CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (June 23, 2024) — Chattanooga FC Women returned home for their final game at Finley Stadium in the 2024 WPSL season against Decatur FC and lost 4-1.
Decatur started quickly, with a long ball by Emma Chapman played to Ellie McIntrye, and a quick finish and score for the 1-0 lead.
The Sky Blues looked to respond quickly. Annalisa Vincent hit the crossbar on an acrobatic attempt from a corner from Ciara Casamento in the 26th minute.
Defensively Chattanooga held strong in the first half. In stoppage time, Hannah Opie slid to block a shot attempt inside the box, and they were able to clear.
CFC's Eleonora Franco suffered a serious injury towards the end of the half and had to be stretchered off the field. Kaitlyn Gauze took the resulting penalty kick and had her effort saved.
However in first half stoppage time, Vincent recorded her first goal for the club with a sliding volley past Decatur FC goalkeeper Kaitlin Sinkler. This sent both sides into the half tied 1-1.
Decatur FC came out quickly once again to start the second half, this time with two goals for May El-Shami and Carrie Consolino in the 48th and 49th minutes respectively.
CFC defended well to keep the game in reach. In the 59th minute, Lily Kate Varino stepped out to save a one-on-one. Moments later, Varino pushed a shot from distance over the bar while fighting the sun.
In the 85th minute, Decatur put one more away, with Sarah Greiner firing a shot in the bottom right corner past substitute Brooke Alvarez.
Vincent nearly had a second of the match in the final minute of stoppage time when she struck the crossbar with a fiercely-hit shot from 25 yards out.
"I'm heartbroken," said Halsall after the match. "The girls worked so, so hard. They care and they want it. Some things are not clicking. We created more chances today. We changed the formation to a 3-5-2, which definitely helped us going forward. When it rains, it storms sometimes. There are a lot of positive to take. It's hard when it's been week after week of just negative results. We'll dust ourselves down, and we've still got two more games and that's what I keep relaying to the players. We're going to keep on going, one foot in front of the other."
Chattanooga FC Women will be away for the rest of the season, with their next game away at FC Nashville Wolves on Saturday, June 29 at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Box Score:
Chattanooga FC Women (1W-5L-0D, 3 pts.) - Decatur FC (4W-1L-1D, 13 pts.)
Finley Stadium | Chattanooga, Tenn.
Final Score:
CFCW: 1
DFCT: 4
Scoring Summary:
10’: McIntyre - DFCT
45 + 4’: Vincent - CFCW
48’: El-Shami - DFCT
49’: Consolino - DFCT
85’: Greiner - DFCT
Discipline:
51’: Caution - CFCW: Skelton
90’: Caution - CFCW: Davies
Line-ups:
CFCW starters: Lilly Kate Varino, Anna Land (C), Abbey Marak, Hannah Opie, Bailie Dull, Kaitlyn Gauze, Janne Van Brummelen, Ciara Casamento, Annalisa Vincent, Ava VanDoren, Juliette Lucas
Substitutes: Brooke Alvarez, Mary Beth Skelton, Billie Jean Davies, Sage Samelli, Heather Allen, Maggie Rickerd, Eleonora Franco, Riley Brown, Betha Pucek
Head Coach: Tom Halsall
Decatur FC starters: Kaitlin Sinkler; Aniyah Collier, Njeri Butts, Ava Maldonado; Katherine Elliot, Breanna Barley, May El-Shami, Emma Chapman, Carley Borgelt; Sarah Greiner, Carrie Consolino
Substitutes: Wasila Diwura-Soale, Carmen Hardwick, Judith Juarez, Ellie McIntyre, Isabelle Lee
Head Coach: Campbell Chapman
