MLS NEXT Pro: Match Preview - Chattanooga FC vs Carolina Core
- Philip Farrell
- 5 hours ago
- 6 min read
Credit: Chattanooga FC
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
Match: Chattanooga FC vs. Carolina Core FC
Date: Sunday, May 24th, 2026. 15:00 (Eastern)
Venue: Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN.
Capacity: 20,412
How to watch: OneFootball, MLSNextPro.com, YouTube
CHATTANOOGA, Tn --- Carolina Core visits the Scenic City this weekend to face a Chattanooga FC side high on confidence after a two-win bounce. The two sides’ first meeting of 2026 takes place on Sunday afternoon at Finley Stadium.
Chattanooga (W:5 D:1 L:4 SOW:0 GF:18 GA:16 GD:+2) comes into Sunday’s clash off two wins on-the-road at Inter Miami II and FC Cincinnati 2 to bump them up to seventh in the Eastern Conference. Granted, Miami and Cincinnati are two of the weaker teams in the division, but Richard Dixon’s boys needed strong results after a run of losses. They’ll be keen to secure a first home win since April 11. There’s also an intriguing four-way battle for top-scorer in this side; with Alex McGrath, Alex Krehl, Tate Robertson, and Damien Barker John all on four league goals apiece.
Carolina (W:1 D:4 L:5 SOW:1 GF:12 GA:20 GD:-8) look considerably off-pace compared to their 2025 form, when they finished 8th in the Eastern Conference. Languishing in 15th (second-last in the East, third-last overall), Donovan Ricketts’ charges have endured a tough spring that saw just one win, achieved finally on May 16 at home over Chicago Fire II. Central African Republic international striker Arnaud Tattevin is their top scorer with three goals.
The match starts at 3pm Eastern and we can expect difficult conditions with the threat of storms, rain, and lightning all afternoon. The temperature at kick-off should be about 75 degrees. Streaming will be available on MLSNextPro.com, the league’s YouTube channel, and the OneFootball app. Texas-based referee Kaitlyn Trowbridge will officiate.
The History:
Chattanooga: W:3 D:1 L:2 SOW:0 GF:10 GA:5 GD:+5
Carolina Core: W:2 D:1 L:3 SOW:1 GF:8 GA:10 GD:-5
Sunday’s hosts boast the dominant record in the short history of bouts between these sides, stretching back to 2024. However, at home, they’ve only managed a record of one win, one draw, and one loss. CFC’s Tate Robertson is the fixture’s top scorer with two goals.
Last season, the sides met three times with Chattanooga gaining the upper-hand. On April 13, CFC’s blistering Spring run continued with a convincing 4-1 win in High Point. Robertson, Farid Sar-Sar, and Peter Plougmand scored for Chattanooga with David Polanco netting for the Core. Ibrahim Covi scored an OG for Carolina and was sent off just after half-time. Come August 17 CFC, now enduring a rough summer downturn, rocked up to Truist Point again and left 1-0 winners thanks to a Robertson penalty. That result contributed to a turnaround in Chattanooga’s season. The penalty was conceded by, you guessed it, Ibrahim Covi. CFC fans will be disappointed to learn he is not with Carolina Core anymore. Finally, on September 21, the two sides played out a 0-0 tie at Finley Stadium that ended in Carolina winning the resulting shoot-out 6-5.
Chattanooga and Carolina Core will meet twice again in 2026. They will play on July 12 at Truist Point followed by an August 29 rematch at Finley.
Report Cards and Lineups:
Chattanooga - After a late 2-1 comeback win at Inter Miami II on May 8, Chattanooga FC’s most recent outing saw them beat FC Cincinnati 2 3-1 away. Goals from Alex Krehl, Damien Barker John, and Tate Robertson (all in the hunt for top scorer at the club) sealed the win, with the home side getting a consolation goal. Miami and Cincinnati sit 16th and 13th in the table respectively, at the time of writing. So, these are not the toughest assignments CFC will face in 2026. But the nature of the wins, a comeback and a hammering, were important, coming as they did after Chattanooga had endured a three-game losing run (including Cup games). Teams that need wins don’t always get them. It will have been encouraging for Head Coach Richard Dixon to see that fight in his squad.
