After two weeks on the road, the Chattanooga Red Wolves returned to action at CHI Memorial Stadium Saturday night to take on North Carolina FC for the first time since April 21st in Chattanooga’s first road match of the season. The Red Wolves’ unbeaten streak at home was snapped in a 2-1 loss, as North Carolina took a two goal lead into halftime. Pedro Hernández picked up his second goal of the season in the waning minutes of the match to avoid the shutout.
The first half opened with chippiness from both sides as Ryley Kraft led an aggressive early press, collecting four shots in the opening minutes. North Carolina was also forceful in their attempts to get on the board first and found the back of the net in the 34th minute from Sommersall and again in the 39th minute from former Red Wolves player, Rafa Mentzingen. Despite edging out North Carolina with 56% possession, the visiting side carried a 2-0 lead into halftime.
Chattanooga remained frustrated in the opening minutes of the second half, collecting three shots within the first ten minutes of the half, but were held off by the North Carolina defense and goalkeeper. Red Wolves newcomer on loan, Jonny Filipe, earned a set piece opportunity in the 61st minute, but the shot went just above the crossbar.
“You see the quality he brings to the game–he’s technical and athletic,” said head coach Jimmy Weekley of Filipe. “Really happy with his performance tonight and looking forward to getting him on the pitch a little bit more here.”
The Red Wolves maintained dominance in possession with 66% between the 60th and 75th minute and were finally rewarded for their efforts with a goal from Pedro Hernández assisted by Aarón Lombardi to cut the North Carolina lead in half. The goal marked the eighth of Chattanooga’s to occur in the last 15 minutes of a match and extend the club’s scoring streak to five matches at home.
“I was just being optimistic…we needed a goal really badly and at this point in the game, it was late and you’ve got to go in for everything…I’m glad I could put one in for the team,” said Hernández.
With five minutes of added stoppage time, Chattanooga clamored to find an equalizer to force a draw, but were unable to do so before the final whistle. The match ended with the Red Wolves having held 59.8% possession over the full 90 minutes and collecting 18 shots to North Carolina’s 14, holding their opponent to just two in the second half.
“Those little details matter…we created some really good chances tonight,” said Weekley. “We gotta finish those opportunities…we played well in terms of creating chances and putting shots on frame–it’s just the final product that we struggle with right now.”
The Red Wolves head on the road next to take on Central Valley Fuego FC on Saturday, August 5th. The Richmond Kickers then travel to Chattanooga on August 12th for the next Red Wolves home game and a special promotion for mascot Rusty’s birthday.