Chattanooga Football Club coach Bill Elliott has only an indirect knowledge of Ocala (Fla.) Stampede coach Chayne Roberts, his counterpart this evening in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup.
Elliott recruited two of Roberts' brothers to the University of West Florida, where the Chattanooga FC leader coaches. Roberts, who is now 27, played at Palm Beach Atlantic, where he later coached after a brief professional stint.
Roberts said Tuesday that, while their paths have crossed over the years, they've never encountered each other on the pitch.
Until tonight.
The two will meet in the 7:30 match at Finley Stadium. It was just a year ago that the Chattanooga club became the first in the history of the National Premier Soccer League to defeat a professional club in the nation's longest-running tournament when CFC defeated the Wilmington (N.C.) Hammerheads 3-1 in front of 1,502 fans.
"Being able to play in front of a good crowd only adds to the excitement for us," Roberts said Tuesday. "I think we have a professional group, so the crowd won't play a big factor. Our guys want to play in front of good environments. We've done our research and we know that Chattanooga FC has a great organization on and off the field, but the crowd won't deter us from our game plan.
"I think it'll add to the intensity and will to win."
Chattanooga FC will welcome the additions of 2014 starting midfielder Luis Trude, as well as forward John Davidson, who missed Saturday's 6-0 road win over the Georgia Revolution because of his graduation from the University of South Carolina.
"It would appear we can score if we have the opportunity," Elliott said. "I like that when we established the lead and brought subs in, they came in and showed they belong on the field, and put more pressure on them that we already had been.
"We gained momentum during the match; Georgia lost momentum."
Although he has very little knowledge of the Stampede, who play in the Premier Development League, his hope is that the level of competition a professional club would bring to Finley would be enough to possibly bring out a few fans.
"I know that tomorrow is going to be a big match," Elliott said. "Ocala is a respected organization, and those who know soccer will hopefully come out and watch."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.