John Justice
July 31, 2010

Chattanooga FC vs Sacramento Gold

INTRO
Saturday night’s match-up will be a tale of two stories. Chattanooga will bring its large and very well organized defense, while Sacramento will bring its fast and attacking flair that has gotten them to the final. CFC defeated the Madison 56ers of the Midwest Region 2-0 to move on to the final. The Sacramento Gold defeated FC Sonic from the Northeast-Keystone Conference 4-1 to move on to the final.

Chattanooga FC
Chattanooga enters the final, only allowing just 5 goals all season. Some of that success can be attributed to their two central defenders, Thomas Clark and Russel Courtney. Clark who stands at 6 feet 5 inches and Courtney at 6’3” make it very difficult for opposing teams to break through the heart of their defense. If CFC is to win the the league title, they will need to rely on what has gotten them to the final, solid defense.

Sacramento Gold
Sacramento will go into the final with a very different approach than CFC. Attack attack. Sacramento forward, Manolo Piña , will spearhead the attack for the Gold. Piña takes an impressive scoring record into the final, scoring 13 goals in six games as well as leading the team in assists with 6. While the Gold has many attacking options, Piña will need to have a good night for Sacramento to take home the league title.

Keys to the Game
Chattanooga will need to finish their chances. In CFC’s semifinal match, the goal scoring opportunities were scarce and fortunately for them, they did score on the few chances that they created. CFC have a well organized defense that doesn’t concede goals. If they can manufacture a goal tonight, than that may be all they need to win the final.

Sacramento will need to attack from the start of the whistle. In their semifinal match, their attack didn’t develop until the second half where they put four in the back of the net. The scoreline doesn’t show it, but until the first goal Sacramento had a difficult time breaking down FC Sonic. After the first goal by Sacramento, the floodgates opened up for them. The Gold will need another player besides Manolo Piña to break through CFC’s defense. If Sacramento can unlock the CFC defense with an early goal, they may see the floodgates open up again, and the league title in sight.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm CST at Madison City School Stadium

Broadcast Information

LIVE STREAM: The game can be viewed live tonight here. The broadcast team of John Moran and Ryan Harbaugh will be calling the play-by-play.

TWITTER: Follow us here for game updates.