The Chattanooga Football Club women's offense helped them get the lead Sunday evening.
Their defense got them the win.
Nashville Rhythm goalkeeper Malea Correa, left, tries to stop Chattanooga FC's Carlie Banks as she heads in a tying goal in the first half of Sunday night's match at Finley Stadium.CFC conceded a goal early against the Nashville Rhythm but tied the score before halftime and added another goal with about 10 minutes remaining before holding on for the 2-1 win at Finley Stadium.
CFC (2-0) plays at Peachtree City (Georgia) MOBA at 7 p.m. Saturday, then faces the Rhythm again at 7 p.m. EDT on June 15 at Father Ryan High School in Nashville. Chattanooga's next home game is 6 p.m. on June 17 against Peachtree City MOBA.
CFC coach Erin Ridley was pleased with the growth her offense showed in Sunday's, primarily in its ability to get the ball to the wings. That led to the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute, when Mia Hollingsworth received the ball on the left side and made a nice move to get it into the middle before poking a shot past the keeper.
The tying goal had come in the 38th minute. Katelyn Newsome sent a high-arching cross in from about 40 yards away that was going toward goalkeeper Malea Correa, and forward Carlie Banks made a play on the ball, getting a head on it before it could find Correa's hands.
"Our offense came through," Ridley said. "We were finding ourselves in good spots. It came in waves, little bit of momentum, knocking at the door, and then we'd have to be defending for a little bit. When you have two good teams that are trying to play, that makes a lot of sense.
"To get something out of that, the ability to finally pull the trigger, I give so much credit to our wide players for working so hard. They were creating a lot of width for us, dragging outside backs wide to create more time and space in the center. They did a huge amount of work tonight; the whole team did. Their guts, their grit, it was absolutely fantastic."
With the lead in hand, it came down to the defense. Cosette Morche' had a few key saves, while Caitlin Hayes, Anna Lanter and Brittney Reed led a solid performance in the back, clearing away any legitimate opportunities for Nashville.
CFC has already doubled its number of wins in 2017, a fact not lost on its coach.
"We felt we improved and grew as a team last year. We had better performances, but not results, but now we're grinding our results and our performances are building as well," Ridley said. "What I care about most is, 'Are we playing better every time?'
"We're excited for our second win, but if we lost this game and played well, I'd be equally as excited. We have some really good pieces and players here for the right reason. Hopefully we'll give this city something to get excited about."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.