WHAT TO WATCH FOR AND WHAT TO EXPECT
In the final home match this month, the Chattanooga Red Wolves will face Greenville Triumph on Saturday, September 14th at CHI Memorial Stadium. The sides previously met back in June with the Red Wolves dropping an impressive 3-1 result on the then-second place Triumph on the road, leading Chattanooga searching for the series win at home.
Chattanooga’s last outing on September 7th saw the Red Wolves take on Forward Madison with the Flamingos winning 3-1 after a two-goal second half. Chattanooga went up early in the contest when Chevone Marsh scored in the 12th minute, heading a feed from Pedro Hernandez past the Madison keeper. The Red Wolves continued their press, but Madison found a response of their own to tie the match just before first half stoppage time.
What started as a physical contest in the first 45 minutes of play continued into the second half, with a total of 33 fouls on the night as both sides fought for the go-ahead goal. The Flamingos then grabbed a second goal in the 60th minute to take a 2-1 lead. Chattanooga made substitutions to bring Mayele Malango on in hopes of reigniting the Red Wolves’ offense, but Madison would tack on one more in the 71st minute for a two goal lead. Although the Red Wolves made a strong final press in stoppage time, the Flamingos held on for the win.
Greenville’s two week road swing began in Nebraska on September 7th where they were defeated by Union Omaha, 3-1, in which two goals were own goals. Triumph opened the scoring in the 21st minute from Leo Castro, but an own goal from Tyler Polak in the 30th minute would even the match for the Owls. Greenville held Omaha to just six shots in the first half. Into the second half, Polak would pick up his second own goal of the match to give the Owls the lead. Omaha began to create more opportunities and chip away at the shot disparity and ultimately found the back of the net on their own accord in the 61st minute to extend their lead to two goals. The remainder of the match saw back and forth chances from the sides, but the 3-1 scoreline held in favor of Omaha and gave Greenville their fifth result in a five game winless streak.
The Red Wolves head on the road to play Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC in Windsor on Saturday, September 21st to face NoCo for the first time since the 2024 home opener in April of this year. Following the bye week for the USL Jägermeister Cup Final on September 28th, the Red Wolves will open the month of October against One Knoxville SC for October Beer Fest.
Following this weekend’s contest, the Red Wolves will only have two remaining matches at home for the 2024 regular season. Tickets for the final matches at CHI Memorial Stadium are on sale now. Information on 2025 season tickets will be available soon.
RED WOLVES ROSTER RECOVERS OUTSIDE OF LONG TERM INJURIES
Owen Green returns to the lineup after serving a one match red card suspension in the previous match against Forward Madison. As Michael Knapp nears his return, the only remaining limitations on the Red Wolves roster are long term injuries to Omar Gomez, Jonny Filipe, and Richard Renteria.
PLAYOFF HUNT CONTINUES, CHATTANOOGA STILL ON THE HUNT
With only one point separating Chattanooga from eighth place South Georgia Tormenta FC, the Red Wolves are just outside of a playoff position in accordance with the new format of the 2024 season.
The Red Wolves have six matches remaining on the schedule including this weekend, all of which are against teams presently above the playoff line with the exception of the final two: Richmond on October 19th and Lexington on October 26th.
MARSH REJOINS MENSAH IN TIE FOR TEAM LEADING GOALSCORER
Chevone Marsh scored his sixth goal in League One competition against Forward Madison and is now even with Ropapa Mensah for the position of leading Red Wolves goal scorer. Mayele Malango is just behind with five, followed by Declan Watters, Pedro Hernandez, and Jamil Roberts, each with one.
