Goal Drought Continues for Napa Valley 1839 FC
By Napa Valley 1839 FC
Napa Valley 1839 FC continued their goal and point drought, this time falling to Chattanooga FC
6-0 in front of a crowd of 734 at Dodd Stadium in sunny Napa, California.
“They came out hungry and jumped on our first mistake in transition,” said Napa Valley 1839
FC head coach Rogelio Ochoa. “And they kept up that tempo the rest of the game. It was a rough
one.”
Before entering the match both Napa Valley 1839 FC and Chattanooga FC had not won a match
in Members Cup play. This would change for the Tennessee side after 90 minutes.
Immediately Chattanooga stepped on the gas and thirty seconds in found themselves up in the
score after a stolen ball in the midfield was converted by Chattanooga forward Max Wilschrey.
Despite the early goal, Napa managed to settle and contest with the more experienced
Chattanooga side. Napa’s first clear opportunity came in the 25th minute via Carlos Carranza,
but his hard shot was denied by a spectacular save from goalkeeper Phillip D’Amico.
Chattanooga FC would strike once again in the final minute of the first half after Juan Sanchez
tapped in a loose ball past Napa Valley 1839 FC goalkeeper Alonso Lara.
Lara who had an impressive first half made his first official start for Napa and did not disappoint
despite the score sheet, concluding the half with four key saves to keep his team in the match.
The second half saw Chattanooga produce more attacking opportunities and converting four
additional goals. Wilschrey would score his second of the evening in the 56th minute.
It wasn’t until the 69th minute when Napa saw another opportunity at goal after forward Diego
Lopez struck a hard shot that just went over the goal defended by D’Amico. Unfortunately for
the home side, Chattanooga would get their fourth of the night just one minute later after Joao
Costa would strike a hard shot from just outside the 18-yard box to make it 4-0.
Napa Valley 1839 FC would get one more shot at goal from substitute Marco Reyes that was
spectacularly saved from D’Amico. The fifth for Chattanooga would come in the 83rd minute
after a spectacular back heel assist from forward Felipe Oliviera that sent Alan Webb in a
breakaway against Lara. Joao Costa would add a second for his own count in stoppage time to
wrap up to scoring.
Napa is now 0-3 in Members Cup play and has yet to score a goal.
Ochoa saw the positives from his team despite the outcome.
“Our players stood out today,” Ochoa added. “Ivan Sakou, our striker up top, made the defense
work hard. Jose Mendoza did a great job on defense, I don’t think they took him on once. Diego
Lopez came in for the second half and did a good job as well, it’s definitely nice to have him
back from injury.”
Napa Valley 1839 FC will now travel to take on 2019 NPSL finalist New York Cosmos B. The
match is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET kickoff at Mitchel Athletic Complex in New York on
September 7th. Simultaneously Chattanooga FC will be visiting Milwaukee Torrent at Hart Park
in Milwaukee.
Photo Credit: Chris Balderas
