Charleston Battery goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky scores stoppage time equalizer

Charleston needed a goal, and got one from…their goalkeeper?

Charleston Battery goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky lived out every goalkeeper’s dream Saturday night: going forward on a late corner and scoring a vital goal in second half stoppage time.

Charleston’s USL Championship match against Loudoun United wasn’t going well. On the road and down 1-0 against a team that entered the night on an eight-game losing streak, the Battery—themselves desperate for any positive results after starting the season with eight losses from ten games—had the slimmest bit of hope come in the 85th minute, when Loudoun went down to ten men due to a red card to captain Rio Hope-Gund.

Still, their chances seemed remote. They’d scored just six goals all season, after all and had missed a penalty kick earlier in the evening.

Enter Kuzminsky. With four of the six minutes of stoppage time completed, Charleston got a corner, and Kuzminsky sprinted up, taking up a near post spot. The initial delivery didn’t find him, but amid the chaos, the Battery kept the play alive, and Kuzminsky barged past Zamudio to bundle the ball over the line, setting off wild celebrations for Charleston and protests for Loudoun.

Watch Kuzminsky’s goal