CFC’s Niall McCabe, center, reacts as the referee yellow cards teammate Thibault Charmey, left, during Chattanooga’s regional final soccer match against the Tulsa Athletics on July 19, 2014, in Chattanooga.Three Chattanooga Football Club soccer players will display their talents this weekend with the chance to further their professional careers.
Goalkeeper Greg Hartley and midfielders Luis Trude and Niall McCabe were selected to participate in the first-ever National Premier Soccer League combine tournament at the Broward College Soccer Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Among those expected to be in attendance are scouts from some of the upper-tier leagues, such as the North American Soccer League.
CFC coach Bill Elliott, who won the Alexander Arellano Memorial Trophy as the NPSL’s top head coach last year, will be in charge of coaching one of the teams. Chattanooga FC ended its 2014 season with a 3-1 loss in the NPSL national final.
Chattanooga Football Club keeper Greg Hartley makes a diving save during practice in this 2013 file photo.“I am honored to get to coach such a group of amazing athletes for the league,” Elliott said in a release. “It is even more exciting to think that some of these guys might get opportunities at higher levels after this weekend.”
Hartley won the NPSL’s 2014 Golden Glove award, given to the best goalkeeper in the league. It was his third season with the local program.
Trude spent two of the last three seasons with CFC, while McCabe just completed his first season.
“This is such a wonderful opportunity for our players,” general manager Sean McDaniel said in the release. “Getting a chance to show their talents and perhaps be picked up by professional teams is what these guys dream of. Chattanooga FC aims to be the best amateur club in the country, and that means we should be moving some of our best players up into the professional ranks.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.