As a member of the Dalton Catamounts, who won multiple Georgia state championships and were among the nation’s top-ranked teams during his time with the program, Damian Rodriguez could not have played soccer at a much higher level in high school.
Then he started training with the Chattanooga Football Club and realized there’s another level for him to reach.
Luckily for Rodriguez, he likes a challenge.
He will dress for his first National Independent Soccer Association regular-season match when Chattanooga FC hosts Stumptown AC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Finley Stadium. It’s the opener of the fall league schedule for both CFC and Stumptown AC, which is from Matthews, North Carolina, near Charlotte.
Rodriguez has been able to play a little bit for CFC already this summer as the club competed in NISA’s Independent Cup tournament in between the spring and fall campaigns. In addition, in the “Chaco Cup” home-and-away exhibition series against Appalachian FC, he had a key assist that led to the tying goal in a 3-3 draw July 21 at Finley Stadium.