Predicted Starting XI (4-4-2): Eldin Jakupović; Tate Robertson, Mattias Hanchard, Farid Sar-Sar (C), Anthony Sorenson; Damien Barker-John, Luke Husakiwsky, Steeve Louis Jean, Daniel Mangarov; Alex Krehl, Yuval Cohen
Dixon, parachuted into his position just before the season started, has begun tinkering with what seemed his preferred 4-3-3 and starting lineup recently. CFC have put out more of a 4-4-2 with some players emerging to take spots. This has included the returning Yuval Cohen up front and Daniel Mangarov who looked peripheral to Dixon’s plans in the early Spring and is now a standard pick in midfield. It's all ‘back-to-basics’ stuff from Dixon, as he looks to weather some recent poor form and deal with the absence of a few key players, not least captain Alex McGrath. Isaiah Jones, partnering McGrath in midfield, has also been absent of late. These absences have offered opportunities to the likes of Steeve Louis Jean and Luke Husakiwsky, who have been impressive since coming into the side.
Tate Robertson seems to have reverted to his traditional right-back role, displacing Yves Tcheuyap, but it's unclear whether this is simply due to the midfield reshuffle brought about by the formation change and the injuries to McGrath and Jones. Elsewhere, this team picks itself. Continuing a trend set in 2025, Farid Sar-Sar and Eldin Jakupović have played every minute (900) of league action so far. The four-way goalscoring tie between McGrath, Krehl, Robertson, and Barker-John has contributed to 16 of CFC’s 18 league goals, but Robertson has the most goal contributions with six. Louis Jean, Tcheuyap, and Ashton Gordon also have two assists each.
There’s been some other news surrounding Chattanooga of late. On May 11, the club made a joint announcement with the Chattanooga Lookouts baseball team that its July 4 league game against Inter Miami II will be played at the Lookouts’ brand-new, state-of-the-art Erlanger Park. This will form the crux of CFC’s ‘Summer of Soccer’ event series. On May 14 they announced the signing of Austin Bradley to an amateur player agreement, a first of its kind in club history. A product of CFC’s youth system, Bradley joined in 2018 at the earliest player entry point, Chattanooga FC Youth's Pre-Academy Identification and Development Program. His new deal will offer him the opportunity to train and play with its MLS NEXT Pro team.
Carolina Core -
For their part, the Core also has reason to be optimistic. They head to Tennessee on the back of a thrilling comeback win last weekend. Debutant Corey Lundeen, ten minutes into his first game after coming on as a half-time substitute, provided two assists to lift Carolina Core above Chicago Fire after having gone down 1-0 in the first half. Tim Zeegers and Mohamed Diakite were at the end of those assists that gave the Core its first win in 2026.
Predicted Starting XI (4-3-3): Nick Holliday; Mohamed Diakite, Nolan Evers, Santiago Yepes, Nelson Martinez; Robinson Aguirre, Tim Zeegers, Corey Lundeen; Thomas Raimbault, Arnaud Tattevin, Anthony Sumo Jr
Head Coach Donovan Ricketts has to start Lundeen doesn’t he? After the 25-year-old’s heroics against Chicago! Lundeen has faced CFC before, three times during the 2024 NISA season when he was on the books of ALBION San Diego.
Earlier in the month, Anthony Sumo Jr won the Goal of Mathweek 9 award. His strike from just inside the box at home to Atlanta United 2 was a banger. Sumo Jr demonstrated exceptional technical ability to control the ball, dribbling into the box and warding away the attention of two defenders before lifting a delightful wisping chip that left the Atlanta goalkeeper helpless. A dangerous player.
Ricketts has had to chop-and-change lately with suspensions taking a toll on his team. This won’t be helped by Jeffrey Caiza’s red card against Chicago. In that game, Mohamed Diakite was forced to play at center-back due to a suspension for captain Nolan Evers who had been sent off against Huntsville. I expect Evers to be back but Diakite may have to remain in defense due to Caiza’s suspension. He played well there against Chicago and even scored the winner.
Caiza will be missed though, having played more minutes (844) than any other player in the squad in league play so far. He was also the only player to have started all 10 of their league games. Arnaud Tattevin, an international with the Central African Republic, is their top scorer on the season with three goals, with Sumo Jr just behind him on two. Thomas Raimbault has four assists to his name, accounting for a third of Carolina’s goals. FotMob rates him as the Core’s best performer of 2026.
Analysis and Predictions:
This is a win for the home side for me. Chattanooga looks confident returning home from that pair of away wins and should have a bumper Memorial Day weekend crowd behind them. The Core also recently won their first game of the season, so they’ll be sniffing for a victory too. But, I think this one will be too difficult for them. A CFC win, 2-0.
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