Chattanooga FC beats Memphis to advance in U.S. Open Cup

Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Chattanooga FC's Taylor Gray sprints toward the goal during a U.S. Open Cup match against Memphis 901 FC on Thursday night at Finley Stadium. Gray scored the final goal of CFC's 3-1 victory.
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Chattanooga FC's Taylor Gray sprints toward the goal during a U.S. Open Cup match against Memphis 901 FC on Thursday night at Finley Stadium. Gray scored the final goal of CFC's 3-1 victory.

The Chattanooga Football Club picked up its third U.S. Open Cup victory in team history Thursday night, scoring three first-half goals on the way to a 3-1 win over USL Championship club Memphis 901 FC at Finley Stadium.

Chattanooga FC's Alex McGrath scored in the first minute of the match after Brett Jones intercepted a pass and slotted a nice feed to McGrath for the finish. Ian Cerro assisted the next two goals for the hosts, finding Travis Ward and Taylor Gray. Memphis had scored in the 39th minute to draw within 2-1, but Gray's goal in stoppage time before the break provided the final margin.

"The great thing about this game is that we won and we didn't play our football. We played a way that we needed to win," first-year Chattanooga FC coach Rod Underwood said.

"We don't play for ourselves. We play for our families, play for this club and we play for this city, and that's really important because this city drives us and we're going to hopefully continue to bring them joy. That's just been my hope."

CFC (1-0-1) - which beat the Ocala Stampede and Wilmington Hammerheads in the 2015 U.S. Open Cup - will find out its third-round opponent Friday. The club's next National Independent Soccer Association match is April 15 against Valley United FC in Mesa, Arizona.

Compiled by Gene Henley. Contact him at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.

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