The Red Wolves playoff push continues Saturday night as the home side welcomes the New England Revolution II to CHI Memorial Stadium. The last time out for the Red Wolves saw them once again come out unscathed at home in a 3-1 win against North Carolina FC.
Jonathan Ricketts scored first, followed by goals from Juan Galindrez and Marky Hernandez to put North Carolina away and move the club up to 40 pts through 22 league games. The Red Wolves have put themselves in position to secure home field advantage in the playoffs, where they have yet to lose in the 2021 season.
Juan Galindrez still leads the pack for the Red Wolves with 9 goals, while key man Ricky Ruiz now sits alone at the top of the league with 8 assists. Tim Trilk has also enjoyed a great run of form behind a vaunted backline that is one of the best in the league, leading to 4 clean sheets. The Red Wolves as a team currently sit in third place with 32 goals scored, while boasting a top class defense in the league with only 21 goals conceded.
The Revolution perhaps found new life last Saturday playing at home in Gillette Stadium, where they dispatched the Richmond Kickers 3-1 to end a run of 5 games without a win that saw Clint Peay’s side collect only 3 points out of a possible 15. The Revolution did well to bounce back Saturday after conceding a goal inside the first 5 minutes, scoring 2 goals on either side of halftime, and finishing it off with a goal in the 90th minute.
Damian Rivera leads the way for the Revolution in the goal department with 6 on the season, while Jake Rozhansky has been the creative force sitting third place in the league with 6 goals. Joseph Rice sits joint third among goalkeepers with 5 clean sheets this season.
New England is currently in the middle of the pack with 29 goals scored but have struggled slightly on the defensive end conceding 32 goals to put them in the bottom 5 of the league.
The Red Wolves have plenty planned for supporters attending the match Saturday night. A mega post-match fireworks show will take place upon conclusion of the match, and celebration of Hispanic Heritage Night.
Speaking about the match, Manager Jimmy Obleda had this to say, “This match is as important as every other game we have played this season, if not more so… They [New England] are flying high, so it will be important to be clinical in the final third while also managing the game and limiting counter attacks and chances for New England on the other end of the pitch.
The two sides met at the beginning of the season on May 16th at Gillette Stadium, where the Red Wolves fought back from two goals down thanks to a brace from Josue España to earn a well fought point. Both sides will be eager for a long-awaited rematch, with important playoff implications on both benches.
The action kicks off at 7 PM EST on Saturday night, as your Chattanooga Red Wolves defend the den against the New England Revolution II.
