes. We've got to be a little stronger mentally."

The Battery spent the better part of June and July in first place in the USL First Division with a front-loaded home schedule. But with just three home games over the final seven weeks of the season, the Battery is 1-7-4 on the road and tied for third with Seattle.

"We knew how important those home games were early in the season for us," said Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser said. "We knew we needed to get some wins under our belt early in the season because it's tough to get points on the road. I don't think we've played that badly on the road. We've certainly played well enough to get a win or a draw in a couple of different cases."

The Battery returns home for the first time since Aug. 3 when it beat first-place Vancouver, 2-0. That was also the Battery's last victory.

"It'll be good to be back home again," Akwari said. "We think we're pretty invincible at home." The Islanders are already 2-0 against the Battery this season. Puerto Rico beat the Battery 2-1 this past weekend and 3-1 at Blackbaud Stadium on July 12.

The Islanders are coming off a 1-1 draw Wednesday night against Alajuelense, a club from Costa Rica, which captured the 2004 CONCACAF Champions Cup title.

"We played well down at their place over the weekend, but we couldn't finish the game," Anhaeuser said. "We played well for a half against them back in July. We've got to put a complete game together against them in order to beat them. Right now, they're playing as well as anyone in the league."

Reach Andrew Miller at apmiller@postandcourier.com and check out the Battery blog at www.charleston.net/blogs/battery.

Puerto Rico at Charleston

When: Tonight, 8 p.m.

Where: Blackbaud Stadium

Records: Puerto Rico 13-6-5 (44 points); Charleston 10-9-6 (36 points).

Tickets: 971-4625.

TV: Fox Soccer Channel