Match Preview: Crown Legacy FC v Chattanooga FC

Philip Farrell
22 hours ago
6 min read

Tate Robertson of Chattanooga (L) and Crown Legacy’s Aron John (R) during the sides’ first meeting in March. Photo credit: Chattanooga FC Communications

NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com

Match: Crown Legacy FC vs. Chattanooga FC

Date: Sunday, 23 August, 2026. 19:00 (Eastern)

Venue: Sportsplex at Matthews, Matthews, NC. Capacity: 5,000

Watch: OneFootball, MLSNextPro.com, YouTube

Listen: Mixlr (Talent: Gabriel Schray)

There’s a top-of-the-table clash in MLS Next Pro’s East Conference tonight, as Chattanooga Football Club visits Crown Legacy. The hosts sit in first, four points and one place ahead of their guests. With New England Revolution II losing yesterday, tonight’s proceedings in Matthews retain their summit status. We’re entering the business end of the season, when every point, every goal, takes on added importance. This is the biggest game of the season!

Crown Legacy (1st - P:23 W:12 D:7 L:4 SOW:5 GF:54 GA:32 GD:+22) have looked almost perfect so far. They started the season in blistering form, winning their opening seven games. After their first loss in late April, they’ve only been defeated three more times since and have held 1st place consistently. Their most recent outing resulted in a shock when they lost 2-0 at home to mid-table CT United (themselves experiencing a purple patch). That result ended a five-game winning run. Despite their ascendant position in the league, they surprisingly don’t dominate many individual honors, indicative perhaps of a strong squad effort. Nathan Richmond leads the side in assists (8), the joint second-most across the league. Canadian hitman Hugo Mbongue is their top scorer with 11 goals.

Chattanooga FC (2nd - P:23 W:11 D:7 L:5 SOW:4 GF:43 GA:32 GD:+11) are on a club-record 11 games unbeaten run in MLS Next Pro. Striker Alex Krehl continues to impress, having headed in his 14th goal of the campaign last weekend. Atlanta United 2’s Arif Kovac netted twice yesterday in his side’s 5-1 thrashing of Orlando City B, meaning that Krehl is now four goals off the top of the Golden Boot race. Chattanooga has picked up points in eight of its 11 away matches in the league, including three wins. Most recently, they drew 2-2 at Toronto FC II. Tate Robertson is the team’s primary creative outlet, with seven assists in league play. He recently surpassed the club’s record for assists and is now on 26 in total.

The match kicks off at 7pm Eastern and fans can expect humid but dry conditions with temperatures around 80 degrees at kick-off. Proceedings will be officiated by Shaye Lane of Massachusetts who refereed CFC’s home game with Orlando City B in July. Streaming will be available on the OneFootball app, MLSNextPro.com, and the league’s YouTube channel.

The History

Crown Legacy: P:8 W:5 D:1 L:2 SOW:0 GF:18 GA:11 GD:+7

Chattanooga: P:8 W:2 D:1 L:5 SOW:1 GF:43 GA:18 GD:-7

Tonight’s contest will be the ninth clash between Crown Legacy and Chattanooga in MLS NEXT Pro. Crown Legacy has the upperhand historically with a >50% win-rate, and won both previous ties between the sides this year. On the season’s opening weekend, CLFC visited Tennessee and left with an emphatic 4-1 comeback win. After Damien Barker John netted early for the hosts, Crown Legacy hit back with goals from Rodolfo Aloko (x2), Nimfasha Berchimas, Emmanuel Uchegbu. In April, a Hugo Mbongue penalty for CLFC was all that separated the sides at Matthews Sportsplex.

Aloko is now primarily with Charlotte’s senior team in MLS, having made 16 appearances for them since April. Uchegbu is now on loan at Croatian side NK Varaždin. Dylan Sing, formerly of Crown Legacy and now with Indy Eleven, is the fixture’s top scorer with three goals.

Report Cards and Lineups

Crown Legacy

Crown Legacy FC enjoys a four-point cushion over second-place Chattanooga FC in the Eastern Conference and are six-points off third place Columbus Crew 2 who have a game in-hand. Quite an opening season for Head Coach Kevin Sawchak who was elevated to the role when Gary Dicker was installed as assistant at Charlotte FC. CLFC and Sawchak do have a serious warchest behind them, and the squad they’ve assembled certainly wasn’t cheap. Nonetheless, they’ve done the job and look the strongest side across MLS Next Pro. All that didn’t help them on Wednesday against CT United, however. After going behind to an early Bryan Destin goal for their visitors, midfielder Daniel Longo was sent off just after half-time for a second foul and second yellow card. Barnabás Tanyi netted for CT United to give CLFC their second home loss of the year. It was a tough result for Crown Legacy who offered a very balanced performance despite being a man down for forty minutes.

