Chattanooga FC hosts Carolina Core FC on Sunday, September 21 with kick-off set for 3:00 p.m. ET at Finley Stadium, presented by Erlanger.
Chattanooga FC prepares to face Carolina Core for the final time this season and will aim to secure a playoff spot in the first of two remaining regular season home matches on Sunday afternoon.
The Blues earned their third straight win and took home a massive three points last Friday when CFC came back from 2-0 down for the first time since joining MLS NEXT Pro at Crown Legacy FC to win 4-2 and improve to fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Luke Husakiwsky opened the scoring for CFC with his second professional goal, followed by Crown Legacy’s own goal, Tate Robertson converting a penalty kick and Daniel Mangarov chipping one home in stoppage time to seal the deal.
Sunday’s match is the third installment in this season’s series between Chattanooga FC and Carolina Core. Both matches were on the road in High Point, N.C., and CFC took home a 4-1 win back on April 13 followed by a 1-0 victory last month on August 16.
What’s at stake
Chattanooga FC is looking to complete the season series sweep over regional rival Carolina Core like it did over Huntsville City FC on August 23. The Blues hold the better overall head-to-head record against Carolina (3W-2L-0D) and will be aiming to add to the win column.
The club is also pushing to secure its first-ever MLS NEXT Pro playoff spot in just its second season in the league.
Chattanooga can clinch a playoff spot on Thursday, September 18 if:
- New York City FC II gets 2 or fewer points against New England Revolution II. Kick off is at 7:30 p.m. ET.
What they said
Chattanooga FC Head Coach Chris Nugent and defender Tate Robertson spoke with media about what they're expecting in Sunday's matchup with Carolina Core.
"It’s going to be a tough game," said Nugent. "One of the hard things in this league is playing teams multiple timesm, just with the law of numbers, the law of averages. The league’s so close and tight that there’s never three easy games in any of the series. I know they’ll be frustrated to have lost so late-on at home in the last game, so I’m sure that’s motivation for them. They’ve also been on a great run since then, so they’re going to want to continue with that.
"We’re getting real tight now in all of the playoff spots with who’s in and who’s out," Nugent continued. "A lot of teams can be one, two, three points away from securing it. I think the sooner everyone can get it done, the better, so they’re going to be in the same position as us. They want to win, it puts them in an even better position for playoffs and the same goes for us. And again, trying to hit form at the right time. They’ve won three out of [their last] three and we’ve won three out of the last three. That’s always a big thing as well, that momentum coming into the postseason and playoffs."
"They’re a good team, well-coached and have good players," Robertson said. "They have good players all over the field; definitely players that can hurt us if we’re not on our game. We’ve beat them the two times that we’ve played them, so I know they’re going to be hungry and perhaps a little mad at how the last two games went. I expect their best game and hopefully we can weather that a bit."
Did you know?
- CFC defender Tate Robertson broke the single-season assists record in club history last weekend (10)
- Robertson holds both club leads for league goals scored (8) and assists (10)
- Goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović joins Toronto FC II’s Adisa De Rosario at the top of the league in clean sheets (7)
- Defender Farid Sar-Sar and Jakupović have played every minute of the season so far and hold the club lead in minutes played this season (2160)
- This season, Chattanooga FC has reached 10+ wins in a season for the first time since joining MLS NEXT Pro
News around CFC
- Chattanooga FC midfielder Luke Husakiwsky scored for the second consecutive match last Sunday, earning Goal of Matchweek 27 honors
- Last Tuesday, Chattanooga FC honored a local child cancer patient, Neymar, with a "contract for a day," in partnership with Erlanger
- Tickets for Sunday’s match against Carolina Core will be available for as low as $10 as part of Chattanooga FC’s “All in for $10” ticket promotion
Know the opponent
Donovan Ricketts is nearing the end of his first season as head coach of Carolina Core FC (8W-9L-8D).
Carolina is coming into Sunday afternoon’s match after its own 4-2 victory over Atlanta United 2, earning MLS NEXT Pro Team of Matchweek 27.
Facundo Canete holds Carolina’s club lead after scoring twice against Atlanta last Saturday, bringing his total to nine goals and five assists this season. He’s followed closely by Glory Nzingo, who has eight goals on the season.
The Foxes are currently in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 36 points through 25 games played so far, and have three more matches in the 2025 slate.
Match information
Venue: Finley Stadium | Chattanooga, Tenn.
Kick-off: 3:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, September 21
Broadcast: MLSNEXTPro.com | Talent: Jake Griffith
Web Radio: CFC on Mixlr | Talent: Gabriel Schray
