The Chattanooga Red Wolves made sure their final home match of the regular season was a success, beating the Charlotte Independence 3-1 Saturday night at CHI Memorial Stadium in East Ridge.
The Red Wolves, USL League One's highest-scoring team with 54 goals, put on a show with terrific displays on all three scores.
A pair of headers from defender Timmy Mehl helped seal a pivotal three points in the standings for the Red Wolves (11-10-7, 40 points) as they moved ahead of Charlotte (11-11-6, 39).
Mehl scored the go-ahead goal in the 48th minute on a header at the back post on a corner kick from captain Jose Carrera-Garcia, who sent another pristine corner from the left sideline in the 69th. Mehl won an air battle to head the ball toward the goal, where Juan Galindrez redirected it with his head to the back right corner of the net for the final margin.
Chattanooga scored first, 10 minutes in, when Nicolas Cardona sent a cross into the box that was headed away by a Charlotte defender but to the left foot of Moe Espinoza at the top of the penalty arc. Espinoza didn't let the ball touch the ground and hammered it into the upper right corner. The match was tied at halftime after Charlotte scored on a deflected shot in the 28th.
The Red Wolves are on the road for their final two regular-season matches against North Carolina (Oct. 8) and South Georgia (Oct. 15).
CFC dominates
Chris Bermudez scored on a pair of penalty kicks in the first 11 minutes as the Chattanooga Football Club opened the floodgates early in a 4-1 win over MLS Next Pro club Charlotte at Finley Stadium.
Chattanooga FC (14-7-3) stepped out of league play three days after earning a first-round bye and locking up a home date in the National Independent Soccer Association semifinals at the end of October. Before that, CFC will close the regular season Oct. 15 against the Michigan Stars in Detroit.
Against Charlotte, Roddy Green scored on a Tate Robertson cross in the 27th minute, while CFC veteran Juan Hernandez added the final goal in the 44th minute with a great dribble and drive.
Compiled by Patrick MacCoon. Contact him at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.