Chattanooga Football Club hosting regional playoffs

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog
photo Chattanooga defender James Moore kicks the ball down field during the Chattanooga Football Club versus Rocket City United soccer game on Friday, July 4, 2014, at Finley Stadium.

The Chattanooga Football Club announced Monday that it will be the host for the National Premier Soccer League South region playoffs Friday and Saturday nights at Finley Stadium.

Southeast Conference champion Chattanooga FC (10-2-2) will face Miami United FC, which won the Sunshine Conference, in the first match at 6 p.m. Friday. The 8:30 nightcap will pit the South Conference champion Tulsa Athletics against the Upward Stars from Greenville, S.C., who won the South Atlantic Conference in their first season in the NPSL.

The championship match will be played Saturday at 7:30. The winner will advance to the national semifinals the following weekend.

Chattanooga's central location among the four clubs made it a prime choice for the regional event, according to CFC board member Tim Kelly.

"It makes Chattanooga ideally situated for the conferences in the South Region, which stretches from Tulsa to Miami," Kelly said in a release. "And of course, our dynamic fan base makes for an electric environment, which is the envy of clubs around the country."

Chattanooga FC won the Southeast outright for the fourth time in six seasons, and third in a row, with solid victories over Nashville (6-1) and New Orleans (4-0) this past weekend.

CFC general manager Sean McDaniel said Monday that ticket prices will remain the same as last weekend: $10 each day or $15 for a weekend pass that would get fans in all three matches.

"We hoped to be able to host if we got to this point," McDaniel said. "It's a chance to bring in teams from bigger cities and be able to show off Chattanooga.

"It just gets harder from here -- you already had to be good to get to this point. We're a small-market team, but we feel we can compete on this stage."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6311. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.

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