FRESNO, Calif. –In its first match in the state of California, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (4-5-2, 2nd) defeated Central Valley Fuego FC (3-2-4, 7th) 2-0 at Fresno State Soccer Stadium. A back-and-forth affair for the majority of the contest, the visiting Red Wolves broke the match open in the final 10 minutes of play via a Moe Espinoza free-kick golazo and a Juan Galindrez dagger in stoppage time.
UP NEXT: Central Valley Fuego FC takes on FC Tucson on June 18 at 7:30 PM PST at Fresno State Soccer Stadium. The match will be available on ESPN+.
Match: Central Valley Fuego FC vs Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
Date: June 11, 2022
Venue: Fresno State Soccer Stadium
Weather: 97 degrees and sunny
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
CHA: Moe Espinoza 81’
CHA: Juan Galindrez (Jorge Paez) 90’+5
NOTES
- Newly signed academy player, David Diaz made his first appearance for Fuego FC in after being subbed in for Diego Casillas in the 60th minute.
- This was the second match against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, but the first match and the first loss at Fresno State Soccer Stadium.
Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
Central Valley Fuego FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC | 0 | 2 | 2 |
CHA – Moe Espinoza scores off a free-kick.
CHA – Juan Galindrez wins possession, carries the ball, lays it to Jorge Paez for a wall pass, and Galindrez scores.
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
CV – Cherif Dieye 13’ (CAUTION)
CV – William Gillingham 40’ (CAUTION)
CV – Maxi Schenfeld 45’ (CAUTION)
CHA – Rafael Mentzingen 45’+2 (CAUTION)
CV– David Diaz 69’ (CAUTION)
CHA– Timmy Mehl 70’ (CAUTION)
CV– Ofek Antman 78’ (CAUTION)
CHA– Juan Galindrez 90’+5 (CAUTION)
LINEUPS
Central Valley Fuego FC (1-4-3-3): Ofek Antman, William Gillingham, Nathan Smith, Jordan Chavez, Michael Hornsby, Victor Falck, Maxi Schenfeld (Mouhamed Dabo) (Jesus Partida), Ozzie Ramos (Anthony Velarde), Diego Casillas (David Diaz), Cherif Dieye (Christian Chaney), Villyan Bijev
Subs not used: Mitchell North, Marco Torralva
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (1-2-5-3): Carlos Avilez, Aaron Lombardi, Jorge Luna, Sebastian Capozucchi, Devin Benton, Jose Carrera, Josue Espana (Andres Hernandez), Jimmie Villalobos (Jorge Paez), Rey Ortiz (Ernesto Espinoza ), Juan Galindrez, Rafael Mentzingen (Pedro Hernandez)
Subs not used: Tor Saunders, Timmy Mehl, Josue Cartagena
TEAM PERSPECTIVE
“The approach for tonight’s game was to get our first victory at home. Our approach was to get three points. We played poorly the majority of the first half against a team that was coming from three losses in their last three games,” said Vásquez. “Very good response in the second half. We started imposing our style of play and creating opportunities but we were not able to capitalize. Chattanooga scored an amazing goal on a free kick– we kept pushing but we couldn’t tie the game. It’s a learning moment for us. We have to regroup and be ready for FC Tucson.”
“A big thanks to all the fans that showed up and supported us tonight. It was an unfortunate result but credit to Chattanooga,” said Smith. “We always want to win especially at home and are disappointed in the result. We’ll use it as motivation and learn from it so we can come back next week and get a win.”
“We lacked a little more quality in a few crucial moments. We have to hold our heads up and use this as an opportunity to improve and become stronger individually and as a collective,” said Bijev. “If we’re able to learn and grow from this result then it will not have been a complete loss. Ultimately, our goal is to not lose at home in front of our amazing fans. Now that we’ve lost one we can’t let it happen again. Dale Fuego!”