WHAT TO WATCH FOR AND WHAT TO EXPECT
The Chattanooga Red Wolves will take on Central Valley Fuego FC on Saturday, September 30th after a huge 5-3 win on the road at Lexington Sporting Club on September 23rd. The last meeting between CRW and Fuego resulted in a 1-1 draw in Fresno, California.
The Red Wolves will look to keep their scoring tally high this weekend after a stunning 5-3 win over Lexington SC on Saturday, September 30th in Lexington, KY. The Red Wolves started the scoring first as Marios Lomis made it 1-0 in the 13th minute. Moments later, Jonny Felipe scored his first of the season in the 18th minute of the match to make it 2-0. Lexington scored their first goal of the match just before half time, making it 2-1. The home team celebrations were short lived as midfielder Ropapa Mensah put the Red Wolves up 3-1 to end the first half.
As the second half kicked off, the Red Wolves continued to apply pressure on the offensive side, and Omar Gomez found his first goal of the season, making it 4-1 in the 56th minute of the match. Mayele Malongo also added to the score sheet for the Red Wolves in the 58th minute, after many previous chances in the match. Lexington SC made several substitutions after going down 5-1, and it proved to be a good decision because the home team got one goal back in the 77th minute from Ates Diouf to cut the score down to 5-2. Diouf struck once more for Lexington in the 90+2 minute making it a final score of 5-3.
Central Valley Fuego FC traveled to Papillion, Nebraska on Saturday, September 23rd to take on Union Omaha which resulted in a 2-1 loss for Central Valley. Both defenses were tested early as the Owls and Central Valley had scoring chances early in the first half. However, after many attempts, both teams went into the locker room deadlocked at 0. Both teams entered the second half with something to prove, and Central Valley found the back of the net first as Zahir Vasquez made it 1-0 in the 56th minute. Union Omaha continued to push forward and found their equalizer in the 77th minute from Noe Meza, his 11th of the season. The Owls found the game winning goal in stoppage time at 90+3, which forced Central Valley to go home without securing a point.
The Chattanooga Red Wolves are looking to close out the series with Central Valley Fuego FC with a win on September 30th at CHI Memorial Stadium. Fuego took the first round in the series with a 1-0 victory back on April 1st. When the Red Wolves traveled to Central Valley, both teams earned a point after a 1-1 draw on August 5th. Fans can partake in the second Beer Fest of the season with tasting from 15 different local, regional, and national breweries.
JONNY FILIPE EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR USL LEAGUE ONE
Jonny Filipe has earned player of the week in Week 28 of USL League One. This award comes after Filipe scored his first goal for the Red Wolves in the 5-3 win over Lexington Sporting Club and had two assists in the match for a multi-goal contribution.
“It feels great,” Filipe said of his Player of the Week nod. “I have no words, and I’m really excited to continue and grow. The team did amazing on Saturday and we move from there.”
“That was his best performance to date for the club,” Chattanooga Interim Head Coach Scott Mackenzie said of Filipe. “In terms of him figuring out who he is as a player and living up to his identity, he’s a dribbler, he’s dangerous, he can run at players. He was driving at players, committing them, slipping players in, doing all the things he wants to do in front of goal. He was brave, scored a great goal. Really happy that who he is is starting to emerge.”
KRAFT AND FILIPE BOTH NAMED TO USL LEAGUE ONE’S TEAM OF THE WEEK
Chattanooga Red Wolves defender Ryley Kraft and midfielder Jonny Filipe both earned a spot on USL League One’s Team of the Week. Filipe had two assists in which Mayele Malango and Marios Lomis found the back of the net. Kraft also had a pair of assists in Saturday’s match against Lexington SC where Omar Gomez and Ropapa Mensah both scored.
Mayele Malango was also listed on the bench for Week 28 for his goal contribution in the Red Wolves 5-3 win over Lexington.
RED WOLVES LOOK TO EXTEND NINE MATCH SCORING STREAK AT HOME
The Red Wolves are looking to continue their nine game at home scoring streak this weekend which began on May 20th against Union Omaha. In their most recent game against Lexington SC, the Red Wolves had five different goal scorers in Saturday’s match which included Lomis, Filipe, Mensah, Gomez, and Malango.
BACKLINE MISSING KEY PIECES, LOMBARDI AND RENTERÍA REMAIN ON INJURY LIST
The Red Wolves head into the final three matches of the season with the continued absence of Richard Rentería (knee) and Aarón Lombardi (adductor). Mekeil Williams will also miss this weekend’s match due to yellow card accumulation. Felipe Liborio, Jr. and Christian Enriquez are missing from the offensive side due to leg and groin issues, respectively.
Chevone Marsh is expected to find minutes while Espinoza will be available as well as Manuel Madrid, returning from red card suspension.