If any incentive was needed beyond playing for a second straight conference championship, the Chattanooga Football Club could find it easily by glimpsing back to June 25.
Chattanooga FC compiled the best record in its distinguished history, going 9-0-1 in the National Premier Soccer League’s Southeast Conference. The lone semi-blemish on an otherwise perfect league season was a 1-1 tie with Memphis, tonight’s title opponent.
Even while resting some guys normally in the lineup, Chattanooga advanced to the championship match with a 5-0 thrashing of the fourth-seeded Knoxville Force, in front of a late-arriving crowd announced at 4,214.
“It was a game that we felt like we should win but you don’t always. I told the guys I was proud of them because we went out and handled the game in a professional way,” CFC coach Bill Elliott said. “Now tomorrow is a whole different kettle of fish. Memphis is a very good team, and it will be a good test and a big challenge for us.”
As for the tie late last month, Elliott actually brushed it aside, saying, “They’re a good team, but it was a hot night that night and we were on the road playing on a field we’re not used to. But we’re not thinking about that so much as winning.”