The Chattanooga Red Wolves’ Sito Seoane has a gift for scoring on the road. Of his four goals scored on the season, each and every one has been notched away from David Stanton Field. Goal number four was crucial, as it provided the equalizing score in Chattanooga’s 1-1 draw against Tormenta.
Seoane’s critical score came in the 57th minute, after the sun had been tucked away and the field lights illuminated the field in a harsh, artificial glow. Do-everything defender/midfielder/passing savant Vangjel Zguro launched a free kick high enough to scrape the sky, which gave Chattanooga’s players enough time to get in position.
One of those players was defender Toni Walls, who played an integral role in the play. Rather than making a probably-futile attempt to head the ball in from 15 yards out, Walls subtly flicked it into an open space somewhat behind him. This move must have caught the Tormenta defenders off guard, with the ball bouncing onto the ground, completely carefree and unattended by any Georgian player.
Seoane saw the preceding events while planted in the semi-circle in front of the box, and only began to move once Walls made his pass. Resembling a placekicker making his approach on a field goal, Seoane strolled forward, and upon first touch, boomed the ball toward the goal.
A crowd of Tormenta defenders leapt to the right to deflect the shot,. Unfortunately for those defensively-minded players, the volley was actually rumbling along in the opposite direction and low to the grass. It skittered past everyone, including the goalkeeper, who had anticipated a shot to the far right and didn’t even bother to contest the left-bearing shot on the opposite side of the net.
This score answered Tormenta’s goal in the first half, one scored in the 28th minute by Charlie Dennis. Neither score could break the deadlock after Seoane’s equalizer though, and the match ended in a draw.
The draw kept the two teams more or less tied in the standings. While Tormenta is technically ahead of Chattanooga at third place, both teams are in the playoffs with 32 points in total. The Red Wolves travel to Arizona on Saturday to play against FC Tucson. The match kicks off at 10:30 EST, and can be viewed on ESPN+.