Metro vs Charleston, 2004

Charleston, South Carolina. Home of Stephen Colbert, the secession, and the original soccer-specific stadium (sorry, Columbus). Metro's house of horror. Strange designation for a minor league city, isn't it?

Metro has played a total of 14 games in Charleston, dating back to 2001. Their record in those games? Three wins, three ties, and eight losses. A truly pathetic line.

Three of those losses have come at the hands of the hometown Battery. And while we could care less about the results of the Carolina Challenge Cup (we only care about preseason tournaments in Europe that we win), two of those came in games that actually counted: in the 2001 and 2004 US Open Cup.

The 2001 loss was a shocker. Metro had reached the semifinals in three of the four years they previously entered the competition. Winning in Charleston was supposed to be a formality. But the Battery rammed the supposedly superior MLS side, scoring four goals before Daniel Hernandez trimmed the margin late in the game. The 2004 defeat was as bad. Metro was coming off their first final appearance in 2003, and we hoped this was the start of a new run. This time, Metro dominated everywhere but the scoreboard. The Battery emerged 1:0 victors after Mike Magee missed a penalty kick.

So now, a rematch. The Battery has dropped a level to USL Pro, so on paper this is a huge mismatch. But obviously, these games are not won on paper. And no matter what "Clever" Hans Backe says about taking the Open Cup seriously, we are ever so cautious. We've been through this before. We've seen this team fail in Charleston, time and again.

Can it be home of a Metro victory that counts, just once?