Berry leads Charleston Battery to 5-2 win over Sporting JAX

Charleston Battery turned a delayed night in Jacksonville into another emphatic road statement, riding Miguel Berry’s two goals and one assist to a 5-2 win over Sporting Club Jacksonville at Hodges Stadium. The result pushed Charleston into second place in the Eastern Conference and extended its run of attacking form to a second straight match with five goals.

The Battery did most of the damage in a blistering first-half burst. After a two-and-a-half-hour lightning delay, Charleston needed only 12 minutes to strike when an errant pass opened the door for Maalique Foster, who rounded the goalkeeper and finished into an empty net. Less than two minutes later, Jeremy Kelly made it 2-0 with a low drive from 20 yards, and Berry soon added the third after a deflected Foster cross fell to Colton Swan, who laid the ball back for a finish from about 15 yards. It was Berry’s third goal of the season and his first in league play.

Sporting JAX refused to disappear, even as Charleston looked ready to run away with the match. Wan Kuzain pulled one back just before halftime after a cross from Tyshawn Rose, then struck again two minutes into the second half, this time finishing a move sparked by Emil Jääskeläinen. Charleston answered almost immediately, with Wilmer Cabrera finding Berry in space on the right side of the penalty area for the forward’s second goal of the night.

That response underlined the difference between a contender and an expansion side still searching for traction. Ryan Edwards was later sent off after a second yellow card, and Charleston added one more when Alec Hughes buried the rebound after Berry’s free kick hit the post. The Battery, who entered the night off a 5-1 home win over FC Tulsa, have now scored five goals in consecutive league matches and continue to look like a team built to punish mistakes in transition and around the box.

The sweep of Jacksonville was complete as well. Charleston had already beaten Sporting JAX 4-0 at Patriots Point on May 2, the clubs’ first official meeting, and Jacksonville was again unable to contain the Battery’s tempo or movement. That matters in a 34-match season that includes two league newcomers, Jacksonville and Brooklyn FC, because Charleston is not just collecting points, it is reinforcing its legitimacy near the top of the table. Berry, 28, arrived in January after scoring 13 goals in 125 MLS appearances across Columbus Crew, D.C. United, Atlanta United and LA Galaxy, and his growing influence gives Charleston another reliable finisher as it builds on a 2025 season that ended with second place and a record-setting win total.