The Red Wolves faced the Richmond Kickers Saturday night in a 1-0 loss on the road with the only tally of the match coming in the 14th minute from Richmond’s Emiliano Terzaghi. Despite an up-tempo push from Chattanooga to even things up in the second half, the Kickers held on to their short lead to the final whistle. The two clubs will meet next at Richmond on July 1st with the final match to be played at CHI Memorial Stadium on August 12th.
Chattanooga looked to create opportunities, but were held off by the Kickers’ defense. Both goalkeepers saw little action in the opening 45 minutes outside of the early goal as the two clubs traded possession across the pitch.
The second half saw a more dominant offensive push for the Red Wolves with three shots in quick succession from Lombardi, Kraft, and Varela while Richmond’s chances were limited. Ricardo Jérez came up with a big sliding save in the 73rd minute on a series of shots from Richmond before the ball was cleared out of the Chattanooga defensive end. The Red Wolves had a series of corner kicks that were subsequently knocked out by the Richmond defense.
Chattanooga continued to apply pressure through the closing minutes and into extra time, but were unable to find the equalizer. They return home to CHI Memorial Stadium on Wednesday, June 7th for $2.00 Beer Night and post-match fireworks before heading on the road again to face Lexington SC.