The Charleston Battery announced Wednesday the dates and opponents of their 2022 regular-season schedule. The Battery’s 30th season will open at Patriots Point on March 12 against FC Tulsa, the first league match for Conor Casey as the new head coach of the team.

The 2022 USL Championship regular season will see the Black and Yellow play a 34-game schedule across 32 weeks from March through October. Information on the kickoff times and when tickets will be available for purchase will be announced in the coming weeks.

“It’s great to have a real visual of what the whole season will look like, especially coming off of last year with playing a lot of regional games,” said Coach Casey. “I think it’s great to be able to have such a wide range of opponents and great destinations to look forward to.

“It’s an extremely exciting time now that we have that picture in our mind and we can start really targeting our training processes for those first couple of months of games.”

New to 2022 is the re-introduction of the traditional two-conference format, with the Battery residing in the Eastern Conference. Charleston will face each team in the conference twice, once home and once away, and play eight interconference matches against teams from the Western Conference, four home and four away. The top seven teams from each conference will advance to the 2022 USL Championship Playoffs.

Rivalries will be revisited and new ones are likely to form as the Black and Yellow take on a wider variety of teams compared to the previous year following the realignment. 

Charleston will face FC Tulsa and league newcomers Detroit City FC for the first time this season. Returning as regulars to the Battery’s list of fixtures are Atlanta United 2, Birmingham Legion FC, Indy Eleven, Louisville City FC and Memphis 901 FC. Former Atlantic Division foes Hartford Athletic, Loudoun United FC, New York Red Bulls II, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, The Miami FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies round out the conference.

Breaking down the schedule by day, the Battery are tabbed for four Wednesday matches, six Friday matches, one Sunday match and 23 Saturday matches.

The home interconference schedule will kick off when Las Vegas Lights FC travel to Charleston for the first-ever “Holy City vs. Sin City” fixture on Friday, April 1. 

A rematch of the “Black and Yellow Derby” against New Mexico United will take place Saturday, May 14, featuring ex-Battery player Zach Prince in his first season as New Mexico boss.

Charleston will host Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday, June 30, for the first meeting between the two since 2014.

Another inaugural fixture will take place Friday, September 23, when the Battery take on Rio Grande Valley FC Toros at Patriots Point.

Charleston’s away interconference schedule will include trips to San Diego Loyal SC, San Antonio FC, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC and LA Galaxy II. 

The match against San Diego will feature a pair of former USMNT teammates duke it out on the touchline in head coaches Landon Donovan and Conor Casey. The match against the Switchbacks will be a homecoming of sorts for Casey and goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky with the two Colorado natives returning to their home state.

Like the start of the year, the Battery will wrap up their regular season at home when Loudoun are welcomed back to the Lowcountry on Saturday, October 15.

“Our home opener is the big one top of mind, and then the next game against Las Vegas is something we've got our eyes on and are preparing for,” said Coach Casey. “There are some great opponents throughout the summer, but for right now we're really focusing on that first couple of months section.”

Every league match will air on ESPN+. Kickoff times and the league’s national broadcast schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

At the conclusion of the regular season on October 15, the top seven teams in each conference will qualify for the 2022 USL Championship Playoffs. The first overall seed in each conference will receive a bye to the Conference Semifinals of the Playoffs. The bracket will be reseeded following the Conference Quarterfinals to ensure the first overall seed in each conference plays against the lowest-seeded remaining opponent.

The USL Championship Playoffs will remain a single-elimination format, culminating in the 2022 USL Championship Final on a to-be-determined date taking place in mid-November.

Ticket information will be available in the coming weeks, but skip the wait by locking in your spot for all of 2022 with a Season Membership today! 

Memberships start at $170 for all 17 home matches in 2022, with exclusive access to the club and season-long benefits reserved just for Members. Visit the Membership page to find out more:

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