For 50+ minutes, it looked like the Legion had this one in the bag, albeit with some heavy lifting by the defense. Alas, it was not to be, for reasons we will look at later this week in a major tactical review of the season to date. Still, this team is looking more and more cohesive and threatening. There is cause for optimism going into the bye week. But of course that doesn’t mean we don’t do individual evaluations.
GK: JASSEM KOLEILAT – A+
Giving up 3 goals is usually an automatic disqualifier for Man of the Match. However, a keeper can’t be blamed for a PK and the 2 other goals were from balls bouncing around in the box after a stop. Jassem racked up 7 saves in the game, several of them huge, to keep the lead alive. Amazingly, that was not the biggest keeper performance of the week in the USL1That honor belongs to Miami’s Adam Beaudry and Hartford’s Anthony Siaha, who both made 10 saves.). Lesser teams will not challenge him so much.
LB: DAWSON MCCARTNEY – B
Dawson wore the captain’s armband with Phanny on the bench. His defensive output was big: 6 tackles, 7 clearances and 3 interceptions. He also won 8 of 9 duels. 1 chance creation to his credit (but no other attacking contributions) and decent passing accuracy: 83.7% on 43 attempts.
CB: RAMIZ HAMOUDA – A-
While the rest of the team gets a rest, Raz is going to be busy, with 3 games for the USMNT U-18s this month. In Portugal, no less. In this one he showed why he gets the selection and why Werder Bremen wants him. 7 clearances, including one off the goal line. He won 5 of 6 duels, all in the air (he’s a big kid). Passing was OKish, with 41 of 55 passes fidning a target.
CB: BRYCE WASHINGTON – N/A
A rough one for Bryce. He played just 30-odd minutes before clashing heads with Charleston’s Douglas Martinez, ending the day for both of them. With the Legion on the front foot all that time he was not called on to do much. Just 1 clearance and 2 for 3 in duels. He’ll need the week off.
RB: AMIR DALEY – B-
Heaps continues to rotate the squad and Amir got his first outing of 2026. He wasn’t especially good. The Legion right side seems perpetually weak this year and he was not able to shore it up. 1 tackle, 2 clearances and 2 interceptions along with 2 of 4 duels won are fairly weak numbers. He also attempted just 28 passes (not what you want from a fullback) with just 71.4% efficiency. Only 1 of those was a cross (unsuccessful). He did get in an off-target shot.
LDM: SAM SHASHOUA – A
It took 11 games in a Three Sparks shirt for Sam to get a goal, but it was a really nice opportunistic one. He had one other shot, which was blocked and offset by a block of his own at the other end. 2 chances created overall. He got in the mix too: 14 duels in total, winning half of them. His passing accuracy was solid: 90.3% on 72 tries. This is what he was signed for.
RDM: SETH ANTWI – B
Seth played again as the defensive half of the pivot and went 84 minutes before being pulled in an attacking decision by Heaps. The Battery largely avoided him: just 1 tackle, 1 clearance and 3 interceptions. 5 duels, 3 as the victor. A low 28 passes as well, connecting on 23 of them.
LAM: GEVORK DIARBIAN – A
Gevork did not get an official assist or chance creation, but his efforts were central to both Legion scores. His work rate is off the charts in general and commitment shows in everything he does. Numbers in this game do not reflect what he brings, and he is going to bring more as he gains professional experience. Subbed off after 88 minutes.
CAM: TYLER PASHER – B-
Tyler came off with Gevork and was perhaps less visible in this game than usual. He did have one potential shooting chance that he took too long over, but that was it. No touches in the Charleston box at all. Still, he draws a lot of attention from opposing defences and frees others up to make plays.
RAM: SERGE NGOMA- C
Serge was pulled at halftime in what was evidently a defensive move by Heaps. He also picked up a yellow card which may have influenced the decision. In his 45 minutes he was not a major factor. Just 5 passes, finishing only 3. 1 shot off target. Not what you need from a winger.
FWD: ROMARIO WILLIAMS – A
Romario got his first Legion goal and also had 2 other shots, both off target. He came off after a relatively brief 61 minutes with the Legion still a goal up. He was also good in distribution, completing 7 of 8 passes. He still ha it.
SUB: PHANUEL KAVITA – B-
Phanny must hate Charleston. After getting sent off in the 2025 season finale he goes back just 2 games later and gets a yellow card and a PK. No wonder Jay didn’t want him starting (he came on for Bryce). Bad karma. The card/PK call was sketchy at best, of course. Otherwise, he was generally avoided by the Battery as is expected. 6 clearances was his total for the day. Unusually, he lost all 3 of his duels.
SUB: KADEEM COLE – C
On for Serge, Kadeem was about as ineffective on defense as he was in the attack. 1 tackle and 1 clearance, and he lost 4 of 5 duels. Passing was limited: just 18 touches with just 15 connecting.
SUB: SAM MCILLHATTON – B+
A midfielder replacing a striker is an interesting choice. Sam justified it though in his 38 minutes, with contributions at both ends. Defensively, 2 tackles and 4 clearances, 4 and 4 in duels. In attack he had 1 shot (way) off target and created 2 scoring chances. He was good on all but 2 of 18 passes. Another of the Legion’s highly motivated young guns.
SUB: SEBASTIAN TREGARTHEN – B
Seba hasn’t seen a great deal of playing time this season and here was brought on for Seth shortly after the Battery tied the game up late. Heaps presumably wanted to get the lead back. He had a shot on target and 1 unsuccessful cross. Perfect on 4 passing attempts. Basically, he did his job.
SUB: PETER-LEE VASSELL – B-
Peter-Lee’s first appearance of 2026. He was brought in place of Tyler. Not nearly as useful as Seba who came on a few minutes earlier: 1 shot off target and 40% accurate on 5 passes.
SUB: SEBASTIAN SAUCEDO – B
In for the exhausted Gevork alongside Peter-Lee, Bofo was basically the last roll of the dice (and an extra sub due to the concussion exit of Bryce). He had a shot on target but it was from distance and nowhere close to his usual power, even though Luis Zamudio fumbled it.
HC: JAY HEAPS – B+
The two halves almost justify different scores. Jay had his team come out hard in the first half and it paid dividends. He got far more defensive after the break and, unlucky breaks aside, got burned for it. Still, he proved again that this squad can stand toe-to-toe with the league’s elite. A few adjustments (and the return of Ronaldo Damus) will make the Legion a serious contender.
