Charleston Battery forward Dane Kelly opened the scoring in the second minute and added his second of the game with a brilliant 25-yard blast in the second half to lead the hosts past Dante Leverock and his Harrisburg City Islanders teammates 4-1 at Blackbaud Stadium.
The win lifted the Battery past rival Richmond for second place in the Eastern Conference heading into Friday’s showdown with undefeated, first-place Rochester.
Charleston also picked up goals from defender Taylor Mueller and forward Ricky Garbanzo in the first and second halves, respectively. Mueller volleyed in a deflected free kick from his spot near the right post in the 39th minute, and Garbanzo picked up his fourth league goal in the 75th minute when Maikel Chang bounced a shot off the right post and the rebound fell to the rookie in front of an open net.
The City Islanders got on the scoreboard in the 89th minute after referee Neil Barbulescu awarded a Harrisburg penalty. Substitute forward Brett Jankouskas put it away to blemish what would have otherwise been the first clean sheet of Battery goalkeeper Kevin Corby’s young USL career. The win was Corby’s first in four starts, and featured five saves and solid play for 90 minutes.
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