Chattanooga FC moves into South Region final

The Chattanooga Football Club (CFC) is just one win away from advancing to the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) national semifinals for a fifth time in the eight-year history of the club.

CFC (14-2-2 overall) made it nine shutouts on the season and eight in their last 11 matches with a 4-0 thumping of the visiting Dutch Lions FC of Houston in a South Region semifinal contest Saturday night at Finley Stadium.

They will host Miami United FC this Saturday back at Finley at 7:30 p.m. with a berth in the NPSL Final Four at stake. Miami United beat the Atlanta Silverbacks, 2-0, in their region semifinal match.

CFC forward Luke Winter, who was named the NPSL’s Mitre National Player of the Week earlier last week, scored two goals for the winners. His first tally came in the 23rd minute, which gave the hosts a 1-0 halftime lead.

A Kieran Bywaters cross was put home by Jon Findley in the 60th minute and Winter knocked home his second goal on an assist from Sindre Welo in the 72nd minute. John “Snoopy” Davidson came into the game for Winter with about 10 minutes left in regulation and immediately scored following a long pass.

CFC’s only losses of the season came against a developmental team of Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire in the finals of the Hank Steinbrecher Cup in late May and to the Harrisburg (Pa.) City Islanders, a pro team in the United Soccer League, in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup. Both losses were by 2-1 scores.

Saturday night’s crowd at Finley was 6,480, a season-high.

Last year, CFC played in front of nearly a combined 34,000 fans in three playoff matches at home on their way to their fourth NPSL title game.