Chattanooga FC has new look at season start

The Chattanooga Football Club will have a much different look this season — from front to back.

Some changes were needed, others somewhat unexpected. Not starting the season with the club is longtime goalkeeper Greg Hartley, who currently is playing with Colne Football Club, a professional team in England.

There are a number of players trying to replace him, but they are not part of a revamped offense that struggled at times a season ago. In 2015, the team scored 53 goals and was never shut out, but last season’s totals dipped to 42 goals with 10 matches in which the team was held to fewer than two goals.

The new look starts tonight, with a match against the Charlotte Eagles of the Premier Developmental League at 7 in Charlotte, N.C.

One of the players brought in to enhance the offense is midfielder Leo De Smedt, who played on the 2015 team. De Smedt chased some professional opportunities last season before recently deciding to come back. Another is Daniel Whitehall, the NAIA national player of the year who scored 35 goals in his sophomore season.

“He has similar qualities to Luke (Winter),” CFC coach Bill Elliott said. “He has some similar qualities to Luke, and we hope he can relieve some of the pressure on what Luke has been able to contribute over the years.”

Winter, the club’s all-time leading scorer, is back, as is Whitehall’s teammate Daniel Tautz, a third-team NAIA All-American.

But the biggest change will be in the back. Elliott didn’t rule out a return of Hartley to the club later in the year, but the keeper competition now is among Paulo Pita, Pierre Gardan and Chris Baker. They all bring impressive resumes.

“Coming in, I knew that there were going to be really good goalkeepers in the club. I could see that the first day,” said Gardan, who played at Virginia Commonwealth. “It’s really good to be able to compete with such good goalkeepers; I think there’s a good atmosphere between us.”

Elliott took over as CFC’s head coach in 2012, the same season that Hartley joined the club. It will be the first time that he’s going to start the season without knowing who the starter in goal was going to be, but he does not consider that a bad thing.

“They’re going to have to earn it,” Elliott said. “It’s the first time in my tenure as coach here when I’ve found myself wondering (who the keeper would be). He’s been the backbone of the club, but sometimes new blood is a good thing.

“We’ll see; we’ll get an idea when we play on Wednesday.”

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.