Match Preview: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC vs. Charlotte Independence
Home side favorite to win
Match: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC v Charlotte Independence
Date: Saturday, September 6th, 2025. 19:00 (Eastern)
Venue: CHI Memorial Stadium, East Ridge, TN. Capacity: 2,500
How to watch: ESPN+
Tickets: Red Wolves Website
Charlotte Independence travels the 320 or so miles west to face league leaders Chattanooga Red Wolves SC tonight in USL League One. Kicking off at 7pm (Eastern) the match-up sees an Independence side looking to bounce back from some heavy recent losses against a dangerous Red Wolves pack that is unbeaten in 11.
Chattanooga (W11 D8 L2 in the league) enjoys a three-point gap to second-place Spokane Velocity at the summit of the table. Spokane has a game-in-hand and last week the Red Wolves failed to capitalize on a rare Velocity loss in Knoxville when they tied 0-0 with Antelope Valley. At home Chattanooga has won seven and drawn four (losing none), scoring 17 and conceding only six goals in 11 games.
Charlotte (W8 D7 L7 in the league) has only won one of their last five games. They lead the league with 38 goals in 22 games, but are defensively just as prolific, conceding 15 in their last five games. That’s brought the club’s goal differential down to 0, with its 38 against tied for third-highest in the league. With three wins and three draws from 11 road trips, they’ve picked up points in just over half their away games. This is a middling record, with a -4 goal difference.
The game will be officiated by 2024 USL League One Referee of the Year Joe Surgan (North Carolina) and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The history
Chattanooga: P:9 W:2 D:3 L:4 GF:16 GA:18 GD:-2
Charlotte: P:9 W:4 D:3 L:2 GF:18 GA:16 GD:+2
While Charlotte does boast a favorable record against Chattanooga, going back to their first meeting in 2022 when the former moved to League One, such history will likely count for nothing tonight. The personnel have changed, and this Red Wolves side is a different beast than in seasons past. They’re on an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions, are top of the table, and haven’t lost at home all season.
The last time they met was back in late March in Charlotte. The game at American Legion Memorial Stadium ended 0-0 that night where only 623 in attendance witnessed a damp affair. Charlotte forward Tresor Mbuyu is the joint-top goalscorer in this fixture with four goals. The rest of the tie’s historic top five scorers are now with other clubs.
Report cards and lineups
Chattanooga
Last Saturday, after Spokane Velocity had lost at One Knoxville earlier in the day, the Red Wolves missed a gilt-edged opportunity to stretch their lead in the table to six points when they tied 0-0 with AV Alta. A win would have given them a breather of three additional points over Spokane, which enjoys a game-in-hand. Given the Velocity plays last-place Westchester tomorrow, three points are essential for Chattanooga tonight. On their side is the fact that they have not lost in the last 11 fixtures. In that time, they’ve won eight matches and tied three. They haven’t lost at home all season, in all competitions.
I expect Head Coach Scott Mackenzie to opt for a variation of his usual 5-4-1 setup, incorporating three center backs, two fullbacks and a pair of central midfielders. I also expect him to again be without the services of standout center-back Declan Watters, who tore his MCL and will be out for another week at least. Michael Knapp, Jonny Filipe, and Gharett Morris also likely remain on the injury list.
A finely balanced side, the Red Wolves are excellent at both the attacking and defensive ends of the field. The forward trio of Pedro and Omar Hernández and Matt Bentley have combined for 18 of Chattanooga’s 33 league goals. All three are exceptionally dangerous and will need close marshaling by Charlotte’s defense, especially as Chattanooga likes to avoid possession and attack quickly on the break. Through the leadership of the injured Watters, but equally his defensive partner Eric Kinzner, the Red Wolves, despite holding just 34% average possession of the ball, have only conceded 19 goals. This represents the third-best defense in USL League One.
International experience in this Red Wolves squad is with Guatemala (Ricardo Jérez, 63 caps) and the US Virgin Islands (Joshua Ramos, 18 caps).
Charlotte
Charlotte comes into tonight’s game off of a pair of heavy away losses. Last weekend, Portland Heats of Pine stuck four goals on them in a 4-2. A few days before that, in midweek, they conceded another four at Union Omaha. Such recent away form should be a bit alarming for Head Coach Mike Jeffries, who has been at the club for ten years. Another game on the road, and at the league leaders, is the last thing this side needs right now. Cameroonian international Souaibou Marou, forward Juan David Moreno, and defender Nick Speilman shared the three goals they scored across both games.
Jeffries has switched things up across their last three games. At home against Westchester (1-0 win) he played a 5-4-1, while away at Omaha (4-1 loss) he played a 4-2-3-1 and at Portland (4-2 loss) a 4-1-4-1. It’s hard to guess how they’ll line-up tonight, but perhaps a return to the 5-4-1 of their last victory.
Striker Christian Chaney currently has the third most goals in USL League One, with nine strikes. The experienced 30-year-old was recently name-checked by Red Wolves defender Declan Watters in our recent interview with him, as one of the most difficult strikers in the league to play against. With 13 goals across all competitions so far, he’s having the best scoring season of his career, having already scored more than in any full season so far, and it’s only early September! He’s my player to watch for Charlotte tonight.
There’s some international experience in this squad too with Jamaica (Amal Knight, 13 caps) and Cameroon (Fabrice Ngah, 4 caps and Souaibou Marou, 3 caps).
Analysis and Predictions
I anticipate a win for the Chattanooga Red Wolves tonight. Yes, Charlotte has a superior record over them and comes into this game as the top goalscoring team in the league. But the Red Wolves are so well run, well oiled, and well drilled. Especially at home, I imagine they’ll find a way to beat this Charlotte side. I do see both teams scoring as Charlotte always scores, even in defeat. 2-1 to Chattanooga.
