Match Preview: Chattanooga FC vs FC Cincinnati 2

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MLS NEXT Pro Chattanooga FC

Match Preview: Chattanooga FC vs FC Cincinnati 2

June 20, 2025 - MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Chattanooga FC News Release


Chattanooga FC goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović
Chattanooga FC goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović
(Chattanooga FC)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Chattanooga FC will look to bounce back, after suffering defeat at New York Red Bulls II last time out, when it hosts FC Cincinnati 2 at Fort Finley on Saturday evening.

Head Coach Chris Nugent's side are unbeaten at home this season, and when kick-off commences on Saturday night, it will be 293 days since the club's last regular season home defeat.

Saturday night's match will be the second-ever meeting between the two clubs. The first encounter holds fond memories for Chattanooga as Jesus Ibarra scored what would eventually be voted as the goal of the season in a 3-0 victory early last season.

What they said

Head Coach Chris Nugent previewed the matchup with Cincinnati earlier this week.

"It's always important how we deal with teams on transition," said Nugent. "We'll need to be a bit more clinical in attack as well, because those lead to moments that sway the game as we saw last weekend. If we can be better in the final third to generate a good shot that's going to help us and that's going to change the game. We'll also need to nullify the attack. We know the league is very transitional-based, so stopping teams higher up will be important as opposed to playing box-to-box."

Defender Tate Robertson also spoke with media about what has contributed to such a successful season for him on an individual basis [Editor's note: Robertson has four goals and a league-leading seven assists].

"My teammates have put a lot of trust in me. The coaching staff trusts my abilities and my teammates get me in great spots. My job's to serve balls in front of the net, and so far it's going well. Obviously the hardest thing to do is to score goals, so big credit to my teammates for finishing so well."

Robertson also spoke about how he has helped get the team focused and back on track following Sunday's defeat.

"I try to just have day-to-day habits at the highest level as possible. I try to instill in the guys positivity as best I can. It's hard when you lose, of course, you feel like the world's falling on top of you when you lose games, but that's part of it. You're going to lose games sometimes, but we need to stick to our day-to-day good habits, and hopefully we can get a result this Saturday."

Did you know?

Chattanooga FC defender Tate Robertson leads the league in assists (7)

Chattanooga FC goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović and defender Farid Sar-Sar are two of the four players in all of MLS NEXT Pro to play the most minutes so far this season (1,260)

Know the opponent

FC Cincinnati 2 is coached by Tyrone Marshall, who was named the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Coach of the Year. Marshall is in his fourth season at the helm.

Cincinnati (2W-7L-3D, 12 points) is coming off a 1-0 win at New England Revolution II with center-back Brian Schaefer getting on the scoresheet.

Schaefer and Kenji Mboma Dem lead the team with three goals apiece, while Peter Mangione is the club's leader in assists with three on the season so far.

TN-GA All-Star Soccer Game to be hosted at Finley Stadium

CFC and Finley Stadium will host the annual Georgia vs. Tennessee high school soccer all-star games on Saturday.

The event will feature two matches, one between the girls all-stars of Tennessee and Georgia and the second between the boys. The girls' all-star match will kick off at 11:30 a.m. ET with the boys' all-star match set for 1:30 p.m. ET.

Tickets purchased for either all-star match will also grant fans general admission to Chattanooga FC's men's professional match against FC Cincinnati 2 in MLS NEXT Pro action at 7:00 p.m. ET at Finley Stadium. Gates open at 6:00 p.m. ET. Tickets are $15.00 for all ages. Children 3 and under are free. There will be recognition of the participating players at halftime of the CFC vs FC Cincinnati 2 match.

Match info

Venue: Finley Stadium | Chattanooga, Tenn.

Kick-off: 7:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, June 21

Broadcast: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV | Talent: Jon Gross

Referees:

Habeeb Hooshmand

Head Referee

Kevin Huet

Assistant Referee 1

Joshua Belk

Assistant Referee 2

Celeste Roberts

4th Official

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Images from this story

Chattanooga FC goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović
Chattanooga FC goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović
   



MLS NEXT Pro Stories from June 20, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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