photo by Joseph Dycus
After a grueling regular season, only two teams remained in contention for the Southeastern Conference title. A light rain and the ever-present humidity had a relatively minor effect on the match, with Chattanooga’s light-speed attack blowing past a fatigued Asheville City 4-1 to win the conference championship.
“We really put in our best performance today, and when we do that, it’s hard to stop us,” said CFC midfielder Zeca.
The first 20 or so minutes were relatively uneventful.
Aside from the occasional counterattack, Asheville City seemed content with parking the proverbial bus and choking off half of the field. This strategy was understandable, since Asheville was coming off of a grinding 120 minute match against Greenville the day before. CFC couldn’t find much space to operate, and had difficulty getting off quality shots, despite dominating possession.
The Asheville defense was not airtight though, and CFC was finally found some breathing room in the suffocating back line after a half hour of play. The beneficiary of this newfound space was Gabriel Torres, who began snaking toward the goal from the top left corner of the box.
Torres made a sharp dive toward the goal with an Asheville defender stuck to his shoulder. Torres was able to keep the ball though, and didn’t seem all too bothered by an incoming secondary defender. The CFC attacker made one quick cut and split that double-team with relative ease. He then launched a powerful shot with his left foot before a third defender could crowd him.
The goalkeeper made a futile attempt at blocking the shot, and Torres’ brilliant individual effort ended with Chattanooga’s first goal of the match. Torres and his teammates immediately dashed to celebrate with the Chattahooligan fan section, who was as loud as ever despite the drizzly weather.
“Just that confidence that we get from the first goal, it settles the game for us. We calmed down,” said Zeca, “and we were able to play faster. And they weren’t able to keep up with our speed after that.”
Torres’ goal seemed to open up the CFC offense, and it took only a few more minutes to get on the scoreboard for the second time. Cameron Woodfin stood in that familiar corner on the top of the field, and took in his surroundings. He then turned to the baseline, took a dribble, and threw a low cross into the box.
All-conference midfielder Juan Hernandez was the recipient of that cross, and he flashed the form which earned him his all-conference honors. Hernandez put the ball past the keeper, and the rout appeared to be on.
Asheville City responded with a goal of their own though in the 38th minute on a penalty kick. After CFC’s defense got a bit too physical with Asheville near the goal, and somewhere in the mass of bodies a CFC player was whistled for a foul. Chris Allen calmly stepped up and popped a shot at the goal. The ball veered to the right, goalkeeper Phil D’Amico dove left, and the score soon read 2-1 in favor of Chattanooga, where the score stayed for the rest of the half.
CFC was as unrelenting as the rain in the second half, and the team in darker blue continued their deluge of goals against the team in the lighter hue in the 50th minute. Juan Hernandez pick-pocketed an unsuspecting Asheville midfielder and turned upfield with plenty of open space ahead.
To his right was Joao Costa, and to his left was Felipe Oliveira, and in front of him were only two defenders. In a situation reminiscent of a fastbreak in basketball, Hernandez just needed to make the right decision.
Like a veteran point guard flanked by speed on the wings, Hernandez made the right play, making the defense commit to him before dishing the rock off to Oliveira. Number eight, like he had done so many times this season, waited for the keeper to come out to meet him, and then slotted a shot into the goal.
A game-changing Asheville goal off of a free kick was nullified by an offsides call in the 65th minute. While Asheville’s players pressed forward with aplomb (and one of them headed it in), the great CFC wall remained unmoving. Aside from Chris Allen’s lone penalty kick, Asheville’s offense looked punchless against Phil D’Amico and the CFC backline.
“My back line, my midfield, everybody played their lights out,” said Chattanooga goalkeeper Phil D’Amico, “They played for one another, and without them, I wouldn’t be doing the things I’m doing. They’re amazing.”
The 68th minute saw CFC’s most acclaimed player get his name on the scoresheet. After coming in as a substitute, Zeca got the ball from Joao Costa on a quick pass. Zeca then flipped it right back to Costa, before continuing his run toward the goal.
Costa then made yet another pass back to Zeca, who finally took the shot. The beleaguered Asheville keeper could do nothing to stop the shot, and saw CFC notch their fourth goal of the match, and what had been a mildly competitive match was now a rout.
Asheville could only muster a few more halfhearted attacks before the final whistle blew, and Chattanooga ended the match with the conference title in hand. As team chairman Tim Kelly, coach Bill Elliott, and the rest of the players raised the trophy, the Chattahooligans threw a party in the stands.
The players huddled around the trophy for a minute and posed for a picture before they embarked on a victory lap of sorts. Their trek in front of the stands ended in front of Chattanooga Football Club’s most ardent and vocal fans. The players joined the Chattahooligans in their joyous dance, and then moseyed on over to the other end of the field to socialize with other fans, who wanted to take pictures of procure autographs from the victorious players.
The champions from the scenic city will take their considerable talents on the road to face Miami FC in the first round of the South Region playoffs. The match kicks off on Wednesday.