In 2022, the Red Wolves finished fourth in the table and were the runners up of the playoffs. In 2023, they lingered near the bottom of the table, finishing 10th. What happened?
A brutal off-season loss of talent forced a rebuild. Players responsible for nearly 70% of the club’s 52 goals departed, including Juan Galindrez (RVG Torgos), Rafa Mentzingen (NCFC), Jimmie Villalobos (One Knoxville), Jose Carrera-Garcia (Fuego) and Timmy Mehl (Forward Madison).
Coaching drama made things worse, as Jimmy Obleda never returned from his suspension and was replaced by Ziggy Korytowski, himself replaced later in the season by Scott Mackenzie.
Still, the club managed to put together a team capable of some brilliant moments, mostly playing spoiler against higher ranked clubs, including a September upset of a Forward Madison side that desperately needed the win.
What Went Right
Ropapa Mensah & Chevone Marsh
USL veteran Mensah completed his comeback season with 12 goals in 28 appearances. We knew he could score goals in the USL Championship, but after missing 2022, did he still have it? He gave us a resounding yes.
Marsh was also a wild card, having come from the Jamaican Premier League and the Primera División of Costa Rica. Could his talents translate to a long USL League One season? Again, a resounding yes.
Will the club be able to hang on to either for 2024? Mensah is 26, and would certainly like another shot at a higher level. But then again, perhaps he has found his fit. Marsh is 29, and would at the very least be a solid depth option anywhere in the league.
What Went Wrong
Defense: the club gave up a league-high 65 goals on 161 shots faced. The shots faced metric was tied for second-to-last in the league with Lexington, just better than Charlotte’s 171. The save percentage of 40.37% was also worse than the league average of 34.73%. In other words, a defense that gave up a lot of shots on target, with worse than goaltending.
Chances: the club took 411 shots, good enough for 8th in the league. However, pass accuracy was 78%, 11th in the league, and no player broke 29 chances created. Riley Kraft, Aaron Lombardi, Moe Espinoza and Marsh combined for a modest 110 chances created, but when the average of the top 50 chance creators is 37.5, there needed to be more. Especially with proven goal scorers like Mensah and Marsh up front.
Bench Depth
When your bench depth for two years includes Juan Galindrez, and you lose that, it’s difficult to replace. The Colombian striker combined for 23 goals over two seasons before departing to the USL Championship.
Beyond Mensah and Marsh, no player broke more than three goals on the season.
Marios Lomis was a second-half addition, adding 2 goals in 12 appearances. The 29-year-old striker last appeared in the league in 2021, leading Greenville Triumph in goals. However, he spent the last two seasons in Malta and Greece before returning to USL League One in July. It did not help the defensive woes but gave another offensive option to the squad.
Roster Questions for 2024
Currently, none of the 2023 squad is known to be under contract for 2024.
Goal
With subpar goalkeeping performance in 2023, will any sign on for another year? Carlos Ávilez and JD Meyers are the most likely given that Ricardo Jérez is now 37. The Guatemalan veteran made eight appearances to Ávilez’s 24 (Meyers made one). Ávilez put up solid numbers in 2022, albeit with a much more solid defense.
Still, the goaltending squad let by about 9 extra goals over the league average. While a solid defense helps, Charlotte’s Austin Pack proved that solid goaltending can also work wonders.
Prediction: Chattanooga starts over with new keepers. Ávilez signs elsewhere in the league.
Defenders
The defense struggled with injuries and consistency in 2023, leading to a league-worst 65 goals allowed on a league-second-worst 161 shots allowed.
Mekeil Williams was a bright spot, leading this squad with 101 clearances and 31 interceptions. However other clubs found ways around the defensive corps time and time again. Williams is now 34, and may not be a part of any rebuilding plans, although his senior leadership may be an asset.
Nico Cardona – one of the returnees from 2022, the 24-year-old right back was also somewhat of a bright spot, with 27 appearances and three goals, and the leader in tackles and duels won. Was previously optioned at the end of 2022, but may find himself in demand around the league.
Aaron Lombardi – the 27-year-old left-back made 23 appearances, provided an assist, and created 28 chances, respectable numbers for the position. Was in and out of the roster with injuries for much of the second half of the season. Still, he may also find himself in demand around the league. Lombardi was also optioned at the end of 2022.
Manuel Madrid – started most matches where healthy, but missed significant time due to visa issues and then injury, leading to only 15 appearances on the season.
Richard Rentería – also started most matches when available, but also missed significant time due to visa issues and injury.
Walter Varela – the 27-year-old found significant starting minutes through early June before finding himself in and out of the roster with injury. When on the roster, he was mostly relegated to a bench role.
Johnny Guadarrama – suffered through injuries to start and end the season, and made just seven appearances.
Travis Nicklaw – traditionally a defensive midfielder, Nicklaw re-joined the squad to fill in at center-back and right-back. Missed large chunks of the season, and only made one appearance after July 15th, an 86th-minute substitution on September 24th.
Jackson Brady – last appeared on May 17th, and was only on the roster eight more times with no more appearances.
