CHATTANOOGA CHALLENGE:Scenic City SC Win Chattanooga Challenge 2026
- Calum Ewing
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
CLEVELAND, Tn. —In a matchup of UPSL heavyweights, Scenic City SC scored 3 unanswered goals in the second half to defeat Potros FC and win their first piece of silverware, the 2026 Chattanooga Challenge trophy.
The first chance of the match came in the 7th minute, in which a breakaway by Scenic City’s Fisch past two defenders led to forward Obi Okoronkwo being played through in the left channel. He took a touch around Bradshaw to his left, but the ensuing shot in the box went wide right of the back post.
The Chattanooga side got themselves into trouble a minute later when their goalkeeper received the ball wide, tried to dribble past a defender, and was left shielding the ball in the corner. He cleared it down the line successfully but left the goal open, and a shot attempt from long range by Benjamin Uranga of Potros bounced and was controlled by a Scenic defender in front of the goal line.
After physical back and forth with just the final pass missing for both teams, Potros believed they had a penalty shout in the 24th minute when Marc Bineau was clipped driving into the box. Though it seemed he was clipped before the ball was won from the stands (though it could have been the other way around), the ref waved off the protests from a much better angle.
In the 36th minute, a long ball got played towards the Potros goal. When Uranga attempted to head the ball back towards the goalkeeper Verona, a Scenic City forward flew in and got a touch on the ball while stretching for it. The keeper Verona dove in for the ball and clipped the forward’s foot soon after the touch, but very quickly after that foot followed through into his jaw and sent him bleeding to the ground. Due to the quick nature of events, the fact that the forward was slightly leaning forward already as he went for the ball, and that the forward’s touch sent the ball out of play into the parking lot (therefore no control), the referee did not reward a penalty from his angle.
After going into halftime knotted at 0-0, Potros decided to change that five minutes into the second 45. A switch of play in the attacking third led to a low cross by Evan Greenburg met in the 6-yard box by Adrian Levy, who hit it uncleanly but off the goalkeeper and into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Momentum was swinging Potros’ way up until the 58th minute when Brian Jimenez stepped in. After a headed clearance from the box, Brian hit a half volley that curled outward into the bottom left corner with incredible spin and pace. There was nothing Cameron Verona could do to stop it, and Scenic had their equalizer.
Just 3 minutes after the goal, Potros tried to reclaim their lead, but a free header at the back post was skied over. Three minutes after that, Scenic skied their own free header in the 6-yard box over the bar after a free kick. A few more half-chances followed for each side until the 69th minute. Scenic’s Michael Clow lost his man at the back post, met a pinpoint cross from a corner, and tapped the ball home to complete the comeback and take a 2-1 lead.
In the 73rd minute, Marc Bineau ended up passing the ball to himself in the right attacking third after the forward he intended to pass to left the ball since he was in an offside position. The right winger would end up going down in the box in what could’ve been a penalty for Potros, but the referee made a controversial decision to call the play back for the offside. This all happened as the AR’s flag initially raised and then was dropped.
Potros were given eight minutes of stoppage time after time wasting to find an equalizer, but those hopes were dashed just one minute in. Former Chattanooga Red Wolves goalkeeper JD Myers played a long ball into the left attacking third towards Clay Gallant. Receiving the ball after a missed clearance, he lobbed Verona who got a touch but was too far off his line to stop the ball from hitting the top right corner.
Clay Gallant would be named Chattanooga Challenge Tournament MVP after a stellar performance not only in the final but in the group stage, and his goal in the final would be one of only three shots on target (all 3 goals) for Scenic City in the match. It was another comeback win in the 2nd half for the boys in navy, and Chattanooga’s semi-professional darlings would see out a 3-1 win. It was their first victory over Potros in club history after close 1-2 and 2-3 losses last season, and it crowned them as champions of the Chattanooga Challenge.
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