Chattanooga FC faced off against Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union II on Thursday night in Chester, Pennsylvania, and were defeated 3-1 with goalkeeper Jean Antoine sent off midway through the second half.
Philadelphia took an early lead in the sixth minute of play when the club's top assist provider CJ Olney combined with the club's top goalscorer Edward Davis in a well-worked counter-attack.
However, CFC responded superbly to the early setback and took control of the half. Playing in a new-look formation, CFC was able to dominate in midfield and create chances. Mehdi Ouamri had multiple chances, created both by his team-mates and himself, however he was unable to find an early equalizer.
The breakthrough for CFC came in the 34th minute when Milo Garvanian's corner kick was met definitively by towering center-back Duvan Viafara for the Colombian's second goal of the season.
Captain Alex McGrath finished the first half by intercepting a ball at the halfway line and breaking through but his long-distance strike was saved by Michael Sheridan.
Sporting Director and Rod Underwood made one substitution at half-time with Joseph Perez for Milo Garvanian.
Philadelphia regained its lead shortly after the break in the 48th minute when Cavan Sullivan found space inside CFC's penalty area and slotted home at the near post.
CFC's task became much more challenging when goalkeeper Jean Antoine was shown a direct red card in the 65th minute for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity.
Philadelphia doubled its lead six minutes later when substitute Leandro Soria Zarate poked home from close range.
"We're disappointed. I was expecting a different performance that we didn't get tonight," said Underwood. "We gave up another early goal, but we fought back nicely to get a goal. I thought we finished the half well. We started the second half slowly and gave up a goal and then the wheels fell off.
"The message to the team was centered on the accumulation of the last three games. We've created a winning culture at this club and we're not going to accept anything less. We need to have a heart-to-heart with the coaching staff and the players. I think the players need to think about what they want and have a conversation amongst themselves as well.
"I was happy with the shape. The back three was ok. But it comes down to the work. In the first goal we didn't do the work in transition, which I spoke about before the game and it cost us. We scored a nice goal off a corner. We gave up an easy goal in the first five minutes of the second half. I thought the shape created a little more directness for us. I hope we come out against Carolina and play well and play with urgency, grit and determination, get a clean sheet and pick up three points."
The result sees CFC remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference table on 28 points.
Chattanooga FC will now face fellow Independent side Carolina Core for the third and final time this regular season on Wednesday, July 17th in High Point, North Carolina for a 6:30 p.m. ET kick-off.
CFC returns to Finley Stadium in Matchweek 19 with a Southeast Division match against Orlando City B on Saturday July 27th at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tickets are on sale now at CFCTix.com.