Thriller in New Jersey sees Chattanooga Red Wolves scrape through
Wolves return to Chattanooga, wounded yet triumphant
A chaotic and crazy game in Newark ended with the Chattanooga Red Wolves advancing to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Second Round. Heartbreak for their amateur opponents New Jersey Alliance who led the game for twenty minutes and drove their professional opponents all the way to a penalty shootout.
This one had it all. A red card, a dodgy penalty, a disallowed penalty call, a late equalizer, extra time, a goalkeeper playing outfield, and a penalty shootout. For the fans who availed of the free entry to tonight’s game, they’ll rarely see a more enjoyable spectacle this year.
The game started with Chattanooga dominating and demonstrating their status as favorites. This all changed though on 36 minutes, when their young midfielder Garrett Morris awkwardly bumbled Marlon Preciado to the ground as the former Cosmos man was bearing down toward the Red Wolves’ box. Last man Morris was shown a straight red card by referee Danielle Cornetta.
Morris’s dismissal swung the momentum in New Jersey’s favor, as the Alliance began dominating possession and laying siege to the Wolves’ lair. On 47 minutes Preciado, the man who drew Morris’s foul, got the goal. Through a largely solo effort, he weaved his way into the Chattanooga box and dispatched a left-footed shot to the bottom right corner. Elation for the home fans as dreams of a cupset sank in.
Their joy would barely last twenty minutes however, and it would end in controversy. In the 64th minute, Red Wolves’ attacker Matt Bentley found himself with the ball in the box. The tackle by defender Ivan Hurtado was necessary as the English forward had the shot. Hurtado looked to have made contact with the ball and only slight contact with Bentley. However, referee Cornetta deemed it a foul and Hurtado was also booked for his troubles. A soft penalty perhaps, but Bentley is a seasoned pro and did what he had to win it. The former Richmond Kickers man took it for himself, slotting home, and the game was tied at one-a-piece.
Twenty minutes later Chattanooga took the lead. The game by this point between the gung-ho amateurs and the weakened professionals had become very open, and multiple opportunities were saved and squandered. But it was Bentley who got the breakthrough, after an assist from Jordan Ayimbilla he scored through a right footed shot from close range.
The situation looked dire for the home side, egged on by a seemingly loud local support. They were denied a strong penalty call by Cornetta and tempers were flaring. The referee would issue eight cards in this game. On 92 minutes, the equalizer came as Joel Quist slammed the ball with his left foot past Jérez. And so, 30 minutes of additional time awaited.
The Red Wolves, who came to the Garden State with only four substitutes, were getting stretched. Already weakened by the dismissal of Morris and an early injury to Omar Hernández, they were forced to bring on sub goalkeeper Jason Smith as an outfield replacement, swapping with defender Eric Kinzner. Running around in an ill-fitting #40 outfield jersey, Smith’s substitution represented a lot of the problems with Chattanooga’s shallow squad depth this season. He would, however, have the last laugh.
An overtime full of chances ended in a stalemate with the game officially a 2-2 draw and a penalty shootout would be needed to settle matters. Going first, the Alliance netted through goalscorer Quist before Chattanooga responded through a Bentley banger. New Jersey missed their next two penalties through Christian Villegas (over the bar) and Kondrad Rodzen (saved by Jérez’s foot) either side of a Ualefi conversion.
Up stepped sub goalkeeper Jason Smith, adding another narrative to tonight’s theater as he converted a penalty, and the Red Wolves were within touching distance. Hurtado got one back for New Jersey, but the tie was settled when Owen Green made it 4-2 on penalties.
A scarred pack of Red Wolves emerged victorious and will return south to lick their wounds. A proud Alliance pushed hard, but a cupset dream was ultimately dashed.
Match Takeaways
In our season preview, we analyzed how the Red Wolves’ lack of roster depth could seriously hamper them this year. Already facing the longest and most congested USL League One season in history, and with Jägermeister Cup games to come, they need to be able to rotate for US Open Cup games, especially in early stages like this. Tonight, their squad played 120 minutes of soccer, mostly with 10 men and had a goalkeeper in outfield. No doubt they’ll be exhausted and at least have a ten-day break until their next game. Should they progress further in this tournament and in the Jägermeister, the strain on their small squad will become problematic.
