With one regular-season league match remaining for each of them, the Chattanooga Football Club's teams know what's at stake tonight.
The CFC men changed their fate in the regular-season home finale Tuesday, defeating the Georgia Revolution 7-0 - after a scoreless tie in the teams' first meeting this year - to strengthen their hold on the No. 2 position in the Southeast Conference's West Division of the National Premier Soccer League.
Going into tonight's 7 p.m. match against FC Carolina United in Charlotte, N.C., CFC needs a win or tie to solidify its spot in the playoffs, which start next week.
The CFC women are 1-4-2 in the Women's Premier Soccer League's South Conference's Southeast Division, and they will host the division-leading Gulf Coast Texans (5-0-2) at 7 tonight at Finley Stadium. CFC has shown improvement in coach Erin Ridley's first season but is coming off back-to-back one-goal losses on the road and has a chance to end on a strong note.
In its most recent match, CFC nearly rallied from a pair of two-goal deficits to force a tie against the Memphis Lobos last Saturday. Down 4-2, Elizabeth Shaughnessy scored to cut the deficit in half, but a late goal by Summer Lanter was called back, which led to the final tally.
Shaughnessy leads the team with four goals this season, with Carlie Banks, Anna Lanter, Ashley Manning and Hailey Nichols having neted one each. Lanter is a former Soddy-Daisy standout who will soon be a freshman at Lee University.
The CFC men are tied with Inter Nashville FC in the league standings, each with a 5-2-4 record and 19 points in league play, though Memphis (4-3-4) is close behind with 16 points.
If CFC defeats FC Carolina (1-7-3) tonight, CFC will host a playoff match Tuesday. A CFC tie and a Nashville win over Asheville City would force CFC to travel to Nashville to start the playoffs.
A CFC loss, a Nashville win or tie and a Memphis City win over Knoxville would knock CFC out of the playoffs, but it would not be the club's final match.
This week, team officials announced CFC will host Asheville City Soccer Club at 7:30 p.m. on July 19 for the first-ever Blue Ridge Derby match. The matchup will rotate between Chattanooga and ACSC - which plays at Memorial Stadium in Asheville, N.C. - on an annual basis in hopes of creating a rivalry.
"In Europe, it's traditional to have these annual matchups, or derbies, between rival clubs," CFC general manager Sean McDaniel said in a news release. "Through our discussions with ACSC leadership, we thought that having a derby between our two great cities would enhance the tradition of both clubs, highlight the vibrance of our communities and continue to bring the beautiful game to the fans."
The teams will play for a trophy that gives a nod to each city's history of brewing. The trophy will be an actual beer keg painted in both teams' colors and will sport both team's logos. The score from each match will be etched on the keg, and the trophy will reside with the winning team until the next derby match.
"We have immense respect for Chattanooga FC, from the front office to the players, staff and supporters, and we attribute much of our early success to the relationship we have been able to build with the club over the last year," ACSC president Ryan Kelley said. "Backed by our brewery partners, we are honored to begin this annual matchup and celebrate two of the best cities in the Southeast represented by two of the best supporters' groups anywhere."
Tickets are $7.25 each and on sale at ChattanoogaFC.com.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.