Prediction: Rentería gets another chance. Cardona and Lombardi sign elsewhere in the league and the rest head to retirement or free agency.
Midfielders
Riley Kraft – appeared in all but one match, and was a versatile utility player, starting where needed. Appeared at left-back, left midfield, attacking midfield, right midfield, and right back and even made an appearance at center back, center midfield, right-wing, and striker. Kraft led the squad with 29 chances created and tied for the most assists with six. He also added a pair of goals. The club may like to exercise any option available, especially if Ualefi does not return.
Ualefi – the 29-year-old Brazilian has been with the squad since 2019. He made a career-high 30 appearances this season, swapping mostly between defensive and central midfield, while also captaining the squad whenever he started. He also provided two assists on 22 chances created. Has he earned another year, or will he look to move on?
Omar Gómez – the 23-year-old joined the squad in June, filling in a midfield spot after Andrew Paoli fell out of favor and Christian Enriquez suffered injuries. He added a goal and two assists and created 16 chances in his 18 appearances. He may be a solid option for an extension, although his stock has likely risen.
Pedro Hernandez – the second-year veteran won a consistent starting role by late August, playing in the midfield and at right back. Provided two goals, two assists, and 19 chances created. At the age of 24, he may have seen his stock rise slightly and could be another option for continuity.
Felipe Liborio – made a series of mid-season starts in the midfield, but seems to have fallen out of favor by July. Last appeared on August 27th.
Andrew Paoli – competed for the starting central and defensive midfield spot, swapping with Ualefi, but found himself on the outs by late August.
Christian Enriquez – the central midfielder made two starts before missing the next eight matches with injury. He’d go on to make just seven more appearances with another injury in between. His last appearance was on August 13th.
Predictions: Gomez and Ualefi return. Hernandez and Kraft sign elsewhere in the league.
Wingers and Forwards
Chevone Marsh – provided 12 goals along with two assists from 26 chances created. In his first season playing in the United States, he may have seen his stock rise around the league. The question for Chattanooga is, if a rebuild is in the cards, does Marsh remain a piece of it?
Ropapa Mensah – also provided 12 goals on the season, and as the younger of the goal-scoring pair, with plenty of USL Championship experience, may have a few more options in the off-season.
Marios Lomis – the 28-year-old Dutchman was a surprise addition to the squad in July. He last appeared in the league in 2021, where he led Greenville in goals. He added three goals in 12 appearances for Chattanooga and remains a curious addition. Perhaps there are plans to use him as a building block in 2024.
Moe Espinoza – the 24-year-old was the highest goal scorer from 2022 to return to the squad but was unable to match his performance. He contributed three assists and 27 chances in 21 appearances and missed eight matches in the middle of the season with injury. Could be a good pickup for a team with a right midfield/wing need.
Mayele Malango – the forward made 26 appearances with 12 starts in his first year after coming over from NISA. He provided three goals, and an assist and created 23 chances. He made increasingly fewer appearances after August 10th, but did score two of his goals in late September and early October.
Alex Tejera – also re-signed from 2022, Tejera missed a large chunk of the injury-riddled midseason as well. He ended the season with 17 appearances, five starts, and one goal. All but one appearance after returning in late August was a bench role.
Yahir Paez – the 19-year-old upgraded to a professional at the start of the season after coming up through the academy. However, he only made four appearances, two at the start of the season and two at the end.
Predictions: Marsh and Mensah form the centerpiece of the rebuild with Malango as the wild card in support. Espinoza and Lomis sign elsewhere in the league.
Off Season Needs
We’ve heard rumors that Chattanooga may be doing a total overhaul or opening up the wallet and hitting the free-agent market heavily this off-season, much like NCFC did after 2022. They’re just rumors at this point, but it would make sense considering the direction of city-rivals Chattanooga FC to MLS Next Pro.
Given the number of players who saw their minutes diminish later in the season and are not likely to return, Chattanooga will have a much bigger rebuild job than NCFC.
Jonathan Felipe, on loan from Hartford, could be a viable option to make a permanent signing at left wing. The 24-year-old helped bring a burst of energy to the club in the second half of the season and meshed especially nicely with Marsh and Mensah. He finished with two goals and seven assists in 13 appearances.
Other needs include a right winger and central attacking midfielder. Gomez can go back and forth between central attack and defensive midfield, with Ualefi (when healthy) shoring up the defensive midfield. But depth would help bring back the goals that were sorely missed this year outside of Marsh and Mensah.
Defensively, it’s probably going to be an almost total rebuild. If we’re correct that Rentería gets another chance at center back, that would leave openings at left back, center back, and right back, as well as backups, unless Lombardi and Cardona return.
Is Chattanooga willing to invest in re-signing their proven goal-scorers, add some better chance-creating midfielders and wings, and shore up the defense? It’s a tall order.
That doesn’t even touch the goalkeeping situation. Perhaps we can mark it as a down year with a bad defense for Ávilez, and he’s still the go-to. But the keeper situation remains a mystery, and there always seem to be solid goalkeepers available in free agency.