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USL1 Chattanooga Red Wolves SC

Malango Scores in Third Straight League One Contest as Spokane Hold off Second Half Attack

July 7, 2024 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC News Release


Kicking off a month of mostly League One action, the Chattanooga Red Wolves faced Spokane Velocity on Saturday Night in Washington for the inaugural contest against the newest club in the league. Mayele Malango scored his team-leading fifth goal as Stefan Lukic became the league leader in assists; however, after a contentious first goal and a go-ahead goal before the half, Spokane Velocity walked away with three points by the final whistle. The Velocity will make their way to CHI Memorial Stadium almost precisely a month later on August 7th to take on the Red Wolves in Chattanooga.

The Red Wolves entered the match facing one of the least forgiving defenses in the league and as such, were held without a shot until the 15th minute of the match. Spokane only managed two shots through the same time frame but opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a goal that barely crossed the line.

Chattanooga pulled back into the contest to limit Velocity chances and found a tying goal in the 32nd minute from Mayele Malango, his fourth in four straight contests, with an assist by Stefan Lukic, to take the league lead in assists. The Red Wolves looked to carry momentum through the remainder of the half, but a shot from outside the box from Spokane's Luis Gil slipped past TJ Bush to give the home side the lead once more.

The Red Wolves pressed well into their final third in the ensuing minutes, but the score would remain 2-1 in favor of Velocity after the whistle.

The second half saw more of an even contest as the sides traded shots through the opening minutes. Chattanooga began to edge out Velocity in shots that either missed or were blocked by the Spokane keeper.

In a dual substitution, Ropapa Mensah and Ricky Ruiz entered the match in the 67th minute in hopes of creating more offensive opportunities.The match reached an apex in physicality when a scuffle broke out surrounding a corner kick attempt from the Red Wolves that saw a slew of yellow cards dished out.

While Leo Folla and Pedro Hernandez entered the match to fortify the defense, Ualefi, Declan Watters, and Chevone Marsh all picked up shots of their own on the other side of the ball. Although Chattanooga carried 75.4% possession between the 75th and 90th minute, their shot attempts were left unfulfilled as the match neared completion.

After the back-and-forth second half, Velocity made one last attempt just before the final whistle into stoppage time that was blocked by Bush and the final score would stand at 2-1 in favor of the home side.

"I thought that was a really disappointing result, but sometimes the best team doesn't win," said head coach Scott Mackenzie. "...put in a good performance - didn't win the game, but I think there's a lot of positives to take from that."

"I'm very very confident in the group we have and the work we're putting in...I think you can see it in our performances and you'll start to see it in our results as we move forward...it's a good building block to go into Richmond next week."

The Red Wolves return home against the Kickers at CHI Memorial Stadium on Saturday, July 13th for $2 Beer Night and will turn around quickly to face Charlotte Independence on Tuesday, July 16th. Tickets for both matches are on sale now.

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