Match Preview: Chattanooga FC vs. UFA Gunners
New CFC Head Coach Juan Hernandez takes charge of his first game this Friday
Match: Chattanooga FC v UFA Gunners
Date: Friday, May 23rd, 2025. 19:00 (Eastern)
Venue: Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN. Capacity: 20,412
How to watch: WPSL on YouTube
Tickets: Chattanooga FC Website
Chattanooga Football Club will kick off its Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) season this Friday, when it takes on the UFA Gunners at Finley Stadium. The game marks the dawn of a new era for CFC as club legend Juan Hernandez is set to take charge of his first match as Head Coach.
In June of last season, at Finley Stadium, the Gunners ran out 6-2 winners over CFC. Four of its goals that day came from Ella Ciardullo, Caroline Smith, Ashlyn Koutsos and Brielle LaBerge, who are with the side again this year.
UFA lost its opening game of the season on Wednesday, at Atlanta Fire, and will come into this game wanting to pick up points as soon as possible in a short season. For Chattanooga, this marks the first of a three-game home stand, and, as Associate Head Coach Maryn Beutler put it "the season is very short, so the first few games matter immensely. Those performances and those points are where teams either set themselves up for success for long-term playoff runs or they don't."
Report cards and lineups
Chattanooga
With this being Hernandez's first game in charge, predicting a line-up or even a setup is made difficult. And with this being the first time this squad will have played together, even knowing specific roles for each player is hard. So don't assume the below to be an actual prediction of setup or positions, but rather the XI players I'd like to see start, in some fashion. I've gone with a simple 4-4-2 to demonstrate this.
Goalkeeper will be a highly competitive position this season with two experienced shot-stoppers in Kyleigh Hall and Maddie Smith joining. Hall is a league winner in Romania and Guatemala while Smith won the 2024 WPSL championship with California Storm. I’m picking Hall to start but it could go either way.
At the back, I’d expect returnees Billie Jean Davis and Abbey Marak, who the coaches know well, to start. Jordan Crockett is one of several players signed from a strong 2024 Colorado Storm team and could start. Finally, I'm going for Jamaican youth international Dejionee Anderson to feature.
Mae Hunt is a player I'm keen to see. She brings experience from England having played for Reading FC in the WSL. She's my player to watch. Kennedy Ball and Tori Soutuyo are a pair of Chattanooga natives and CFC Academy alumni that local fans will undoubtedly be keen to cheer on so it would be fun to see them line out. Finally, there's Japanese player Kei Yoneda who spent the 2024/2025 season with Arizona Western College, playing in all 20 matches, helping the Matadors advance all the way to the 2024 NJCAA Division I national championship.
Up front, while it's very competitive, I'd be happy to see returnee Analisa Vincent start. A standout goalscorer for Talladega College and the Guyana National Team, she returns to CFC after leading the Sky Blues in goals scored in 2024 with three in six matches started. Alongside her, I've chosen Reese McDermott who scored ten goals in 15 matches last year for the Colorado Storm.
UFA Gunners
The Gunners began their season on Wednesday evening with a 1-0 loss away at Atlanta Fire. I'm displaying the same starting XI that Head Coach Iggy Moleka picked for that game, expecting minimal changes. This is a more settled team than Chattanooga, with a larger portion of its 2024 roster returning for this season.
Some players to watch include Wofford's Bailey Mullen and Kate Markey who respectively made the SoCon Fall All-Academic and All-Freshman teams last year. Lauren McCloskey was on the Southeastern Conference Fall 2024 Academic Honor Roll with the Florida Gators. Ashlyn Koutsos has international youth experience, having played for the Greek U19 National Team during Euro Qualifications in April last year. She also found the net against CFC last June. Finally, Layla Sirdah looks a dangerous proposition for the Chattanooga defense. Last year with Indiana she was named TDS Midseason Top 100 Freshmen (No. 46) and Big Ten Offensive & Freshman Player of the Week (Sept. 10). She led the Hoosiers in every offensive category with seven goals, seven assists, 40 shots and 21 shots on goal. She's my player to watch for UFA.
Analysis and Predictions
UFA is one of the strongest sides in the Southeastern Peachtree conference. They're a side stacked with some of the best talent across the WPSL and a tough prospect for any side. However, CFC is ambitious. As I learned in my recent interview with their coaching staff, their signings this off season are of a high caliber and represent a real statement of intent from the club. I will go for a home win here, with CFC triumphing 2 to 1.