The Red Wolves picked up their second straight win at home against Lexington SC on Saturday night by a final score of 3-1. Lexington started the scoring in the second half with a goal from Seo-In Kim in the 78th minute, but the Red Wolves responded quickly and ignited with three goals in ten minutes from Nico Cardona (‘80), Ropapa Mensah (‘82), and Mayele Malango (‘90+6).
The first half saw a strong display from Ricardo Jérez and the Chattanooga defense who held heavy pressure from Lexington through the first 45 minutes. Despite the heavy pressure, Chattanooga had a handful of solid chances in the first half with corner kicks and a shot on from Espinoza, who made his first start of the season.
“First half, we had some good moments with the ball for 25-30 minutes and then after that, I felt Lexington made a little adjustment and it kind of went against us,” said Head Coach Ziggy Korytoski.
Lexington came out firing in the early minutes of the second, but Jérez held strong and denied several chances to keep the match scoreless. The Red Wolves made a triple substitution in the 60th minute to bring Mensah, Malango, and Chevone Marsh on the pitch to replace Alex Tejera, Andrew Paoli, and Walter Varela.
The scoring deadlock was broken by Lexington in the 77th minute with their sole goal of the match from Seo-In Kim; however, the lead was quickly taken away by an onslaught of offense from Chattanooga. Nico Cardona level the score with his first goal of the season in the 80th minute off of a corner kick for the tie. Ropapa Mensah, in his first appearance at home for the Red Wolves, notched his first for the club two minutes later for the go-ahead goal. Mayele Malango then secured the victory and three points in extra time with a strong offensive run down over half of the field for his first of the season as well.
“[In the] second half, we made some defensive adjustments and we were much better in terms of it —we mixed up the game and formations a bit with two up top and having Mayele and Ropapa come in really changed the game. I felt from that moment on we were the more dangerous team,” shared Ziggy. “To get the equalizer was big and the third goal was the loudest I have heard the stadium yet. It was electric, a lot of fun, good to see the lights go on and off and we will take the three points.”
The action returns to CHI Memorial Stadium on Friday, May 5th against South Georgia Tormenta FC for a USL League One final rematch. Fans will also enjoy a Cinco de Mayo celebration with a pre-match live DJ, festive food selections, and a post-match live concert at the Howl Bar.
