Chattanooga FC could guarantee a league semifinal at home with a win over ALBION San Diego on Wednesday night. CFC was an early lock for the league playoffs and has already guaranteed itself at least one home playoff game. But a win on Wednesday will give the boys in blue a quarterfinal bye and means CFC would get to host the semifinal at Finley Stadium.
Chattanooga FC is on a 7-game unbeaten streak in league play.
Chattanooga Football Club returns to action after a 1-0 result over Flower City Union on Saturday night in front of nearly 3,500 fans.
Since losing to CFC 2-1 at home on September 7, ALBION San Diego has won three straight, including a 2-1 victory over first-place Cal United on September 17.
They also scored 3 goals in a 3-0 result over Michigan Stars on September 10, a team CFC has played to three 0-0 draws this year.
Chattanooga FC has already clinched its playoff berth and guarantees itself at least one playoff game at home. A win on Wednesday will secure a quarterfinal bye for CFC and would ensure it will host the league semifinal on Sunday, October 30 at Finley Stadium.
Wednesday will be the second meeting between CFC and San Diego in the 2022 season. After going down 1-0 in the 14' of the previous meeting in San Diego, CFC would get on the board in the second half with a penalty kick by Markus Naglestad in the 48'. Alex McGrath would score the game winner just ten minutes later as CFC held on for a 2-1 win.
To help with an earlier end time during a midweek, the kickoff will be 7:00 p.m. Gates open at 6:00 p.m. for Happy Hour and $2 beer. Tickets are available at CFCTIX.com.
Seedings are based on points per game (PPG) since teams did not play an equal number of games in a revised single-table format. Top two teams receive a quarterfinal bye. Seeds 3-6 play in the quarterfinals on October 22 or 23. Semifinals take place the following weekend at the two highest remaining seeds on October 29 or 30. The league championship would take place November 5 or 6. Any games hosted by CFC would take place Sundays at 6:00 p.m. at Finley Stadium.
Chattanooga FC leads the league in goals scored (39) as well as a goal difference (+21). It also has the current Golden Boot leader with Markus Naglestad. Finley Stadium leads the league with average attendance in 2022 and is fourth in the country for overall attendance in Division 3 professional soccer (which includes NISA, USL1, and MLS NEXT Pro). CFC trails only Madison, Omaha, and Richmond in attendance.
Chattanooga Football Club has supported 14 local non-profit organizations during the CFC Men's home games of the season. Wednesday's match will be an opportunity to recognize all of this season's organizations in a Cause of the Night Homecoming.
MATCH INFORMATION
Wednesday, September 28 | Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, Tennessee | 7:00 p.m. ET
Chattanooga FC (11-7-3, 43 points) vs. ALBION San Diego (8-7-4, 29 points)
Tickets: CFCTIX.com