Not often do the top two ranked teams end up meeting in a league championship. But that is exactly what happened in the NPSL this summer; top-ranked and undefeated New York Red Bulls U23 will face Chattanooga FC on Saturday for the title. The match is scheduled for Red Bull Arena following the MLS clash between New York Red Bulls and New England Revolution. Kickoff is scheduled for approximately 9:30 PM (ET).
NYRB U23 (15-0-0) cruised to a North Atlantic Conference title, outscoring opponents 54-4 in 12 matches. A 4-3 victory over rival Brooklyn Italians earned their spot in the Northeast Region final, where the young Red Bulls dominated GBFC Thunder 4-0. Expansion-side Lansing United were the final victim in the NPSL Semifinal as NYRB won 2-0.
Midfielder Victor Manosalvas, a senior at Seton Hall, led the team in scoring with 13 goals while Daniel Bedoya added six. Gabriel Bagot, Mike Innocenzi (Harvard), Clifford Lyle and Sean Sheridan (Villanova) each scored five goals.
The path for Chattanooga FC (10-2-1) was a bit different than their opponent, although with similar results. CFC outscored opponents 28-8 in their 10 regular season matches, but the playoffs have seen a dominate offense. A pair of 2-0 victories earned Chattanooga the South Region crown, the clubs third (2010, 2012) in history.
A bit of revenge was achieved in the semifinals for CFC as they defeated the club that stopped their previous trips to the national tournament, Sacramento Gold FC. After giving up the opening goal, Chattanooga FC scored four unanswered goals to win 4-1. A record-crowd of 8,898 were in attendance at Finley Stadium for the historic victory, outdrawing all four NASL matches (Tampa-4,868; Atlanta- 4,810; Carolina- 4,294; Fort Lauderdale- 3,257) played the same evening.
WHAT: 2014 NPSL Championship
WHO: New York Red Bulls U23 vs Chattanooga FC
WHEN: Saturday, August 2, 2014
Game will follow the completion of the New York Red Bulls vs New England Revolution MLS match.
WHERE: Red Bull Arena, Harrison, NJ
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