Matt Bentley has shown over the last two games that he can lead the line for Chattanooga. Eyebrows were raised when the club lost the majority of its 2024 goalscorers this off-season and doubts were raised over their ability to put numbers on the board. Bentley is hard-working, seasoned, and difficult to play against, and is showing good link-up play with Filipe and the Hernández’s. If he continues, the Red Wolves offense may click.
I feel for poor Garrett Morris. At only 18 years of age, he has huge potential and today represented a chance for him to prove himself against what was in theory, easier prey. The foul was silly and awkward, and he may have simply lost his footing. But it speaks to his youth and inexperience, and he will likely grow and learn from this.
While getting pushed to penalties by a UPSL side may not be a great look for Chattanooga, I would still commend them for getting this win. Travelling over 800 miles, early in the season, and with a small squad, to find themselves a man down and without Omar Hernández so early on made this a trickier tie that it should have been. They showed impressive perseverance and mental strength to get back into the game and see it out. They were the ones under pressure today, and they coped well with it.
As for New Jersey Alliance, they can be proud of their efforts, proving they’re no pushovers and reminding us why we love cup games. Their performance tonight should serve as a warning shot to the professional teams in Round 1. These lower league teams are here to compete.
Box Score
New Jersey Alliance FC - Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
Venue: Lubetkin Field | Newark, NJ
Final Score: New Jersey Alliance 2 - 2 Chattanooga Red Wolves - Red Wolves win 4-2 on penalties.
Attendance: Not disclosed
Scoring summary:
45': M. Preciado (NJA)
65’: M. Bentley (CHA) - penalty
84’: M. Bentley (CHA)
90+2': J. Quist (NJA)
Discipline:
6’: L. Miquel - yellow (NJA)
37’: G. Morris - red (CHA)
51’: M. Knapp - yellow (CHA)
61’: P. Hernández - yellow (CHA)
62’: D. Coulibably - yellow (NJA)
64’: I. Hurtado - yellow (NJA)
80’: J. Filipe - yellow (CHA)
113’: K. Rodzen - yellow (CHA)
Man of the Match: Marlon Preciado (NJA) - drew the foul that gave them the man-advantage, scored a great goal of his own and assisted in their second. Its just a pity he didn’t take a penalty in the shootout. Honorable mention to Matt Bentley who led the Red Wolves tonight and grabbed two goals.
Line-ups:
New Jersey Alliance: Yamil Macias; Matthew Gotrell, Juan Uribe (86’ Christian Villegas), Ivan Hurtado, Keeroy Lionel (86’ Daniel Manguia-Altamura); Brian Canales, Lucas Miquel (86’ Samuel Epitime), Christopher Rubio (80’ Konrad Rodzen); Joel Quist, Marlon Preciado, Dorgeles Coulibably.
Subs not used: Amr Mahmoud, Kelvin Preciado, Giansebastian Goicochea.
Head Coach: Robert Kruk
Chattanooga Red Wolves: Ricardo Jérez; Owen Green, Declan Watters, Eric Kinzner (116’ Jason Smith); Michael Knapp (87’ Ualefi), Gharett Morris, Kimball Jackson, Jordan Aymbila; Omar Hernández (20’ Jonny Filipe, 91’ Tobi Jnohope), Pedro Hernández, Matt Bentley.
Subs not used: None.
Head Coach: Scott Mackenzie
Next Games
• April 5th, 14:00 (ET): New Jersey Alliance v Ironbound SCP, Newark Schools Stadium, Newark, NJ (UPSL)
• March 28th, 19:00 (ET): Charlotte Independence v Chattanooga Red Wolves, American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, NC (USL League One)
Jason Smith is already the stuff of legends just two matches into his pro career
I thought the referee made a game-changing bad call against each team. Though not a pretty win, I think it was a good experience for the Red Wolves to have to show some resilience in the face of adversity.