The Chattanooga Red Wolves came out as hot as the 95-degree weather at kickoff against the
Charlotte Independence, compiling a 7-1 route over their USL opponent.

In the 88 th minute of the Chattanooga Red Wolves 7-1 route over Charlotte Independence,
Independence was awarded a cheeky penalty kick. With the fans belting out their disagreement
with the call, Red Wolves’ goalkeeper Carlos Avilez waited patiently, sipping on his water
bottle, and stretching before the kick. His slow, meticulous approach awarded him
 a yellow card, a caution by the referee for his behavior, but Avilez stood in the box unwavering.

The scene was like out of a sports movie. Despite the score, the fans were stomping their feet
against the metal bleachers, yelling until their throats ran dry, as all eyes descended upon the
penalty area. With a swift shot to the left corner of the goal, Avilez’s mitts sounded with a
pounding thud—a save off the penalty kick.

Charlotte would be given a corner kick as the ball rolled past the goal. Taking the corner was
Independence’s midfielder who took the penalty kick seconds ago. Within a five-foot radius of
the player was a horde of Red Wolves supporters—and they let the Charlotte player have it with
the remarks, mockery, and shouting.

As hard as those supporters yelled at that specific player was about as prideful and diligent as the Chattanooga squad played against Charlotte.

The trio of Chattanooga strikers had a field day toying with the backline of Charlotte. The Red
Wolves’ Juan Galindrez, Rafael Mentzingen, and Rey Ortiz put on wonderwork in the scoring
department.

Beginning with Chattanooga’s answer to Charlotte’s early header-goal in the 19 th minute,
Mentzingen would beat out a defender on the left corner and push the ball into the penalty area.
As he intruded, the Charlotte player draped across the back of his jersey tugging away to keep
the striker from crossing the ball. Mission failed for the defender, as Mentzingen would cross to
Ortiz, who takes one step and ricochets the ball off the post and into the net.

Knotted up at 1-1, Chattanooga would begin to pour on the offensive heat as the sun descended behind the bleachers. Red Wolves’ Galindrez would put his team on top after winning the race to a through ball, sliding and chipping the shot past the goalkeeper.
The goal set Galindrez ablaze.

Pushing the ball back into Independence territory, a handball would cost Charlotte their penalty
kick of the night. Galindrez would do the honors and knock the leather off the ball and into the
net, giving Chattanooga a 3-1 lead heading into halftime.

The Red Wolves had compiled seven more shots on goal than Independence in the first 45-
minutes of action. The same pace would keep up in the second half.

Chattanooga’s Mentzingen lurked on the right sideline to open the half. With no defender
nearby, Mentzingen would receive a cross-field pass. Before receiving the pass, Mentzingen
noticed that Charlotte’s goalkeeper was still out of position. Taking a single tap to settle the ball,
Mentzingen lobs a 35-yard shot over the goalkeeper, bouncing into the left side of the goal.

Red Wolves’ star Galindrez would steal the limelight from Mentzingen moments later with his
hat-trick goal in the 65 th minute of play. Mentzingen would send a lightning-quick cross to the
left corner of the box to Galindrez. A befuddled goalkeeper was stuck in his cleats as Galindrez
netted the goal before he could react.

Chattanooga midfielder Jorge Paez would find himself in the striker position, yet another
offensive push began. Sparked and assisted by Red Wolves’ midfielder Jimmie Villalobos, Paez
would send a left side shot through the outreached hands of the Independence goalkeeper.
Paez would remain at the top of the formation for the next attack. While positioning himself for
yet another through ball, like Villalobos’s, Paez came sprinting toward the ball. However, this
pass was intercepted by Paez in midair, deflecting off his back, and graciously landed at the feet
of teammate Pedro Hernandez. Hernandez would beat out the sliding defender and be one-on-
one with the goalkeeper. As the story goes, Chattanooga’s offense was too much to handle, and
Hernandez would score.

An impressive 7-goal run by the Red Wolves.

The partying fans would give it to Charlotte Independence in their late attempts at a goal, but
nothing would come of it. With the red smoke from each goal still lingering across the field, the
Red Wolves marched toward their bench as the referees blew the final whistle.

The win kickstarts a win streak (two wins) for Chattanooga after reeling from three consecutive
losses early in the season. The Red Wolves will seek to inch closer to the top of the USL League One standings as they take on Tucson FC on Saturday, June 25.

Box Score
CHATTANOOGA   3 4 — 7
CHARLOTTE        1 0 — 1
GOALS:
CHATTANOOGA (7): Juan Galindrez (3), Rey Ortiz, Rafael Mentzingen, Jorge Paez, Pedro
Hernandez.
CHARLOTTE (1): Hector Acosta