Read on for a full recap, including comprehensive stats, photos, post-match reaction and much more.
Chattanooga Football Club got off to a winning start to its 2025 MLS NEXT Pro campaign with a 2-1 victory over Inter Miami CF II in Fort Lauderdale on Friday evening.
Goals from new signing Keegan Ancelin and returner Milo Garvanian made the difference to help give Head Coach Chris Nugent's side a precious three points to open the club's second season in the league.
Ancelin needed just 121 seconds to score his first official professional goal. The towering forward got on the end of a zipped-in, cut-back pass from captain Alex McGrath to give CFC the perfect start to the new season.
Cesar Abadia-Reda answered quickly for the hosts with a finish from an acute angle in the sixth minute.
However, the visitors would have the final say thanks to a beautiful, curling goal from Garvanian. The Albuquerque native received a pass from debutant Daniel Mangarov and found space on top of the penalty area before unleashing an unstoppable shot past a helpless Matias Marin.
CFC were able to keep Miami at bay thanks to a couple of fine saves from Eldin Jakupović and crucially win all three points for the first time in a MLS NEXT Pro season opener in club history.'
"The result was excellent," said Nugent. "There were some good moments in the game. We made saves on the line and pressed up high; both were just as important as the attacking play. I was pleased with the resilience of the guys. You also saw some adaptability from the guys as well with some rotations and exchanging of roles, so that's a big takeaway."
CFC will host Southeast rivals Huntsville City FC in the club's home opener at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga on Saturday, March 15th at 7:00 p.m. ET. Tickets are on sale now!
Noteworthy
- Eldin Jakupović, Keegan Ancelin, Daniel Mangarov and Nick Mendonca made their first starts in an official match for Chattanooga FC
- Ancelin and Mangarov made their first-ever starts as professionals
- Ancelin scored his first professional goal within 121 seconds of kick-off
- Milo Garvanian scored his sixth goal for Chattanooga FC
- Mangarov recorded his first assist for the club
- Substitutes Steeve Louis Jean, Ameziane Sid Mohand and Ethan Dudley all made their official CFC debuts
Box Score
Inter Miami CF II (0W-1L-0D, 0 pts.) - Chattanooga FC (1W-0L-0D, 3 pts.)
Chase Stadium | Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Final score:
MIA: 1
CFC: 2
Scoring summary:
3': Ancelin - CFC
6': Abadia-Reda - MIA
56': Garvanian - CFC
Stats (MIA/CFC):
xG (expected goals): 0.92 / 1.71
Possession: 66% / 34%
Shots: 9 / 8
Shots on goal: 3 / 6
Blocked shots: 2 / 0
Total passes: 549 / 281
Passing accuracy percentage: 89.1 / 85
Corners: 4 / 3
Total crosses: 4 / 2
Offsides: 1 / 0
Goalkeeper saves: 4 / 2
Clearances: 1 / 9
Fouls: 16 / 10
Discipline:
30' - MIA: Alejo Ristano (Caution)
72' - CFC: Callum Watson (Caution)
72' - MIA: Samuel Basabe (Caution)
Line-ups:
MIA starters: Matias Marin, Alejo Ristano, Tyler Hall, Giovanni Ferraina Marchetti (C), Cesar Ezequiel Abadia-Reda (Samuel Basabe 68'), Ricardo Montenegro, Bailey Sparks (Santiago Ledesma 84'), Alejandro Flores (Jack Pymm 84'), Idoh Zeltzer-Zubida (Mateo Saja 68'), Daniel Pinter (Cristian Ortiz 68'), Lovends Junior Delinois
Substitutes not used: Derrek Martinez, Nicholas Almeida, Theo Vorenkamp, Ivan Schmid
Head Coach: Cristian Ledesma
CFC starters: Eldin Jakupović, Tate Robertson, Logan Brown (Ethan Dudley 73'), Farid Sar-Sar, Milo Garvanian, Nick Mendonca, Callum Watson, Alex McGrath (C) (Robert Screen 86'), Daniel Mangarov (Ameziane Sid Mohand 73'), Minjae Kwak (Steeve Louis Jean 68'), Keegan Ancelin
Substitutes not used: Michael Barrueta, Darwin Ortiz, Markus Naglestad
Head Coach: Chris Nugent
