Chattanooga FC goalkeeper Greg Hartley jumps to catch an Atlanta Silverbacks shot during an NPSL playoff match last year. Hartley and his CFC teammates host the Sonoma County Sol tonight in a national semifinal.Greg Hartley’s time as a part-time resident of Chattanooga began with a trip to Cheeburger, Cheeburger with Chattanooga Football Club coach Bill Elliott and his family in 2012.
Since that point, perhaps no person is a better “face of the program” than goalkeeper Hartley, who will lead the South Regional champions into tonight’s National Premier Soccer League national semifinal against West champion Sonoma County (Calif.) Sol at 7:30 at Finley Stadium.
Chattanooga FC is fighting for its fifth trip to a national final, while Sonoma County is looking for its fourth. The visiting team does have a national title, in 2009, to its credit.
The winner of tonight’s match will face either Midwest champion AFC Cleveland or the Clarkstown (N.Y.) SC Eagles, the winners of the Northeast region, in next week’s final. If CFC wins tonight, it will host as the highest seed.
Elliott has said on numerous occasions that if Hartley were a couple inches taller, he would be playing professional soccer at some level. But being 5-foot-10 hasn’t stopped Hartley from twice being named the NPSL’s top goalkeeper.