Dash of Spicer

Ex-Princeton star turning up heat on offense

Tyrone Walker
The Post and Courier

Darren Spicer (left) of the Charleston Battery has scored four goals over the last three games, including a hat trick June 10.

At the end of the 2007 season, Charleston Battery coach Mike Anhaeuser was sifting through the countless hours of video of USL First Division games on the Internet looking for players of interest.

One player that caught Anhaeuser's eye during all that time in front of his computer was Minnesota Thunder striker Darren Spicer.

"I watched two or three of Minnesota's games and Darren really kind of jumped out at me," Anhaeuser said. "Darren was playing up front and his movement and his pace and his work rate caused so many problems for so many teams that I thought he'd be a good fit on our team.

"He had everything I liked in a player. I knew he was going to bring it every single minute he was on the field. In the games I watched, he brought 110 percent effort, and you like to see that in a player, especially one down here when it gets 100 degrees in the middle of the summer."

Spicer, a former Princeton star, has certainly been able to "bring it" lately for the Battery, scoring four goals, including a hat trick in the Battery's opening game in the Lamar Hunt U.S.

Open Cup two weeks ago.

"I've been in the right place at the right time lately," Spicer said. "I've had a lot of good service into the box the last three or four games and that's made all the difference in the world. Some of the goals have just been tap-ins. Pretty easy stuff. The other guys have been doing most of the work, I've just been on the other end of it."

Spicer's four goals over the last two weeks are more than he had all last season with Minnesota, where he had three goals and two assists in 17 games.

"When (Anhaeuser) called me I was excited about coming here because I know the reputation the club has," Spicer said. "I watched the way they played last season and felt like I'd be a pretty good fit down here."

What makes Spicer's production all the more remarkable is the fact that he's played most of his games with the Battery in the midfield after being a striker most of his career at Princeton and at the professional level.

"We signed him as a forward, and when other players became available, we started to have a need for a right midfielder," Anhaeuser said. "You see a lot of strikers get moved out to the wing position. We played him some out there in scrimmages and during preseason games and he did well."

Spicer, the 2004 Ivy League Player of the Year, had been a prolific goal scorer at Princeton. His 27 goals and 58 points rank 12th all-time in Princeton history.

"This is really the first season I've played out wide," Spicer said. "I'm getting a lot more comfortable out there. I'm learning where to be at the right time and that was the toughest part of moving outside."

In the Battery's 4-4-2 alignment, an outside midfielder is expected to play much like a forward.

"We expect our outside midfielders to be dangerous," Anhaeuser said. "We expect them to play lot like a forward would play. You want them to get on the back post. You want them to be able to score goals and cross the ball. You have to have guys at that position that can do a lot of different things, but you always want them to be a threat to score."

The biggest adjustment most strikers have when moved to the midfield is playing defense at a consistent level.

"The hardest part is getting a forward to make that transition to defense," Anhaeuser said. "When you're playing in the midfield you have to get back and do things defensively that you're not used to. You don't have to great defensively, but you do have to make that effort and so far Darren has been able to do that.

"Darren is very fit and he's able to get up and down the wing, which is crucial where he's playing. He has a great engine. His work rate is tremendous."

Of course, if Spicer continues to score, there's always a chance he could move back to striker, Anhaeuser said.

"I'm not going to lie, if he continues to score goals, we'll probably take another look at him up top," Anhaeuser said. "I know if I need to put a guy up front, I can do it because of his work rate and because of his ability to score goals. The more versatile a player is, the better off he is and we are as a team. Not everybody has that ability to play multiple positions."

Which is just fine with Spicer.

"As long as I'm on the field, I don't care where I play," Spicer said. "Up front, on the wing, it doesn't matter. I just want to contribute and help this team win."

Reach Andrew Miller at apmiller@postandcourier.com and check out the new Battery blog at, charleston.net/blogs/battery/.