Chattanooga FC Women will play their third game of the WPSL season and first away game at FC Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama, this Saturday, June 8th at 7:00 p.m. ET.
History treats CFCW well against Birmingham, with last year’s matchup ending 7-0 in favor of the Sky Blues. Returners Ava VanDoren, Sage Samelli and Summer Hernandez will look to recreate their performances a year ago, with goals for VanDoren and Samelli, and a hat-trick for Hernandez.
Both teams have at least one game in hand on top-of-the-table Nashville Rhythm, so both sides will be fighting for a victory to inch themselves closer to that solo playoff spot.
What they're saying
Head coach Tom Halsall previewed the matchup against FC Birmingham and detailed where he wants to see the team improve.
"The big thing for us will be in transition, so we can get more support in that final third," said Halsall. "We are creating chances; we just need to be more clinical and ruthless in that final third. It's about having that strong desire to want to get in the box and on the end of things and putting bodies on the line to get that last inch on the ball to get it in the back of the net. We're looking to have a big goalfest on Saturday.
"Obviously we need a first win for the confidence and the boost and belief that what we're doing is working. We started to see our identity and philosophy come through last week. Our style of play was a lot more apparent in the Knoxville game than in the first match against Nashville Rhythm. We were more possession-based in our play. We were able to combine passes a lot more. It was an attractive style; we just missed that end product. If we can build on the basics and try and get a convincing result, it will lift the buzz even more in training. I have been very impressed with the players this week in training. It's not been dull or down; they've been very positive, which tells me they all do believe in themselves and that we're going to push on."
Defender Hannah Opie spoke about the season so far and looked forward to the trip to Birmingham.
"We need to play more as a team and passing and moving the ball," said Opie. "I think we'll be able to do really well this weekend.
"It's extremely important [that we jump out into an early lead against Birmingham]. We start really fast. We just need to keep the pressure on, myself included. Even though I'm a defender, we need to keep stepping and playing through our patterns, instead of trying to force it sometimes. I think it's super important to grab a goal early and to be able to keep the momentum up together as a team."
Know the Opponent
FC Birmingham sit in fifth place in the WPSL Southeast Conference standings with three points. The Falcons have one victory and it came in their first game of the season against FC Nashville Wolves (4-0), but suffered back-to-back defeats in their following two matches against Knoxville 865 Alliance (9-0) and Nashville Rhythm (8-0), seeing them post a -13 goal differential in the Southeast Conference.
Chattanooga have a game in hand on Birmingham, so a victory would see them leapfrog their opponents in the table on goal difference.
Match info
Venue: Lawson Field Stadium | Birmingham, Alabama
Kickoff: Saturday, June 8, 2024, 7:00 P.M. ET
Tickets: Single Game Away Ticket
Broadcast: FC Birmingham on WPSL | Owen Harris
