Palmetto State Report: May 7

Forrest Wimberly
6 days ago
4 min read

NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com

Palmetto State Report: May 7

Soccer News from South Carolina

Swan Brace Lifts Battery Over Sporting Jax

It was a Colton Swan brace last Saturday to help the Charleston Battery defeat the expansion Sporting Jax in USL Championship action at the Point. A rainy day in the Lowcountry set the stage for the Battery to rain goals down on Sporting Jax in the 4-0 victory. Sporting was reduced to 10-men in the 18th minutes as a last defender dogso action produced the straight red card. Swan nodded the Battery ahead turning in a cross in the 27th minute and the Battery never looked back. A clever passing sequence right up the middle of the park saw the lead double off the foot of Maalique Foster in the 31st minute before Kirill Pakhomov went on a solo effort just before the half to curl the ball into the back post and the Battery into a commanding 3-0 lead at the halftime break. Swan scored his brace heading home a driven corner kick into the near post to complete the scoring in the 64th minute. The Battery have the coming weekend off and play their next match in the USL Cup on May 16 at the Richmond Kickers.

Triumph Come Up Short In Omaha With 2-0 Defeat

The Greenville Triumph slipped 0-2 on the road at Union Omaha in a tight USL League One match last weekend. Triumph goalkeeper Amal Knight produced several key saves including turning aside a Union Omaha penalty kick late in the match to keep the visitors in the match, but the Triumph were just unable to find the final touch in front of the goal despite creating several quality chances during the match. The Triumph return to the Upstate this coming weekend to host the Richmond Kickers at Clemson University’s Riggs Field Saturday night at 7 PM.

Fricke Reaches USL1 Milestone

Brandon Fricke became the first USL League One player to reach the 15,000 regular season minutes played plateau in the Triumph’s recent match at Omaha. The Triumph defender and 2020 USL League One defender of the year earned his first USL League One minutes with the now defunct Lansing Ignite in 2019 before making the move to Greenville in 2020. Fricke and the rest of the Triumph will open their new home stadium GE Vernova Park at BridgeWay in Mauldin, SC on June 3 versus Forward Madison.

Bantams Name Mac Thomalla USL2 Head Coach

Mac Thomalla has been named the South Carolina United Bantam’s head coach of the 2026 season. College coaching experience at both Wofford College and Xavier University along with ECNL coaching experience developing young talent helped lift the Reading, England product to the head coaching position. The Bantams open the 2026 season on the road at the Charlotte Independence on May 16 before opening the home dates on May 30 versus NCFC.

Heat Stays Undefeated with 3-1 Victory

The South Carolina United Heat stayed undefeated and at the top of the UPSL Premier Mid-Atlantic South table with a 3-1 win over the visiting Combine Academy last Sunday night in Columbia. Leonardo Andade, Alex Lopez, and Emmanuel Arkoh scored for the Heat in the win. The Heat’s +23 goal differential is the best in the conference and with just three games to play the Heat could wrap up the conference title as early as May 9th when the Heat travel to Gastonia FC.

Soda City Earns 2-0 Win On the Road In Savannah

Soda City FC posted a 2-0 win on the road in Savannah over the Coastal Kings to remain in second place in the Mid-Atlantic South standings. Soda saw goals from Jose Flores and Moses Akinade to stay in the hunt for the regular season title as they chase the Heat sitting 6 points ahead of Soda in the standings. Soda will look to get results over Charlotte SA at home on May 10 and then on the road at the SC Surf on May 24 to set up a massive regular season finale at home versus the Heat on May 31.

Surf Blanked On the Road at Mint Hill 2-0

The SC Surf were blanked on the road in North Carolina falling 0-2 to Mint Hill last Saturday in the Charlotte suburbs. The Surf remain in 4th place in the conference and have four huge games to play this season as the team chases a playoff spot. Up next is the Lowcounty-Coastal Empire derby as the Coastal Kings from Savannah visits the Surf on May 10.

Electric City II Loses to Visiting Combine Academy II

Electric City II remain at the foot of the UPSL Division 1 Mid-Atlantic South table with their 0-4 loss to the visiting Combine Academy II team last weekend in Anderson. Electric have been on a rollercoaster ride this season alternating performances from week to week posting positive results one outing to then follow that up with a flat result the next match. Up next is a home match versus ILM Football Club on May 9 at 5 PM.