A historic day for professional soccer in the Scenic City has arrived.
For the first time ever Chattanooga’s two professional soccer clubs will meet as the Chattanooga Football Club faces the Chattanooga Red Wolves Wednesday in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Finley Stadium at 7 p.m.
Chattanooga is one of only three cities in America with two professional soccer teams sharing the same level of play. The other two are Los Angeles’ Major League Soccer clubs (LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC) and New York’s MLS clubs (New York Red Bulls and New York City FC).
Of those three cities, Chattanooga’s third-tier professional soccer clubs are the closest in proximity at only 8.2 miles.
CFC was founded in 2009, while the Red Wolves arrived in 2019.
Not only is a trip to the third round of the 110th edition of the Open Cup on the line in the hunt for US soccer’s most historic prize, but so is a great amount of pride for both local clubs.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 22 of Finley Stadium’s 34 seating sections had already sold out for Wednesday’s Derby showdown. According to a source within CFC’s front office, over 10,000 fans are expected to be in attendance.
“Just representing the city and the club means so much to us,” CFC all-time leading goal scorer Markus Naglestad said. “The fans have given us so much and it’s really fun to be able to give back to them. Finding a way to secure this Derby that everyone has been waiting for means a lot to us all. I go out there every game and just try to repay the faith CFC and the city have shown for me.”
As final preparations were put in place for what is arguably the biggest match for either club in their professional history, the Red Wolves head into CFC’s hostile home environment knowing they must play a scrappy brand of the game.
One of those in red will be 6-foot-5 standout center back Declan Watters, who will look to try and shut down any CFC attack headed his way.
“Resilience will be the key,” said Watters, a native of Dublin, Ireland who was the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Drake University. “There’s going to be a big crowd there which is great. That’s what we all want. We are all professional footballers and should all have a certain level of technical ability.
Staff file photo by Olivia Ross / The Red Wolves and fans cheer after a goal during a match at CHI Memorial Stadium.“What I think will set us apart is the stuff people don’t always look at. Your character, your resilience and your togetherness. We are excited about the match, but we all have a job to do and are clear about what we are trying to achieve.”
If the game does draw the projected attendance of 10,000, it would rank among the top 10 for all-time attendance in CFC history. The all-time CFC attendance record is 18,227 set in August of 2015 when Chattanooga FC hosted New York Cosmos B in the National Premier Soccer League title match.
A win by either side would be massive and offer bragging rights to claim the top spot in the city, while also pushing forward another round deeper toward the Open Cup trophy.
“We are all really excited,” CFC’s Naglestad said. “This is a big matchup for the city. It’s a matchup we have always talked about and hoped would happen because we are in different leagues (MLS Next Pro and USL League One). I mean, it’s not just any other game. There is a little gasoline added to the fire for sure. It should be a great game.”
Watters said he and his teammates are aware of the significance resting on the game’s outcome.
“This is a historic match and would be a massive one to win,” Watters said. “There are a lot of people around the city who are invested in this. If we get the result we are looking for, I would be most happy for the people around the club. This is really about everyone else who has made this all a reality. There is a lot of pride surrounding this Derby.”
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.