With six draws in 11 games, Week 10 in the USL Championship was defined by yet more parity. It’s the signature theme of 2025. The majority of the league is packed in a bunch, and that makes it especially impressive when a team like Charleston or Loudoun blows their opponent off the pitch. No team in the Championship has a goal difference worse than a modest minus-seven; lopsided routs are increasingly hard to come by.
Amidst all the close games this weekend, more than a few teams stood out – for the better and for the worse. Who’s up and who’s down, and how’d they get there? Let’s dig in.
1. Charleston Battery
Trending: No change
Result: 3-1 win at Tampa Bay
Aaron Molloy tackle. Juan Torres tucks central to receive. Through ball to Arturo Rodriguez. Penalty.
Charleston is like clockwork, utterly systematic in the way they break teams down. The pay-off for that consistency came roughly five minutes into a trip to Tampa Bay this weekend, but it’s emblematic of how Ben Pirmann has instilled patterns within his Battery lineup. No team in the USL does more to put their best players in the best possible positions.
Molloy embodies that principle. While Torres is the breakout star of 2025, Molloy is the beating heart of this team. As Charleston grow bolder in their 3-4-3ish build setup, it’s the Irish midfielder’s ability to set the table and then step into elevated overloads that makes everyone else better.
2⃣ for MD Myers and 3⃣ for the @Chas_Battery 😎 pic.twitter.com/pJQ6Njfa4P
— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) May 11, 2025
After a heartbreaking loss away to DC United in the Open Cup, it would’ve been easy for Charleston to look tired and potentially tweak the formula. Instead, they scored three times in the first half and pinged pass after pass between the lines. Molloy, who took well over 100 touches, led the charge but knew his first job was to create angles. He only completed half-a-dozen passes into the final third, but his gravity demanded attention that let other teammates serve as initiating threats. MD Myers’ second goal, which started with a Chris Allan dribble up the middle freed because of attention on Molloy, was a case in point.
