Chattanooga FC Fends off Toronto to Extend Lead at Top of Table

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MLS NEXT Pro Chattanooga FC

Chattanooga FC Fends off Toronto to Extend Lead at Top of Table

May 9, 2025 - MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Chattanooga FC News Release


Chattanooga FC and Toronto FC II on the field
Chattanooga FC and Toronto FC II on the field
(Chattanooga FC)

TORONTO, Ont. - Chattanooga FC defeated Toronto FC II 2-1 at York Lions Stadium on Friday evening to extend its lead in the Eastern Conference to six points.

Peter Plougmand opened the scoring in the 11th minute when he glanced in a header from a pinpoint-accurate cross delivered by Tate Robertson after a well-worked corner-kick routine straight off the training ground.

Plougmand turned provider when he found Minjae Kwak on a counterattack, and the winger doubled the visitors' lead right before the half-time whistle with a sublime curling finish.

CFC showed another side of its game in the second half. Despite a late consolation goal from Toronto's Jahmarie Nolan, the team battled through to ultimately secure another crucial three points in the early stages of the season.

With the victory tonight, Head Coach Chris Nugent's side extends its lead at the top of the Eastern Conference and remains top of the overall league standings.

"It's a positive result," said Nugent. "We always talk about processes of what we do to get a win, and sometimes we forget the process of defending or counter-attacking is important too. I felt we created some good chances-maybe not to the volume that I would have liked-and on the other side, even when they had the ball for long periods, they didn't create anything too clear-cut.

"The set-piece goal was excellent. I'm always partial to a set-piece goal. That's something that we worked on. To have Daniel [Mangarov] combine with Callum [Watson] and find Tate; we know Tate's got an excellent pass in that area. Peter [Plougmand] was in the position and there were two or three players near him that would have also been in a good goalscoring position, so that was really pleasing. The second goal showed our ability to counter effectively. Minjae [Kwak] attacked down that side well and I'm really pleased for Minjae. He had a good end to the season last year and then got injured, so to come back and to score a goal, it had a huge impact, especially right before half-time."

The team will now prepare for a short trip to Huntsville on Saturday, May 17th at 7:00 p.m. EST at Wicks Family Field. The men's team's next home league match at Finley Stadium will take place on Saturday, May 24th at 7:00 p.m. EST against New England Revolution II. Tickets are on sale now.

Noteworthy

Chris Nugent made three changes to the starting XI from the last match against Philadelphia Union II-Logan Brown, Minjae Kwak and Robert Screen came in for Ethan Dudley, Markus Naglestad and Keegan Ancelin

Peter Plougmand scored his third goal of the 2025 season

Minjae Kwak scored his first goal of the 2025 season and second career goal for Chattanooga FC

Man of the Match: Nathan Koehler

Box Score

Toronto FC II (3W-3L-2D, 11 pts.) - Chattanooga FC (6W-1L-2D, 21 pts.)

York Lions Stadium | Toronto, Ont.

Final score:

TOR: 1

CFC: 2

Scoring summary:

11': Peter Plougmand - CFC

45': Minjae Kwak - CFC

88': Jahmarie Nolan - TOR

Stats (TOR / CFC):

xG: 1.18 / 1.57

Possession: 65% / 35%

Shots: 11 / 7

Shots on goal: 4 / 4

Blocked shots: 6 / 1

Total passes: 596 / 369

Passing accuracy percentage: 90.6 / 80.2

Corners: 8 / 2

Total crosses: 14 / 4

Offsides: 1 / 7

Goalkeeper saves: 1 / 3

Clearances: 3 / 10

Fouls: 18 / 14

Discipline:

35' - Micah Chisholm - TOR (Caution)

79' - Callum Watson - CFC (Caution)

82' - Dékwon Barrow - TOR (Caution)

Line-ups:

TOR starters: Adisa De Rosario (C), Marko Stojadinovic, Micah Chisholm, Ythallo, Richard Chukwu (Malik Henry 65'), Lucas Olguin, Timothy Fortier (Patrick McDonald 46'), Antone Bossenberry (Hassan Ayari 46'), Nathaniel Edwards (Costa Iliadis 65'), Joshua Nugent (Jahmarie Nolan 46'), Dékwon Barrow

Michael Sullivan (C), Patrick McDonald, Nathaniel Edwards, Charlie Sharp

Substitutes not used: Shafique Wilson, Michael Sullivan, Jahmarie Nolan, Andrei Dumitru, Joseph Quiah

Head Coach: Gianni Cimini

CFC starters: Eldin Jakupović, Farid Sar-Sar (C), Nathan Koehler, Logan Brown (Milo Garvanian 79'), Daniel Mangarov (Colin Thomas 87'), Nick Mendonca, Callum Watson, Tate Robertson, Minjae Kwak (Keegan Ancelin 63'), Peter Plougmand (Markus Naglestad 87'), Robert Screen

Substitutes not used: Michael Barrueta, Ethan Dudley, Mike Bleeker

Head Coach: Chris Nugent

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Images from this story

Chattanooga FC and Toronto FC II on the field
Chattanooga FC and Toronto FC II on the field
   



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