Chattanooga Football Club remains unbeaten after three matches of MLS NEXT Pro league play this season following a 2-2 draw and 4-3 shootout win for an extra point over Atlanta United 2 at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
Markus Naglestad scored his 60th career goal in his 100th appearance for CFC in the 64th minute and Keegan Ancelin added his second of the season late on in the 87th minute to take the team's total league tally to eight points.
Captain and man-of-the-match Alex McGrath and Milo Garvanian both had early shots on target. Head Coach Chris Nugent's side put together several fluid build-up sequences in the attacking half, but goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović was called into action on several occasions towards the end of the first half and he stood up to each chance. Jakupović made two significant saves from big chances by Cayman Togashi and Rodrigo Neri in the second half.
CFC opened the scoring after Naglestad got a touch on Tate Robertson's low shot across goal to score on his milestone century appearance for the Boys in Blue.
Atlanta substitute Neri equalized for the hosts in the 78th minute before Ancelin helped CFC regain its lead nine minutes later. However, Neri struck again late on in stoppage time for the match to end in a regulation draw.
Chattanooga continued its trend of dominance in the penalty shootout and won its first league shootout of 2025 thanks ultimately to Jakupović's save on Luke Brennan's attempt for the Boys in Blue to come out on top 4-3 and bring home the extra point.
"There are a lot of emotions after that one," said Nugent. "Whenever you concede a last-minute goal, it can feel like a sucker-punch. There were a lot of positives today. I was really pleased with a lot of the chances we created. The guys battled so hard. It was an excellent overall team performance, and there's always room to improve. No matter the result, there's always something we can do a bit better, and that's just part of the journey we're on."
CFC will be back at Finley Stadium on Wednesday evening to host Red Wolves in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and tickets are on sale now at CFCTIX.com
Noteworthy:
- - Chris Nugent made four changes from the team that started against Corpus Christi FC in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup last Wednesday March 19th—Nathan Koehler, Ethan Dudley, Jesus Ibarra and Markus Naglestad came in for Logan Brown, Steeve Louis Jean, Daniel Mangarov and Keegan Ancelin
- - Markus Naglestad made his 100th appearance for Chattanooga FC and scored his 60th goal for the club
- - Nathan Koehler made his first official start for Chattanooga FC
- - Ibarra and Naglestad both made their first official start of the 2025 season
- - Darwin Ortiz made his first official appearance for Chattanooga FC