CFC in NPSL final

MADISON, Ala. — The scene was set for something special, and the Chattanooga Football Club delivered.

The second-year team was playing in the postseason for the first time Thursday night at Madison City Schools Stadium.

It was playing in the National Premier League semifinals in a Huntsville suburb about two hours from home, with a group of about 100 supporters on hand despite the 9 p.m. EDT start.

Second-seeded Chattanooga took the lead five minutes into the second half on Thomas Clark’s far-post header and got a spectacular late goal from Robbie Hill for a 2-0 win over the third-seeded Madison (Wis.) 56ers.

Chattanooga’s trip to the Final Four was part of a storybook-like season, CFC board member Sheldon Grizzle said before the game.

“The only thing that would have made this more sweet was if it was in Chattanooga,” Grizzle said. “It’s an ideal situation to be here. We wanted to bring a competitive team to the table that could compete for the national championship, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Chattanooga FC (7-0-2), which received its Southeast Conference championship trophy before the game, will face the No. 4 seed, the Sacramento Gold, in the championship game Saturday night at 8:30 EDT.

The Gold (8-2-1), a first-year club that won the West, upset the top seed, 2008 NPSL champion FC Sonic Lehigh Valley (Pa.), 4-1 in the first semifinal. All five goals came in the second half, the Gold’s all coming in the closing 20 minutes of action.

CFC scored first in all but one of its NPSL games during the regular season, and Luis Miguel Salazar nearly put CFC in front in the third minute with a left shot from just outside the penalty box. But it was deflected away by goalkeeper Jon Szafranski for a corner kick that didn’t produce a shot on goal.

Both sides had their share of chances in the first half, but CFC keeper Richard Masters had to make more saves than his Madison counterpart.

Salazar again had a shot to put CFC in front at the end of the half. In stoppage time, he volleyed a cross from the right just over the crossbar.

As he rested on all fours right afterward, the expression on his face seemed to indicate that he knew it was a major opportunity missed.

The 6-foot-5 Clark, who started in place of injured captain Russell Courtney, put CFC in front early in the second half. Clark, who played at the Air Force Academy and knows all about getting airborne, nearly added another header goal 13 minutes later, but Szafranski was able to make the save.

Hill put the game away with the goal of the game in the 85th minute. Sliding to his right, he one-timed a Sasha Viatrov cross from the left past Szafranski.