FC Naples Tops Chattanooga Red Wolves 1-0 in Crucial Home Victory
#9 Gio Miglietti’s 43rd-minute goal and #1 Lalo Delgado’s five-save clean sheet secure three important points in the USL League One playoff race
Naples, FL — September 26, 2026 — FC Naples earned its first-ever victory over Chattanooga Red Wolves SC with a 1-0 win Saturday night at Paradise Coast Sports Complex, securing three critical points in the USL League One playoff race. Naples came out aggressively and produced one of its strongest attacking halves of the season.
The home side repeatedly threatened Chattanooga’s goal before #9 Gio Miglietti converted a penalty kick in the 43rd minute, sending FC Naples into halftime with a 1-0 advantage. For Miglietti, the performance reflected the team’s single-minded focus on securing three points at a crucial point in the season.
“All we thought about, all we said, was we want the result today. We wanted to win. The mentality was to protect our home and get three points,” said Miglietti. “It’s very crucial with the timing we’re in, with the playoffs just around the corner and the points needed. A team above us dropped some points before we played, so it was a great opportunity to gain some momentum.”
“I thought the first half we were absolutely brilliant. It may have been one of our better first halves of the season, especially in terms of attacking football,” said Head Coach Zak Gordon. “I thought we really made Chattanooga uncomfortable for the entire 45 minutes. We hit the bar once, hit the post once, and had a breakaway with the keeper. So, I think only being up 1-0 at the half was maybe a little bit generous for Chattanooga. I think we probably could have been up two or three.”
Chattanooga pressed for an equalizer, finishing with 17 shots and 12 corner kicks, but Naples stood firm. Captain and goalkeeper #1 Edward “Lalo” Delgado anchored the defense with five saves, earning his sixth clean sheet of the season. Defender #4 Hal Uderitz won seven aerial duels and led the team with 28 completed passes, as FC Naples kept Chattanooga’s leading scorer #7 Omar Hernandez off the scoresheet.
In midfield, #21 Marc Torrellas and #8 Juan Osorio helped Naples navigate a physical match defined by transitions and second-ball battles.
“It was a lot of transition, a lot of seeing where the ball was headed and trying to go for the second ball,” said Torrellas. “We knew it was going to be a fight. We knew Chattanooga was going to make it ugly and fight, so we just went toe-to-toe with them. We’re just happy to get a win, because we haven’t beaten this team ever, so it’s great to beat them for the first time.”
FC Naples Continues Homestand at Paradise Coast Sports Complex
Saturday, Oct. 3 – FC Naples vs. New York Cosmos (7 p.m.)
FC Naples returns to Paradise Coast Sports Complex on Saturday, Oct. 3, to host the New York Cosmos. The evening will be themed CCPS Takeover: Level Up!, presented by Arthrex, with the festivities starting at 5 p.m. on the Great Lawn with an inflatable obstacle course, face painting, and a live DJ. The halftime show will feature a special routine with more than 200 CCPS cheerleaders from 11 Collier County Schools.
Fans can also do their part for the community by bringing used batteries to the WM table for a battery takeback, where the first 100 participants will receive complimentary tickets to FC Naples’ Wednesday, Oct. 7 home match against the Richmond Kickers.
Tickets are available at www.fcnaples.com/tickets.
About FC Naples
FC Naples is Southwest Florida’s first professional soccer team, based at the state-of-the-art Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples, Florida. The club’s 2026 roster represents 13 nationalities, and the team is coming off a historic inaugural 2025 season that saw FC Naples finish fourth in the USL League One regular-season standings and become the first expansion team in league history to host and win a playoff match. FC Naples’ mission is to create a world-class family experience and forge a title-contending team to be the pride of Southwest Florida. Learn more at www.FCNaples.com.