August 31, 2024 – United Soccer League One (USL1)
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC News Release
After a lengthy three hour weather delay, the Chattanooga Red Wolves closed out the USL Jägermeister Cup against Lexington SC for the final match at Toyota Stadium. After going down two goals and to ten men in the first half, the Red Wolves found two unanswered goals in the second half to force a penalty kick shootout in which they picked up the extra point following 11 rounds. The sides will meet again at CHI Memorial Stadium for the last regular season match of the year on October 26th.
Lexington quickly got on the board, scoring just under a minute in to take a 1-0 lead. The action remained primarily in the Chattanooga defensive end as the home side continued to test TJ Bush. A second goal came in the 26th minute for Lexington from Cameron Lancaster, and the opposition would take a 2-0 lead. The Red Wolves managed a handful of shots in response and accumulated yellow cards from Ualefi and Gustavo Fernandes.
In the 45th minute, Owen Green attempted a slide tackle and would slide a few feet before making contact with the ankles of Nico Brown and was shown a straight red. After four minutes of stoppage time, Lexington would retain their two goal lead into halftime.
The second half began more balanced as the Red Wolves found more chances and stayed even in shots through the hour mark. In the 65th minute, a free kick from Omar Hernandez slipped past Amal Knight to cut the Lexington lead to 2-1. Mensah followed up with a shot of his own shortly after as Chattanooga looked for late momentum.
As Lexington looked to lengthen their lead, the Red Wolves defense and Bush locked down on several corner kick chances. Additional substitutions brought on Lucas Coutinho for Chevone Marsh, Stefan Cvetanovic for Stefan Lukic, and Leopoldo Hernandez for Omar Hernandez to inject some fresh legs into the late stages of the second half.
The match would head to ten men for both sides as Brown was shown a second yellow resulting in his ejection in the 90th minute. Just two minutes into second half stoppage time, Coutinho would take a free kick that Leo Folla bounced into the back of the net to tie the match at two goals apiece. With the score tied, both clubs would get a point and the match would be sent into penalty kicks for the second time for Chattanooga in the intraleague contest.
The first round saw Lucas Coutinho’s shot saved, giving Lexington an early advantage. Each side continued to…