Chattanooga Football Club defeated the University of North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team 1-0 at Finley Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the club’s fourth match of the 2025 preseason.
Tate Robertson scored his first goal for the club in the 33rd minute after some intricate build-up play from a CFC free-kick. It represented the first time CFC scored the opening goal of a match this preseason.
Head Coach Chris Nugent made two changes from the side that started against One Knox last Saturday, with captain Alex McGrath and Jesus Ibarra coming in for Robert Screen and Minjae Kwak.
Eldin Jakupović made a crucial kick-save from point-blank range in the 58th minute to maintain and ultimately help CFC secure the victory.
"It was a good challenge," said Nugent in his post-match press conference. "We've been able to experience different types of adversity and teams to play against. They (UNC) are in a different stage in their season compared to the others we've faced so far. There were moments where we adapted quite well and there were moments where we didn't and that's part of preseason. I said to the guys in the locker room afterwards that sometimes it's important to not concede, even when you're not playing great or the other team has control. It's not always going to be beautiful, especially in preseason, but trying to win some of those battles will set up nicely for the regular season."
A full replay of the match is available HERE.
Chattanooga’s preseason action continues on Friday, February 28 when the club hosts UPSL side Tennessee Tempo in a closed-door match open exclusively to season ticket holders at 7:30 p.m. ET.