CFC Set to Begin Playoffs on Friday at Fort Finley

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) The CFC are back in the playoffs for the 8th year in-a-row.
Chattanooga will dive into post-season action on Friday evening as they host Inter Nashville.

Even though the CFC lost their regular season finale on Saturday, it didn’t affect their playoff status. But it did stop a seven game winning streak.
Said head coach Bill Elliott:”My preference as a coach would have been to carry that momentum straight through to the playoffs. Didn’t put our best performance in, and Greenville played really well. Kind of got punched in the mouth. Sometimes that works. It makes you come back to the basics.”
But there’s nothing basic about playoff soccer.
Said striker Jose ‘Zeca’ Ferraz:”Playoffs everything changes. Every team that comes in, they are a different creature. It’s almost like it’s a new team.”
Said keeper Phil D’Amico:”Yeah I mean it’s just more pressure coming into a playoff game. You make one mistake, and you go down 1-0. I mean a team will just sit back and bunker in.”
The CFC will need to bunker down this weekend because they’ll face familiar league    opponents.
Said D’Amico:”Yeah it’s always hard to beat a team once and to beat them twice. You’ve got to play them a third time. By the third time they know what you are going to do.” Yeah last year we lost in the finals at home to a team that we beat twice.”
Chattanooga has made early playoff exits the last two seasons.
Said EIlliott:”Seven out of ten years I think we have won our conference. You can’t win them all right? And the last couple of years we competed, and we had an early exit unfortunately. Last year in the final on penalty kicks.”
Said Zeca:”That’s the feel I have about this year. More confident with the team spirit and team chemistry is there.”
Plus the added confidence of playing at home.
Said Zeca:”I feel our game kind of flows a little better at home. We are very aware of the space. Our game and our style of play kind of fits very well with the size of the field.”

Greenville and Asheville City will play first on Friday at Finley Stadium at 4:30 in game one of the NPSL Southeast semi-finals, and then the CFC will take the pitch at 7:30 against Inter Nashville. The championship match is set for Saturday at 7:30.

Categories: Sports, Sports – Local Sports News, Sports – Soccer

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