BY DAVID CARAVIELLO
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Anyone who doubted how much Wednesday's third-round U.S. Open Cup match meant to the Charleston Battery players needed only to look at the scene on the field after the game.
John Spencer scored seven minutes into the first overtime period to give the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer a 1-0 victory over the A-League's Battery before 4,125, the largest crowd to see a game at Blackbaud Stadium this year. After the game, several Battery players lay strewn on the turf, some with their heads in their hands.
"It does mean a lot, because we're out of the Cup," said Battery coach Chris Ramsey, who sat on the bench for several minutes alone before heading to the locker room. "And it was a game that we could have won."
"It was very disappointing," added Battery forward Paul Conway. "I don't think anyone here tonight couldn't have argued that if we had won, we wouldn't have deserved it. Both teams did very well. It was extremely hot. I think on the balance of things, maybe we had a couple of more chances."
The best of those chances came at the end of stoppage time. A crossing pass from Ryan Trout found Conway in front of the goal with Rapids keeper Scott Garlick out of position, but a header from the reigning A-League MVP hit the crossbar and bounced over the goal. Almost immediately afterward, the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of regulation.
"The header I missed at the end, I think we deserved that," Conway said. "It was just one of those things. I got under it a little bit, and over the bar it went, and we paid the price. They say the higher level you play, it all comes down to finishing. And that's where they were more effective tonight."
Colorado won its first U.S. Open Cup match since 1999, when the Rapids beat Charleston in the semifinals. Colorado was beaten by A-League team Pittsburgh in its opening game last season, but now advances to play either Atlanta of the A-League or Dallas of MLS in a quarterfinal on Aug. 7.
Colorado was outshot 12-8, and managed only a pair of corner kicks for the game. But the Rapids took advantage of the one chance they needed, scoring off their second corner kick 7:04 into the first 15-minute overtime period.
Colorado's Chris Carrieri received the corner, bobbled it, and managed to slip the ball past a Battery defender to Spencer, waiting on the left edge of the 18-yard box. The Scottish forward - who is currently serving a two-game suspension in the MLS - pounded the ball into the net's far right corner, just beyond the reach of diving Battery keeper Dusty Hudock.
"Young Carrieri miskicked it, and regained the ball again," Spencer said. "I just shouted, 'Chris!' He knocked it through someone's legs, and I just managed to get under the ball and put it into the corner. It's been a long time coming through injuries and a suspension. It was nice to get a goal."
"We were a little bit unfortunate that the ball bounced friendly for them on the far kick," Conway added. "They scrambled. John Spencer has played at the highest levels, and he's not really going to miss from there."
The match marked a homecoming for Colorado coach Tim Hankinson, who coached the Battery in 1994-95 and was a key figure in the franchise's founding. Hankinson spent time before the game shaking hands, and called the match one of the most stressful he's coached this season.
"No question this was a special night coming back," said Hankinson, who led the Battery to the playoffs in both of his seasons in Charleston. "I spent most of my time looking over my
shoulder, at people waving that I haven't seen since I was here.
"And my son lives here, so it was great to win in front of him, against a team that I was very proud of at one time."
While Colorado advances in the U.S. Open Cup, the Battery prepares for a home exhibition set for Saturday at 8 p.m. against Puebla of the Mexican First Division. Their next A-League game isn't until July 26, giving them plenty of time to think about the one that got away Wednesday night.
"My header would have sealed things, and I hit it off the top of the bar," Conway said. "That was the difference in the game."
