Chattanooga defender Jon Finlay (12) moves the ball past a Houston player. The Chattanooga Football Club faced the Houston Dutch Lions in playoff soccer at Finley Stadium Saturday July 16, 2016.Luke Winter has found his rhythm.
The Chattanooga Football Club forward scored two goals, and his team dominated from the outset in defeating the Dutch Lions 4-0 in a National Premier Soccer League South Region playoff semifinal Saturday night in front of 6,480 at Finley Stadium.
The attendance figure is a season high.
Chattanooga FC (14-2-2) moves on to the region title match this week. Winter and his teammates will host Miami United FC, which defeated the Atlanta Silverbacks 2-0 in the other semifinal.
A tribute to the Fallen Five; U.S. Marine Sgt. Carson Holmquist, U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Squire "Skip" K.P. Wells and U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. David Wyatt; at the Chattanooga FC match July 16, 2016.There was a pregame remembrance of the five Marines and Navy personnel who were killed by a terrorist in Chattanooga on July 16, 2015. Mayor Andy Berke spoke to the crowd, followed by a moment of silence and military veterans who attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga or Chattanooga State calling out the names of the slain servicemen.
"Everyone knows what the city went through," Winter said. "We just want to do the city proud when we play, especially a day like today when we're able to unite the city.
"Last year we put a smile on a lot of people's faces, and hopefully we can do it again."
The club that has done its part to unite the city never gave its opponent from Houston a chance from the opening kick, spending vast portions of the match attacking and firing shots on goal. Winter scored in each half, knocking home a shot after an errant Lions pass in the 23rd minute, then scoring again in the 72nd minute.
The veteran forward, who was announced as the Mitre USA Player of the Week on Friday, has four goals in his last three matches and a team-high 10 for the season.
"We're not playing two games a week anymore, so we're starting to jell," he said. "We're playing more as a starting unit, and we're seeing the rewards of that. We have so many good players that we're able to rotate."
Jon Finlay scored in the 60th minute off a Kieran Bywater assist, and a freshly inserted John Davidson scored in the final minutes off another errant Lions pass.
"They (Lions) have a very organized 'D,' a good goalkeeper," CFC coach Bill Elliott said. "It was tough to get on top. They've been winning games this year, so they're difficult. We went into the half with the one goal, and we felt if we got the second it would open up.
"We had a lot of energy from the beginning. We eventually wore them down, and we deserved to get the result tonight."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.