WPSL: CFC Leave It Late to Sweep 865
- Philip Farrell
- Jun 14
- 5 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
CHATTANOOGA, Tn --- A Kallie West strike in the 86th minute drove the Chattanooga Football Club to a 1-0 win over 865 Alliance in the WPSL on Friday evening. Amidst high temperatures and humidity but on an otherwise perfect day, West, a Chattanooga native, produced a sigh of relief to a record crowd at Finley Stadium and gave the side its first home win on the year.
It was far from a perfect performance from the hosts, particularly in the first half where 865 Alliance often looked to have more space and were creating the better opportunities, with Aliza Mannon in particular looking dangerous.
Both goalkeepers gave terrific performances, keeping their respective sides in the game. The standout player in the outfield was CFC forward Annick Lolita Manga Zouma who put in a shift that deserved more of the players around her and deserved a win, even if she was ultimately not involved in the goal.
The first 45 minutes were characterized by disjointed play and some poor long passes from Chattanooga, while their visitors were better at moving the ball around the field. CFC goalkeeper Ashton Blair had to make an important save from Mannon within the first minute. The Alliance forward had peeled away from her marker to attempt a darting run into the box, only for Blair to snuff out the chance with a well-timed charge out of the goal. A few minutes later, Kallie West had an opportunity at the other end after a one-on-one with 865’s goalkeeper Cayden Norris, but she couldn’t hit the target. Norris was again forced to save from a Claire Palya header on the half-hour and an EG Dillard attempt grazed the crossbar on 20 minutes. But it certainly wasn’t all CFC, and Blair was called upon to make an excellent close-range, one-footed save on 38 minutes.
I asked CFC Head Coach Majo Harispuru about Blair’s performance after the game. “That’s the position, right! Whenever you need to step in for a split second and make the saves, I think she did it. Time-wise, she was perfect: when to step, when to make it shorter, when to go long. So, super happy with her. I think we have a very competitive roster. So, that’s what makes training sessions positive and then we see a little of it during the game”.
Chattanooga looked improved in the second half. Manga Zouma’s good play was close to being rewarded on 49 minutes when she weaved away from three defenders to get a shot off with her right foot. Norris made an excellent, fingertip save to send it wide. The resulting corner resulted in a close melee that ultimately ended with the ball back in Norris’s hands.
As the evening wore on, you sensed this one might end in a scoreless draw and the game was waiting for someone to take hold of it and find a winner. And it came, late. After both Chattanooga’s Kasie Vigil and Alliance’s Anna Ogle were both awarded yellow cards for a tussle in the 865 half, Kei Yoneda’s resulting free kick was headed down in the box. 865 let it bounce twice in their box, before Kallie West, the Chattanooga native and FC Alliance alumni was free to smash it in from close range.
“I didn’t even [see it], it was so crowded”, mused Harispuru. “I wasn’t sure who scored. But the important part is that we did. We just kept moving the pieces. We knew we needed to win and wanted to win. So, we just kept on rotating to see, okay let’s just provide different information to the opposition to see how they figure out solutions. Something that we knew from the start that was going to be very important was set pieces, both defending and attacking. So, just being able to get them there, log them in that space and execute on set pieces. At least one of them today worked out”.
Mannon had a gilt-edged chance to equalize right at the death, but could only hit the side netting. A good evening for Chattanooga was capped off when Academy graduate Charlotte Reynolds came off the bench to the loud cheers from her cohorts in the stands, the noise audible from up in the press-box. A CFC club record attendance of 1,982 for its WPSL side was struck as the final whistle went and fans entered the playing field to mix with their heroes.
A first home win of the season for CFC and an important one that keeps them in the mix for playoff soccer. They are in 4th place, level on seven points with Decatur and UFA Gunners ahead of them, but with those sides enjoying a game-in-hand. Chattanooga next plays Nashville Rhythm at home on Tuesday. They play away to Decatur and the Gunners on the 23rd and 27th of June respectively in games that will decide their season. For 865, their season is effectively over as they sit in second-last (7th). They must play Tennessee Tempo (who lost 12-0 at home to Decatur on Thursday evening) on Sunday at home.
Box Score:
Chattanooga FC v 865 Alliance
WPSL
Venue: Finley Stadium | Chattanooga, TN
Attendance: 1,982
Final Score: Chattanooga 1-0 865 Alliance
Scoring summary: 86’: K. West (CFC)
Discipline:
66’: M. Beutler (CFC assistant coach)
85’: A. Ogle (865)
85’: K. Vigil (CFC)
Player of the Match: Both goalkeepers. While West got the winner and Manga Zouma had a great game, I believe that CFC’s Ashton Blair and 865’s Cayden Norris were the best players on the field. Both made a series of terrific saves to keep their sides in the game and both were deserving of a win. It's great to see such a high standard of goalkeeping at this level.
Starting XIs -
Chattanooga FC: Ashton Blair; EG Dillard, Tori Soutuyo, Claire Palya, Kei Yoneda, Kasie Vigil; Hannah Helms, Kallie West, Linka Ono; Rieka Yuba, Annick Lolita Manga Zouma
Substitutes: Kyleigh Hall, Ryleigh Ramey, Charlotte Reynolds, Luiza Junior Dos Santos, Georgina Palós, Ximena Jauregi, Casamina Palazzolo, Kloe Reeves, Kayden Mounce
Head Coach: Majo Harispuru
865 Alliance: Cayden Norris, Virginia Wilson, Mary Mac Emery, Anna Ogle, Morgan Holloway, Kassandra Estep, Haley Noblit, Brinley Murphy, Aliza Mannon, McKalie Ball, Taylor Hoag
Substitutes: Sami Lipcon, Lauren Leslie, Elly Leander, Mackenzie Howard, Emery Conway
Head Coach: Josh Gray
Next Games • Tuesday 16th June, 19:00 (ET): Chattanooga FC v Nashville Rhythm FC, Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN (WPSL) • Sunday 14th June, 18:00 (ET): 865 Alliance v Tennessee Tempo FC, Hardin Valley Academy, Knoxville, TN (WPSL)
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