Predicted Lineup (4-3-3): Jahiem Wickham; Ashton Kamdem, Andrew Johnson, Wyatt Holt, Willian Sangoquiza (C); Baye Coulibaly, Andrej Subotić, Adrian Gutierrez; Nathan Richmond, Hugo Mbongue, Magic Smalls

We can anticipate Daniel Longo being suspended after his red against Connecticut. Midfielder Aaron John and winger Nimfasha Berchimas are injured, I believe; two big losses for Sawchak. In mid-July, Crown Legacy FC transferred defender Assane Ouedraogo to FK Čukarički of the Serbian topflight. As part of the deal, the club retained a sell-on percentage on any future sale. On August 5, they loaned Nigerian winger Emmanuel Uchegbu to Croatian side NK Varaždin through the 2026-27 season.

The player to watch tonight for Crown Legacy is 22-year-old forward Nathan Richmond. The Clemson alumnus was signed this February to a contract through mid-2027, with club options through mid-2029. Last year he wrapped up his four-year collegiate career with the Tigers, making 50 appearances with 13 goals and 12 assists. The Atlanta, Georgia native had a breakout sophomore season en route to an NCAA National Championship and ACC Tournament Championship and earned him a nod to the All-ACC Third Team and selection by Charlotte FC in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. In 2025 he posted his best statistical season, scoring seven goals and notching five assists, landing him on the All-ACC Second Team. He’s had 10 assists and seven goals in 2026 with CLFC, and has made two Leagues Cup appearances for Charlotte.

Chattanooga

Chattanooga’s unbeaten streak is now up to 11 matches after Richard Dixon’s men earned a hard-fought point in a 2-2 draw at Toronto. Alex Krehl scored his 14th goal of the season to keep pace with Atlanta United 2's Arif Kovac in the Golden Boot race. While an 11th game unbeaten is impressive, fans and players expressed frustration with giving up a full-three points, especially as TFC II walked away with the PK shootout win. Jahmarie Nolan had put Toronto ahead on 11 minutes before Krehl and Farid Sar-Sar put CFC ahead. Demar Dixon was allowed to grab a 94th minute equalizer before the hosts won the PKs. As disappointing as conceding so late was, the point earned kept them within striking distance of pole position in the Eastern Conference.

Predicted Lineup (4-3-3): Eldin Jakupović; Anthony Sorenson, Farid Sar-Sar, Mattias Hanchard, Yves Tcheuyap; Tate Robertson, Alex McGrath (C), Isaiah Jones; Damien Barker-John, Daniel Mangarov, Alex Krehl

Dixon seems settled on a 4-3-3 now and landed on his favored 13-14 or so players, as opposed to a set XI. Some starters are a certainty with the backbone of Jakupović, Sar-Sar, Robertson, McGrath, and Krehl in-place. Hanchard, Sorenson, and Tcheuyap have nailed down spots. Isaiah Jones has been rotating a bit with Luke Husakiwsky and Steeve Louis Jean while further afield, Daniel Mangarov seems to have proved himself to Dixon after some bench appearances earlier in the year. Damien Barker-John has also been rotating, with Ameziane Sid-Mohand and recently Alexis Arrúa sometimes on the wing. The latter started at Toronto, so I expect Barker-John to return tonight.

The player to watch is Krehl. With 14 goals, he’ll be itching to catch Kovac and keep the battle for Golden Boot alive. His story is incredible. Earlier this year, he was driving a box truck delivering packages. After trialing with the club and only six months later, he now holds Chattanooga FC's record for goals scored in a single MLS NEXT Pro season and the most in club history for any player not called Markus Naglestad. He’s now making his name as a future club icon and is bringing to bear the experience he gained in Brazilian academies and Spanish lower leagues to Finley Stadium.

Analysis and Predictions

Albeit away from home, this might be Chattanooga’s next chance of a Crown Legacy scalp in 2026. The hosts just played in midweek, meaning they might have more tired legs than their visitors. They also lost that game, at home and to a mid-table team. Furthermore, with several injuries, suspensions, promotions, and transfers; they’re missing a few key players. Chattanooga are high on confidence and there’s a positive atmosphere about the club these days, with the team playing with heart for a coach they love. Even a tie with a PK win will feel like victory. I think they can do it and am predicting Crown legacy FC 1-2 Chattanooga FC.