The Chattanooga Football Club and the New York Cosmos played to a scoreless draw Friday night in a Group B match at the National Independent Soccer Association's fall championship tournament in Hamtramck, Michigan.
NISA's account of the match credited the Cosmos with 17 shots on goal - including three in the final 15 minutes of a contest that had six minutes of added time - compared to 11 for Chattanooga FC at Keyworth Stadium, but CFC goalkeeper Alec Redington posted his third straight shutout by making nine saves.
CFC, which opened its time at the eight-team tournament in the Detroit area with a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Force on Tuesday, has four points to lead the Group B standings. The Force and the California United Strikers FC are tied for second at three points, with the Cosmos at the bottom with a single point.
CFC won the Eastern Conference's fall regular-season championship to earn a No. 1 seed at the tournament, which has one round of group play remaining before the top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals for 1-versus-2 crossover matchups Wednesday. The title match is next Friday.
In Group A, the Michigan Stars FC is on top with four points, with the Oakland Roots SC and Detroit City FC tied for second at three points and New Amsterdam FC at the bottom with one point.
In the final group matches, Sunday's schedule has the Roots facing the Stars at 5 p.m. and Detroit City taking on New Amsterdam at 8 p.m., while Monday's schedule has CFC matched with the Strikers at 5 p.m. and the Cosmos taking on the Force at 8 p.m.
Earlier Friday, CFC announced a roster addition for the tournament: midfielder Cutler Coleman, a native of Winter Park, Florida, who played college soccer for NCAA Division III member Amherst.
"He can play multiple positions," CFC coach Peter Fuller said in a team release. "He's a conscientious defender as well as adding some quality to our squad going forward. He's been training with the team for the past six weeks, he's proven himself, and he's earned this opportunity."
Compiled by Marty Kirkland. Contact him at mkirkland@timesfreepress.com.