MOUNT PLEASANT, North Carolina, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago international Leland Archer rolled his penalty wide as Charleston Battery lost a tense shootout to give Phoenix Rising FC victory in the United Soccer League Championship final here Sunday.
Taking the third penalty for Battery with his side leading 2-1 at Patriots Point, the 27-year-old center-back struck his attempt wide off the left uprights, opening the door for a Rising comeback.
Erickson Gallardo stepped up to convert for Phoenix and level the scores, but Chris Allan and Derek Dodson both missed, while Manuel Arteaga netted for Rising to give them their first-ever USL title.
“I feel like we let it down because when you do everything right, why didn’t it work out? [We were] unlucky,” said head coach Ben Pirmann.
“We’re disappointed. Our trophy was right there at our fingertips. It just didn’t work out, but the boys played so well.
“We feel disappointed that we didn’t get the win and didn’t get to lift that trophy, but I’m so proud of this group.”
The contest had ended in a 1-1 stalemate following regular and extra time, forcing the deceive penalty shootout.
Battery led most of the game through Nick Markanich’s 36th-minute goal, the 23-year-old slotting home from close range after being set up by Mark Segbers’s cutback from the byline.
And that lead held until the 90th when John Stenberg arrived in the box unchallenged to nod in Mohamed Traore’s cross, with Rising piling on the pressure for an equalizer.
Archer played a crucial role in Battery’s road to the final, finishing with a league-leading 164 clearances.
and then 