Chattanooga Football Club came up against Southeast Division rivals Huntsville City for the third and final time of the regular season on Saturday night and fell just short with a 1-0 defeat.
Jonathan Perez scored in the eighth minute, which proved to be the deciding goal on this occasion.
CFC edged the possession on the night and managed three shots on target, while goalkeeper Jean Antoine made several crucial saves to keep the match within grasp.
Minjae Kwak and Callum Watson both played the full 90 minutes in what will be a boost to Sporting Director and Head Coach Rod Underwood for the depth he has to choose from in the run-in of the season.
The result sees CFC remain in sixth place the Eastern Conference standings.
"My overall reaction from tonight is that ultimately we need to be better in front of goal," said Underwood. "Defensively we were better. There were some good moments offensively, but not enough, and that is something we just need to get better at. We need goals. I've said it over and over again: one goal is really hard to hold on to in this league. That's the reality. We just need to keep putting guys in front of the goal and keep getting better in those areas."
Attention for Underwood and the team swiftly turns to another Southeast Division test on the road against Crown Legacy FC.
"It's an important game for us. They have a chance to leapfrog us with their game tomorrow. But next week's a match we have to get."
After the match on Sunday August 18th the team will travel to Inter Miami II on Sunday August 25th.
CFC's next home match will be on September 1st during Labor Day weekend against Atlanta United 2, which will see the return of fireworks. Tickets are on sale now.