Chattanooga FC came from behind to earn a point on the road in the club's first-ever meeting with Chicago Fire II and stay level on points with Philadelphia at the top of the Eastern Conference.
The first half saw Chicago Fire II apply heavy attacking pressure on CFC's backline. However Chattanooga eventually found a way through Chicago's stubborn defense and ended the half on top with all of the attacking momentum.
However it was Chicago that found the opening goal in te 60th minute when Lamonth Rochester finished in the top left corner after an exchange of passes with Vitaliy Hlyut.
CFC responded brilliantly to the setback when Mehdi Ouamri, coming off scoring a winning bicycle kick last weekend, finished off a superb team move that saw Alex McGrath, Jesus Ibarra and Taylor Gray all providing incisive passes in the build-up.
Jean Antoine made a crucial save in the 76th minute to ultimately bring the match into a shootout for the extra point.
While Antoine made another save during the shootout, Chicago came out on top in the shootout 4-3.
The result sees CFC stay level on points with Philadelphia Union II (26) at the top of the Eastern Conference table.
Chattanooga FC will next travel to Orlando City B in Matchweek 14 on Thursday, June 13 at 7:00 P.M. ET.
Coach's Corner
Sporting Director and Head Coach Rod Underwood reflected on the match in Bridgeview.
On adjustments made in the first half which saw a swing of momentum in CFC's favor:
"We made a couple adjustments to hopefully help us and we were a little better with the ball and that helped us. The players were a little more patient in their movements."
On Ouamri's goal and the build-up to it:
"We got a hold of the ball and we were patient in and around the goal and we really just found ourselves with a good opportunity. It's a kind of goal that we like to score. It's a kind of play that we want to have, and we just didn't make enough of those tonight."
On the collective play of the backline:
"Collectively as a group, I feel like Jesse [Williams] has given us two good games in a row here. Farid [Sar-Sar] has been steady, Duvan had one of his better games and JP came on and gave us enough. With that group having not played together before, we weren't quite as coordinated enough, but nothing against those guys. You can't knock them by any means. And you can't knock the group. We have the mentality that we feel disappointed about this result because we wanted more. You have to applaud that desire to be better."
On his overall impression of the match:
"It's good that we got a point. It's good we came back from going a goal down and it didn't last long as we scored seven or eight minutes after conceding, and it was a quality goal that we like to score. We pressed a little bit towards the end in terms of going for the winner. But I think overall it just needs to be at a higher level than what we're doing right now. Again, we're building, we're growing and there's a lot of positives, so we don't want to be Debbie Downer. We want to look at the positives and look at what we can do better. That's the focus."
Notes
- Mehdi Ouamri moved joint-top alongside Jesus Ibarra with a club-leading five goals on the season
- Three players have now logged over 1,000 minutes played this season: Andres Jimenez Aranzazu (1105), Milo Garvanian (1070) and Alex McGrath (1028)
- It was the first match for Jesse Williams, Farid Sar-Sar, Duvan Viafara and Joseph Perez to start together on the backline
Box Score:  
Chicago Fire II (5W-2L-4D, 3SOW, 22 pts.)  - Chattanooga FC (6W-2L-5D, 3SOW, 26 pts.) 
SeatGeek Stadium | Bridgeview, Ill.
Final score:
CHI: 1
CFC: 1
CHI wins shootout 4-3 for extra point
Scoring summary:
60’: Rochester - CHI
68': Ouamri - CFC
Stats (CHI/CFC):
Possession: 45% / 55%
xG: 1.2 / 0.6
Shots: 13 / 10
Shots on goal: 3 / 5
Blocked shots: 6 / 3
Total passes: 387 / 523
Passing accuracy percentage: 81.7 / 87.6
Corners: 3 /4
Total crosses: 6 / 3
Offsides: 1 / 1
Goalkeeper saves: 4 / 2
Clearances: 4 / 7
Fouls: 11 / 15
Discipline:
70’ - CFC: Gray (Caution)
84' - CHI: Granda (Caution)
Line-ups:
CHI starters: Jeff Gal, Jean Diouf, Jaylen Shannon, Diego Konincks, Lamonth Rochester, Dylan Borso (Giovanni Granda 61'), David Poreba (C), Charlie Heuer, (Juan Miguel Zapata Calle 81'), Luka Prpa (Peter Soudan 61'), Vitaliy Hlyut (Michael Ramirez 89'), Jason Shokalook (Michael Nesci 81')
Substitutes: Patrick Los, Christopher Cupps
Head coach: Patrick Nyarko (in for Head Coach Ludovic Taillandier)
CFC starters: Jean Antoine, Jesse Williams, Farid Sar-Sar, Duvan Viafara, Joseph Perez, Jude Arthur, Andres Jimenez Aranzazu (Luis Garcia Sosa 81'), Alex McGrath (C), Taylor Gray, Jesus Ibarra, Mehdi Ouamri (Minjae Kwak 81')
Substitutes: Jonathan Burke, Anatolie Prepelita, Robert Screen, Ethan Koren, Jalen James
Head Coach: Rod Underwood
