Chattanooga FC travels to Atlanta United FC 2 on Sunday, March 30 with kick-off set for 3:30 p.m. ET at Fifth Third Stadium in Kennesaw.
Chattanooga FC looks to continue its perfect start to the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season when it travels to face Southeast Divsion rivals Atlanta United 2 on Sunday afternoon.
The Boys in Blue have opened the 2025 regular season with victories over Inter Miami CF II in Fort Lauderdale and Huntsville City in the club's home opener. Atlanta has started the season with a narrow 1-0 home defeat by New York Red Bulls II and a 2-2 draw at Orlando City B, where it fell 4-1 on penalties for the extra point.
Last season, the teams played in three closely-fought matches with Atlanta just edging the head-to-head (1W-1D-1L, 1SOW by CFC).
The two teams will not meet again until the latter stages of the season with Atlanta hosting once more on September 24th and Chattanooga hosting ATL UTD 2 on the final regular season matchday of the season on Decision Day on October 5th.
What they're saying
Head Coach Chris Nugent described which areas of the team's performances he's most pleased with and where he seems room for improvement this early in the season.
"There's a lot of areas I'm proud of and a lot of room for improvement," said Nugent. "The guys have got to take a lot of credit, coming in earlier than planned in the season. They've bought in to not just what we're trying to do on the field, but the areas in the locker room and off the field in trying to get them all to understand Chattanooga and the community. That buy-in has been really helpful. We had a tough preseason and got to experience a lot of different styles of play. We have a good group who understand who we are and who we want to be and that's filtered out across the team."
Former Atlanta United 2 defender Ethan Dudley previewed the match as he returns to a familiar ground.
"I'm excited and satisfied with where we are right now," said Dudley. "I'm excited for the match. All of our focus is on our preparations for Atlanta. I think it has the potential to be a more open game than our first two because we've made some adjustments in what we're trying to do and we're also reacting to how we know they're going to play. Against Miami and Huntsville we had a lot of moments where we were sitting in, defending and counter. We're looking at how we can be more aggressive offensively and try to take more control of the game with the ball."
Know the Opponent
Atlanta United 2 is coached by Steve Cooke, who took charge on February 3rd, 2023.
ATL UTD 2 signed nine new players in the off-season, including former Inter Miami CF II duo Ryan Carmichael and Nyk Sessock.
The team is captained by midfielder Javier Armas. Defender Ronan Wynne scored his first professional goal in the club's last match. Wynne also scored Atlanta's lone goal at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga FC's 2-1 win over Atlanta United's first team during the 2025 preseason campaign.
Watch Party
Can't make it to Kennesaw? Don't worry! Cheers Collective member Chattanooga Marriott will be hosting the club's official away match watch party, where there will be a signature CFC cocktail, full dinner menu on offer and a free one-night stay and $50 bar voucher giveaway.
Match info
Venue: Fifth Third Stadium | Kennesaw, Georgia
Kick-off: 3:30 p.m. ET, Sunday March 30
Broadcast: MLSNEXTPro.com | Talent: Philip Galati
Audio Webcast: CFC on Mixlr | Talent: Gabriel Schray
Team uniforms for Sunday's match
Referees:
Corbyn May
Head Referee
Nick Goyette
Assistant Referee 1
James Duling
Assistant Referee 2
Celeste Roberts
4th Official
