CHATTANOOGA, TN. (August 16th, 2021) – This afternoon the Chattanooga Red Wolves SC and Hamilton County Schools announced their 2021 Educator Appreciation Night. The celebration will take place throughout Chattanooga’s September 8th match vs North Texas SC at CHI Memorial Stadium. The match will kick off at 7pm est.
Educator Appreciation night will feature a variety of events centered around recognizing educators and their efforts to ensure all children thrive. Some of which will be; a supply drive to help stock the HCS Teacher Store, Jumbotron and PA recognition, prizes and giveaways for educators, and educators featured in the matches halftime events. HCS and the Chattanooga Red Wolves will be partnering through a select ticket revenue split to help raise funds for a new initiative that HCS will be launching this fall, the Teacher Store. The Teacher Store is an initiative that helps stock a “Store” for teachers to select from for free when outfitting their classrooms with the supplies needed from day to day in an effort to alleviate each educator’s financial burden.
“Being able to help recognize and support our local educators is an honor,” says Red Wolves SC President Sean McDaniel. “I think we all learned very quickly last year how difficult the jobs of educators really are. We cannot thank them enough and are looking forward to celebrating them on September 8th and putting on a fun and entertaining show on the pitch.”
“Our educators and staff have continued to step up to the plate, especially during the pandemic,” says Dr. Bryan Johnson, Hamilton County Schools Superintendent. “We are grateful for this opportunity to recognize their hard work and resilience.”
The Red Wolves have been in strong form this year and have quickly cemented themselves as not only a must watch team in Chattanooga but also the entire United Soccer League, having put away eight late match goals in the 80th minute or to decide the game. A stat currently unparalleled across the entire USL and MLS. The squad has also won all but one match through the halfway point of the season, earning themselves the second spot on the league table just points from first.
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3 Points in Greenville
Tonight’s matchup of the first and third place teams in USL League One is sure to be the must watch match of the weekend. With Greenville starting the season with three wins and one tie, they are set to be Chattanooga’s toughest test yet. In tonight’s matchup we will see Chattanooga’s high pace, electric offense meet Greenville’s strong defensive style of play. The match will feature some of the league’s top offensive talent, top goalkeepers and two of the hottest teams. Below are three points headed into the 7pm set kickoff on ESPN+
This match features two of League One’s most prolific scorers and very early frontrunners for the 2020 USL League One MVP; Chattanooga’s Greg Hurst and Greenville’s Jake Keegan. 22 year old Hurst leads the league with 4 goals and Keegan is tied for 2nd with 3 goals. In a side by side comparison, Hurst leads Keegan by 1 goal with one game in hand. He also takes the advantage in assists, leading one to none. One of the most jarring statistics is in the conversion rates of these two players. Hurst has only six shots on the season giving him a 50% conversion rate, while Keegan leads the league in shot attempts at 14 shots coming in at a 14% conversion rate. It’s safe to say that both Hurst and Keegan will have the full attention of not only everyone watching but also both back lines. The two will most likely see double teams throughout the match and be the spark for either side.
While they spent a lot of of effort adding offensive firepower in the offseason with the likes of Xavier Gomes, and Alex Morrell to supplement Jake Keegan, Greenville has quickly become known for the defensive prowess of its teams. Last year, their side conceded the least goals in League One, enjoying 14 shutouts and ultimately earning GK Dallas Jaye the 2019 Golden Glove. Coach Jimmy Obleda’s high energy offense meeting John Harkes’s solid back line with be fun to say the least.
Heading into this matchup, both sides are undefeated and sit 1 and 3 on the league table. With Greenville having already played one game more than Chattanooga, the 5 point separation in between these two sides is much tighter than it appears. If the Red Wolves come back home with three points after this match and win the game in hand, they’ll have a 1 point lead over Greenville, making their second match up on September 19th all the more dramatic.
