WHAT TO WATCH FOR AND WHAT TO EXPECT
In the first round of the USL Jägermeister Cup, the Chattanooga Red Wolves will face intrastate rival One Knoxville SC. Chattanooga won the 2023 series with two wins on April 8th at home and July 22nd in Knoxville with one loss on the road on May 16th. The two clubs meet for the second group stage cup match in Knoxville on July 20th and will face off in regular season League One play on Friday, August 16th in Knoxville and Saturday, October 5th at CHI Memorial Stadium.
Chattanooga will look for a full three points at home after drawing against Northern Colorado on Saturday off of a controversial last minute call, April 20th in the 2024 home opener. A late first half goal from Ropapa Mensah on a feed from Mayele Malango allowed Chattanooga to carry a 1-0 lead into half time while the Hailstorm remained scoreless on eight shot attempts in part due to a strong performance from goalkeeper TJ Bush.
The second half saw Chattanooga working to create more offensive opportunities and lengthen their lead; however, a hard press from Northern Colorado forced the home side to focus on defense. The shutout was broken in the 98th minute after a Colorado corner saw the ball bounce around the box and get controversially called a goal leading to a 1-1 final.
One Knoxville enters this week’s contest off of a bye week having last played at home on Friday, April 12th against Union Omaha. The visiting Owls managed to snap a three-game League One winning streak and took a 1-0 victory after a physical and contentious contest that saw seven yellow cards and one red card shown by the final whistle. The game winning, and only goal of the match, came in the 70th minute off of Steevan Dos Santos with a hard shot from outside the box. Knoxville would go down to ten men to finish out the match with a red card given to Jalen Crisler in the 84th minute.
This week’s match includes the first Pregame Happy Hour of the season with $1.00 off all beer from gates open at 6:30 p.m. to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. There will also be live music on the Outlaw Stage at the Howl Bar featuring an 80s DJ playing before and after the match. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.
NEW USL JÄGERMEISTER CUP PROVIDES ADDITIONAL IN-SEASON STAKES
In addition to the regular season championship, the Red Wolves will look to conquer a new, intraleague tournament this season with the inaugural USL Jägermeister Cup. Following the model of the World Cup, League One teams have been split into three groups geographically with each club playing two matches against each group member and two matches against teams outside of their assigned group.
Chattanooga will compete in the Central Group alongside One Knoxville SC, Lexington SC, and Forward Madison FC and play each club in that group twice, once at home and once on the road. Additionally, they will play the Richmond Kickers and Union Omaha, for a total of eight matches in the group stage.
The three clubs with the most points from each group will move on to a knockout round while the fourth contender will be selected from the remaining clubs and will be the team with the most goals scored. The knockout clubs will then be reseeded to begin the final round to determine the cup winner.
Unlike League One matches, cup matches will not end in a tie and will instead go directly to penalty kicks with the shootout winner earning an extra point. The contest will place an emphasis on goals scored with that statistic being used to break any ties in standings and determining the fourth team that will head to the knockout round.
BIG PAPA LEADS LEAGUE AND CHATTANOOGA RED WOLVES STAT SHEETS EARLY
Following a 12-goal season in 2023, Ropapa Mensah has kicked off the 2024 season with authority, collecting six goals across five matches including League One and Open Cup play. He is currently second in goal scoring for League One with four goals, three of which came against Central Valley Fuego on April 13th. During the Red Wolves appearances in the 2024 Open Cup, he scored a brace in the first round against Brockton FC United.
Mensah was named League One Player of the Week in Week 6 for his performance against Central Valley that featured his first League One hat trick and an assist on Lucas Coutinho’s goal that secured the 4-2 victory on the road for the Red Wolves. He was named again to Team of the Week for scoring the sole goal in the 1-1 draw against Northern Colorado on April 20th, in addition to Mayele Malango who provided the key assist on the goal.