CHATTANOOGA (Interstat) — Chattanooga scored twice in the closing minutes and stoppage time to defeat New York City II 3-1 on Sunday at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn. The home side took an early lead, saw the visitors equalize after halftime and then produced a late surge to secure the victory in its opening match of the competition. The win gave Chattanooga a winning start and left New York City II with a loss in its first competition match.

Chattanooga opened the scoring in the 31st minute when Alexander Krehl found the net. Daniel Mangarov recorded the assist on the goal. The breakthrough came shortly after New York City II’s Loiola was shown a yellow card in the 29th minute. Chattanooga protected the one-goal advantage through the remainder of the first half and into the early stages of the second. The home side’s early pressure produced the first goal of the match and set the tone for a competitive opening period.

New York City II equalized in the 53rd minute through Jacob Arroyave. Arroyave’s goal brought the visitors level and made the match 1-1. It was New York City II’s only goal of the game, and it briefly shifted the momentum before Chattanooga settled back into the match. The equalizer forced Chattanooga to respond, and the home side gradually regained control as the second half progressed.

Chattanooga regained the lead in the 86th minute when Anton Sorenson scored. Anthony Garcia was credited with the assist on Sorenson’s goal. The goal gave Chattanooga a 2-1 advantage and forced New York City II to push forward in the final minutes. Chattanooga’s late pressure continued after the goal, and the home side created enough space to add another score in stoppage time.

Chattanooga added insurance in the seventh minute of stoppage time when Yuval Cohen scored. The final goal completed the home side’s scoring and capped a strong finish. Cohen’s goal came after Chattanooga had made late substitutions to close out the match. The two late goals came after a stretch in which both teams made changes, with Chattanooga’s bench helping the home side protect its advantage while New York City II searched for a second equalizer.

Key performances included Arroyave’s goal for New York City II, Krehl’s opening goal for Chattanooga and Mangarov’s assist. Cohen scored in stoppage time, Sorenson scored in the 86th and Garcia assisted on that goal. Chattanooga made substitutions in the 76th minute, bringing on Louis S. and Arrua A. New York City II brought on Flax C. in the 79th minute. New York City II also used Campos A. and Pierre K. as substitutes in stoppage time, while Chattanooga replaced Krehl A. in stoppage time and brought on Jones I. shortly after. The match featured one yellow card, issued to Loiola in the 29th minute, and a series of second-half substitutions as both sides adjusted.

The result left New York City II with a season record of 0 wins and 1 loss in the competition and 0 wins and 1 loss across all competitions. Chattanooga moved to 1 win and 0 losses in the competition and 1 win and 0 losses across all competitions. Chattanooga’s goals were spread across the first half, late in regulation and stoppage time, while New York City II’s response came early in the second half.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Chattanooga 3, New York City II 2. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Chattanooga with an 81.1 percent probability to win. Chattanooga had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1. The total score of 4 went under the over/under line of 3.5.