MLS NEXT PRO:Match Preview: Chattanooga FC v Crown Legacy FC
- Phillip Farrell
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
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Match: Chattanooga FC vs. Crown Legacy FC
Date: Sunday, March 1st, 2026. 15:00 (Eastern)
Venue: Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN. Capacity: 20,412
How to watch: OneFootball, MLSNextPro.com, YouTube
CHATTANOOGA, Tn --- MLS Next Pro returns this weekend. Here in the Scenic City, Crown Legacy FC visits Finley Stadium this Sunday as they and Chattanooga FC meet. The league’s fifth season sees some exciting new developments, not least the global partnership with OneFootball to stream matches on the platform from this year. Sunday’s game sees an intriguing battle between two new head coaches.
Chattanooga FC (4th in Eastern Conference, Playoff QF in 2025) parted ways with Head Coach Chris Nugent in early February. The shock news came after the club signed 11 new players in the offseason. Hoping to improve on last year’s debut in the league’s playoffs and with an interim Head Coach at the helm, the club will be hoping that their new look squad and interim gaffer can give them the start they need to mount a serious challenge in 2026.
Crown Legacy (13th in Eastern Conference in 2025) faces an uphill battle to even improve on 2025’s poor showing. They’ve potentially lost some of their stronger performers to the Charlotte FC (their parent club) senior squad, have a spate of new arrivals, and are also under the helm of a new manager after Gary Dicker was appointed Charlotte’s Assistant Coach under their Head Coach Dean Smith.
The match kicks off at 3pm Eastern and will be officiated by Alejo Calume of Florida. Streaming will be available on MLSNextPro.com, the league’s YouTube channel, and the OneFootball app.
The history
Chattanooga: P:6 W:2 D:1 L:3 SOW:1 GF:10 GA:13 GD:-3
Crown Legacy: P:6 W:3 D:1 L:2 SOW:0 GF:13 GA:10 GD:+3
Sunday’s contest will be the sixth clash between Chattanooga and Crown Legacy in MLS NEXT Pro. While Crown Legacy has the upperhand historically with a 50% win-rate; CFC won two of the three meetings these sides contested last year. This included both a 2-1 win at home and a 4-2 win away. Dylan Sing is the top goalscorer in this fixture having notched three for Crown Legacy against Chattanooga. However, the 25-year-old attacker is now with Indy Eleven in the USL Championship. Tate Robertson (2 goals) is likely the highest goalscorer in this fixture still with one of the two sides.
The teams will play one another three times this season, with Crown Legacy hosting CFC on April 18 and August 23.
Report cards and lineups
Chattanooga
No assessment of CFC’s squad or approach to Sunday’s game can begin without discussing the Head Coach position. The loss of Nugent was a shock, especially the timing of the parting of ways. In his stead the club was appointed Richard Dixon as interim Head Coach. No stranger to the Chattahooligans, Dixon was the club's first signing its professional era. The Jamaican made 92 appearances on the field, placing him sixth all time in appearances for the club. He retired in early 2024 and took on a role as CFC's performance coach, eventually being promoted to Director of Performance. While the club still searches for a full-time solution, Dixon has his opportunity to stake his own claim to the role. Helpfully, much of Nugent's backroom staff appear to still be in-place to help him.
Naturally, I have no idea what team Dixon will pick on Sunday, but I suspect its shape will look something like the above. While there’s been 11 new signings, I am not sure all are available yet, especially those coming from abroad who need work permits/visas.
Anton Sorenson (signed from Charlotte Independence) I would expect to see start at left-back. Koehler and Sar-Sar are tested and trusted, but new CB Mattias Hanchard starting wouldn’t be too surprising.
Midfield is a complete toss-up but up front I’m expecting returnees to start. Daniel Mangarov and Keegan Ancelin are exciting forwards who proved their worth in their first professional season last year. Sid Mohand deserves another shot after his injury stunted 2025. While Yuval Cohen’s injury leaves a gap at center forward, Alex Krehl is worthy replacement. However, I don’t expect him to start from the outset.
One new signing, Yves Tcheuyap, was on the books of Crown Legacy last season but had his option declined. While unlikely to start (with Tate Robertson ahead of him), he’ll be keen to get one over his former side on Sunday.
As well as new faces, something to surely excite Section 109 on Sunday at Finley will be the sight of captain Alex McGrath in a CFC jersey again. The Englishman was injured last March away to Atlanta United 2 and sat out the remainder of the season. Fans have waited almost a year to see McGrath again and he is on course to make his 99th appearance. He’s my CFC player to watch.
Crown Legacy
Kevin Sawchak, like Dixon, is one of 15 new Head Coaches in MLS Next Pro starting the 2026 season. He succeeds outgoing head coach Gary Dicker. Sawchak briefly served as interim Head Coach in 2024. During that time Legacy posted a 8W-5L-5T record that took them to the Eastern Conference semifinal.
Crown Legacy has parted ways with the aforementioned Dylan Sing. He was their leading goalscorer in 2025 with 8 goals. A number of players have been retained however, including Andrej Subotić, Emmanuel Uchegbu, Morrison Agyemang, and Aron John. It’s unclear at this juncture what players are available to Sawchak and which ones will be primarily with the Charlotte senior outfit. The likes of Agyemang, Isaac Walker, Jack Neeley, Nick Holliday, Mikah Thomas, and Magic Smalls all played for Legacy in 2025, but are circling the MLS outfit. Neeley and Ageyamang were on the bench for Charlotte last weekend against St. Louis City.
A spate of new signings have also come in. These include goalkeeper Jahiem Wickham, defenders Jamie Smith and Ashton Kamdem, midfielder Daniel Longo, and forwards Nathan Richmond and HUge Mbongue. The above predicted XI is a guess, but I have tried to incorporate a blend of what is likely available to Sawchak.
Analysis and predictions
Early season games are a lottery. We don’t yet know how teams will gel, how new coaches will fare, and how new players will adapt. Given their respective positions last season and that CFC are at home; I’d go with a home win, 2-0. I’d also have more confidence in the signings Chattanooga has made who, on the whole, look more tested and experienced at the professional level.
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