With 75 enthusiastic fans in-tow, Chattanooga Football Club completed its inaugural season with a strong showing and a 2-1 victory over Saturn FC (2-5) in Atlanta on Saturday night.

Chattanooga finishes the season with a record of 4-3-1, and is still awaiting results of other teams in the conference to find out where they end up in the standings.

Chattanooga head coach Brian Crossman was very proud of the way his team finished the regular season. “After losing the first two games of the year, I thought we played some excellent soccer winning four, tying once, and only losing once,” said Crossman. “This was a great end to a wonderful first season.”

Missed chances were again the Achilles’ heel for Chattanooga FC as they had numerous opportunities to put the game away very early on, but could not convert on any of them. It wasn’t until the second half in the 50th when Chattanooga would get its first goal. Ivan Heredia scored with a nice shot tucked just inside the right post off a penalty kick earned by Omar Cooke when he was fouled inside the Saturn FC penalty area.

Saturn FC wasted no time leveling the score in the 54th minute after a nice sequence of passes in the box that ended with a Spencer Davidson finish. “That was a very disappointing goal to give up right after we had taken the lead,” commented Chattanooga defender Josh Johnson. “I was confident, though, that we would gain our composure and get another goal at some point for the win.”

Josh and the rest of the traveling Chattahooligans, as the fans have become known, didn’t have to wait long as Omar Cooke scored in the 57th minute when he received a great ball from Irvin Espinal and fired a shot just inside the near post. The Chattanooga fans erupted in cheering and their fearless leader, El Conductor, rang his cowbell as the team celebrated what would be the winning goal of the match. “I knew we’d get another one. I just didn’t know it would be that quickly,” said Johnson.

As the game continued, neither team created many dangerous opportunities, although the pace of the game quickened as both teams pressed for another goal. Defensively, Chattanooga saw excellent play from Russell Courtney and Nickson Odeny while Fynn Glover won most head balls in the middle of the field. “I thought our defense played really well tonight and limited their opportunities to score,” said Joshua Scott, one of Chattanooga FC’s defenders. “It’s too bad it’s the end of the season because we are really starting to play well together. I can’t wait until next season.”

Indeed, it seems that Chattanoogans can’t wait for next season either. The club’s organizers have already begun planning for next season and look to make it even better.

Chattanooga FC Twitter reporter, Chris Cooper, summarized it well, “The Chattanooga followers are already counting the days until they can see their footballers take the field again.” This is true.

For more information about Chattanooga FC, visit www.chattanoogafc.com.

About Chattanooga Football Club

Chattanooga FC provides quality soccer matches and a family friendly environment at the region’s largest sports venue, with the goal of attracting spectators from the area’s widely diverse cultural community to enjoy the world’s favorite sport. The team is comprised of high-level players holding amateur status to maintain collegiate eligibility, and will serve as an engine to develop great players and as a showcase for professional coaches. The club is currently operating as a 501(c)3.