April 13, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release
INDIANAPOLIS – The Charleston Battery secured a 2-4 comeback victory over Indy Eleven at Carroll Stadium on Saturday, reaffirming their place atop the Eastern Conference standings. Emilio Ycaza scored in the 19th minute but the Battery quickly found themselves down 2-1 shortly after. Nick Markanich leveled the score before halftime, and an Indy own goal and tally by MD Myers sealed Charleston’s second consecutive win.
MATCH PHOTOS AND HIGHLIGHTS
The win concluded a challenging stretch of three games in eight days, two of which were on the road, as the Black and Yellow persevered to secure seven points out of a possible nine in that span.
Indy started the match on the front foot, well-rested after not playing since the previous weekend while the Battery navigated a midweek match and travel prior to Saturday’s game. Goalkeeper Adam Grinwis made his first save of the night just 24 seconds in to deny Jack Blake.
Charleston absorbed Indy’s early pressure and responded by scoring the opening goal in the 19th minute through Emilio Ycaza. The threat began with Ycaza winning possession in the attacking half, and then he and Nick Markanich ran a give-and-go in the final third. Markanich assisted Ycaza’s first-time strike to take the lead.
The goal and assist were Ycaza and Markanich’s first of the year, respectively. It was Ycaza third consecutive match with a goal involvement against Indy dating back to 2023 (2G, 1A).
Indy managed to score a pair of goals in rapid succession via Tega Ikoba (27′) and Sebastian Guenzatti (28′) to claim a 2-1 lead at the half-hour mark.
Despite trailing, Charleston remained steadfast in looking to level the score. Markanich did that in stoppage time right before halftime with a stunning strike to the top corner from outside the box. The forward intercepted Indy’s attempt to regain possession and did the rest from there to score his sixth goal of the season.
The late equalizer sent the teams into the break tied at 2-2. Charleston held just under 60% of possession but were out-shot three-to-10 in the opening 45 minutes.
It was all to play for in the second half and neither team showed interest in settling for a point out of the interval. Markanich and Graham Smith each recorded shots in the opening minutes and Augi Williams sent in a shot on target in the 56th minute that drew a routine save from Grinwis. Williams was kept at bay by the back line and only…