The longest unbeaten streak in USL Championship play this season ended with a thud Saturday night.
Juan Sebastian Palma scored in the 11th minute and the Charleston Battery didn’t look back, rolling to a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
It was the first loss for the Hounds since an April 22 setback at El Paso. They were 8-0-5 during the 13-game unbeaten streak.
The Hounds (10-3-8) remained in first place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the second-place Battery (10-5-6).
The Riverhounds recorded four straight shutouts coming into Saturday but found themselves trailing 2-0 by halftime.
Palma headed in a corner kick by Fidel Barajas in the 11th minute and Augustine Williams got behind the defense, took a pass from Barajas and found the net in the 46th minute just before halftime.
In thr 56th minute, Riverhounds goalkeeper Jahmali Waite stopped Williams on a break, but Beto Avila cleaned up the rebound to make it 3-0.
In the 71st minute, DZ Harmon finished off a Langston Blackstock pass for the lone Riverhounds goal.
The Riverhounds return home to host the Indy Eleven at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Highmark Stadium.
