Chattanooga FC Women enters the 2024 WPSL season looking to improve on its 3-2-3 record in the 2023 season. With a number of strong returners and newcomers arriving on the Tennessee border, the Sky Blues will look to be a threat in the Southeast Conference.
There's a new leader at the helm, with Tom Halsall announced as the new head coach during the off-season. The Southport, England native is an alumnae of Lee University and was a CFC men’s goalkeeper for four seasons. Halsall has been the head coach of Bryan College for two seasons, and is looking to bring a winning culture to Chattanooga FC Women.
“Bringing everyone together creates a cool culture and the technical ability and mindset of the girls we have is very, very exciting and I think it’s going to set us apart,” said Halsall. “If they come out here, work hard, fight for each other, sprint, chase and do everything they should do for the team, then the results will come our way.”
The assistant to Halsall is CFC legend Juan Hernandez, who played on the men’s side for eight seasons and is the all-time leader of assists. Hernandez, who was an assistant for the women’s team last season as well, understands the message of the organization, team and community.
"There’s a full connection between our organizations in terms of all of that," said Hernandez. "We all are like-minded in that sense because we have an identity and we want to make sure it’s represented at all levels of the club."
Avery Catlitt, who played for the Sky Blues the past two seasons, has transitioned into an assistant coaching role. She is joined by new Goalkeeping Coach Katie Wright, to round out the coaches for the side.
New faces
On the pitch, CFCW has signed French native Angela Gatto for the 2024 season. Gatto just finished her junior season at the University of Charleston, and was awarded Defensive Player of the Year on top of a championship-winning season. The All-American started 20 games in 21 appearances, and only conceded 13 goals.
Joining Gatto from the University of Charleston is New Zealand native, Juliette Lucas. Lucas is the reigning Freshman of the Year for the Mountain East Conference after netting a team-high 11 goals with seven assists in 21 games, including a goal in the conference championship.
Annalisa Vincent is a new signing that has history on her side. Vincent is the first Indigenous Guyanese woman to earn an athletic scholarship at an American university. In the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship Qualifiers, Vincent scored a goal for Guyana in a 4-0 victory against Dominica.
Returners
One notable returner for the Sky Blues is goalkeeper Brooke Alvarez, who has spent the last three seasons in goal with Chattanooga FC. Alvarez is a former SSAC Golden Glove winner with Dalton State, and boasts a career 75% save percentage with the Road Runners.
Chattanooga native and returning player Anna Land said: “We emphasize how important it is that what you do on and off the field really matters. We are role models for a lot of people in Chattanooga, especially young girls who want to play soccer. We try to get that across very early on. Yes, soccer’s important but also so is our community."
Schedule
The Sky Blues will play eight games this season, four at home and four away, throughout the summer. All eight games will be in the Southeast, with the team traveling to Alabama, as well as multiple cities in Georgia and Tennessee. Tickets for home games can be found at https://www.mlsnextpro.com/chattanoogafc/tickets/. All home games will be played at Finley Stadium.
CFCW will play their first game of the WPSL season against Nashville Rhythm FC this Friday, May 24, at 7:00 p.m. at Finley Stadium.
“When teams come here—it’s named Fort Finley for a reason—we want teams to know they’re not going to get a result easily,” said Halsall. “That’s the mindset we’re trying to set on the girls.”
