August 15, 2024 – United Soccer League One (USL1)
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC News Release
The Smoky Mountain Smackdown moves to League One play this Friday as the Chattanooga Red Wolves face One Knoxville SC on the road for the first regular season meeting between the clubs. The intrastate rivals each hosted the other in group play of the USL Jägermeister Cup in which Knoxville took the first meeting at CHI Memorial Stadium, 1-0 in Round 1. The Red Wolves forced a draw in the second meeting at Regal Soccer Stadium on July 16th to gain one point, but Knoxville grabbed the extra point after a round of penalty kicks.
Chattanooga most recently played Forward Madison in the seventh round of the Jägermeister Cup at Madison in the penultimate match of group play. The Red Wolves opened the scoring with a goal from Lucas Coutinho in the 14th minute; however, Madison tied the contest six minutes later after a flurry of shots was blocked by Ricardo Jérez. The 1-1 score would hold through the end of the first half.
A slower second half would see just three shots from Madison before a handball outside the box from Leo Folla would result in a free kick, which Devin Boyce would land over the head of Jérez and allowed the Flamingos to take a one-goal lead in the 69th minute. Chattanooga intensified their press as the clock moved into 11 minutes of stoppage time, but Madison maintained their lead and the match would end with a 2-1 result favoring the home side.
Knoxville also last competed in Jägermeister Cup play against Lexington SC on the road. After the first half featuring just nine shots combined, Knoxville edged out Lexington in shots with five to their four, but neither side would end the half with a goal. One Knox found more chances in the second half and registered five shots between the 76th and 84th minute while Lexington was left without a shot since the 70th minute. Despite the heavy press, the match remained scoreless through second half stoppage time and the match headed into penalty kicks per the rules of the Cup. The first two rounds saw success for both sides, but Knoxville’s Kingsford Adjei would see his shot stopped after a successful shot from Lexington’s David Loera. The fourth round held even between the sides, but the fifth shot from Nico Brown would secure the extra point for Lexington.
Following the match, the Red Wolves will see a break in the schedule for the week of August 24th before wrapping up group play of the USL Jägermeister Cup…