Volunteer Shield

Volunteer Shield held up at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee after being awarded to Chattanooga FC on July 4, 2015.

Sport| Soccer
League| National Premier Soccer League
Awarded for| Best NPSL team from the state of Tennessee
Location| Tennessee
Country| United States
History
First award| 2015 (Plus retroactive 2014 awarding)
Editions| 6
Final award| 2019
First winner| Chattanooga FC
Most wins| Chattanooga FC (5)
Most recent| Chattanooga FC (2019)
Website| Volunteer Shield Page

The Volunteer Shield was a trophy awarded to the primary supporter group of the Tennessean club in the National Premier Soccer League with the best head-to-head record. It was inaugurated in 2015, and awarded retroactively to Chattanooga FC for the best record during the 2014 season. The shield derives its name from the state's nickname, the "Volunteer State," and is made of Tulip Poplar, the official state tree of Tennessee.[1][2]

## Teams

[edit]

Originally contested between three teams, at the shield's peak it was contested between four clubs within the NPSL's Southeastern Conference. Chattanooga FC had been the longest standing member of the competition before it left the league following the 2019 season.

As of 2020, only one team in the NPSL (Inter Nashville) is based in the state of Tennessee.

Volunteer Shield Teams  Team Name  | First season  | No. of Shield Wins  | Last NPSL season

|
|
|

Chattanooga FC | 2014  | 5 (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019)  | 2019 (to NISA)
Emerald Force SC | 2014  | 1 (2017)  | 2018 (folded)
Inter Nashville FC | 2017  | 0  | N/A
Memphis City FC | 2016  | 0  | 2017 (to PDL)
Nashville FC | 2014  | 0  | 2016 (folded)

## Previous results

[edit]

### 2014

[edit]

Main article: 2014 NPSL season

2014 results summary  Team  | Pts  | Pld  | W  | L  | D  | GF  | GA  | GD

|
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|
|

Chattanooga FC  | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 1 | +11
Nashville FC  | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +2
Knoxville Force  | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | −13

Knoxville Force v Nashville FC May 10, 2014 |  Knoxville Force | 1-4|  Nashville FC | Knoxville, TN

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|  | Report |  |

Chattanooga FC v Nashville FC May 17, 2014 |  Chattanooga FC | 0-0|  Nashville FC | Chattanooga, TN

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|  | Report |  |

Knoxville Force v Chattanooga FC May 31, 2014 |  Knoxville Force | 0-4|  Chattanooga FC | Knoxville, TN

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|  | Report |  |

Nashville FC v Chattanooga FC June 13, 2014 |  Nashville FC | 0-2|  Chattanooga FC | Nashville, TN

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|  | Report |  |

Chattanooga FC v Knoxville Force June 21, 2014 |  Chattanooga FC | 6-1|  Knoxville Force | Chattanooga, TN

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|  | Report |  |

Nashville FC v Knoxville Force July 4, 2014 |  Nashville FC | 1-0|  Knoxville Force | Nashville, TN

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|  | Report |  |

### 2015

[edit]

Main article: 2015 NPSL season

2015 results summary  Team  | Pts  | Pld  | W  | L  | D  | GF  | GA  | GD

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Chattanooga FC  | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6
Nashville FC  | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 7 | +3
Knoxville Force  | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 15 | −9

Knoxville Force v Nashville FC June 9, 2015 |  Knoxville Force | 3-4|  Nashville FC | Knoxville, TN

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|

|  | Report |  | Stadium: Sansom Sports Complex

Knoxville Force v Chattanooga FC June 13, 2015 |  Knoxville Force | 1-1|  Chattanooga FC | Knoxville, TN

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|  | Report |  | Stadium: Sansom Sports Complex

Nashville FC v Chattanooga FC June 20, 2015 |  Nashville FC | 0-2|  Chattanooga FC | Nashville, TN

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|  | Report |  | Stadium: Vanderbilt Stadium

Chattanooga FC v Knoxville Force June 27, 2015 |  Chattanooga FC | 4-2|  Knoxville Force | Chattanooga, TN

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|  | Report |  | Stadium: Finley Stadium

Nashville FC v Knoxville Force July 2, 2015 |  Nashville FC | 6-0|  Knoxville Force | Nashville, TN

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|  | Report |  | Stadium: Vanderbilt Stadium

Chattanooga FC v Nashville FC July 4, 2015 |  Chattanooga FC | 2-0|  Nashville FC | Chattanooga, TN

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|  | Report |  | Stadium: Finley Stadium

### 2016

[edit]

Main article: 2016 NPSL season

2016 results summary  Team  | Pts  | Pld  | W  | L  | D  | GF  | GA  | GD

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Chattanooga FC  | 16 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 3 | +12
Memphis City FC  | 10 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 9 | +4
Knoxville Force  | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 19 | −11
Nashville FC  | 3 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 10 | −5

Chattanooga FC v Nashville FC May 21, 2016 (2016-05-21) |  Chattanooga FC | 2–1|  Nashville FC | Chattanooga, TN

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|
|
|

19:30 EDT (UTC-04:00) |

* Samuel Goni  55'
* Luke Winter  62'
* John Carrier  64'
* Liam Guest  67'
* Danny Reynolds  90'

| CFC Report
NFC Report |

* Joel Kazhila  32'
* Elias Tamburini  50'
* Liam Collins  62'
* Kyle McLagan  75'
* Jordan Wright  86'
* Denzel Woods  86'
* Alec Velez  90'

| Stadium: Finley Stadium
Attendance: 5,593

Nashville FC v Memphis City FC May 28, 2016 (2016-05-28) |  Nashville FC | 0–1|  Memphis City FC | Nashville, TN

|
|
|
|

19:00 CDT (UTC-05:00) |

* Fazlo Alihodzic  26'
* Liam Collins  40'

| NFC Report
MCFC Report |

* Blake Lashlee  82'
* Neil Cummings  86'
* Cameron Woodfin  89'

| Stadium: Vanderbilt Stadium
Attendance: 1,133

Knoxville Force v Nashville FC June 4, 2016 (2016-06-04) |  Knoxville Force | 3–2|  Nashville FC | Knoxville, TN

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|

19:00 EDT (UTC-04:00) |

* Dallas Dunn  2'
* Ryan Creel  65'
* Cameron Schneider  83'

| KF Report
NFC Report |

* Elliot Goodwin  16'
* Yuji Callahan  23'

| Stadium: Sansom Sports Complex

Chattanooga FC v Memphis City FC June 4, 2016 (2016-06-04) |  Chattanooga FC | 2–1|  Memphis City FC | Chattanooga, TN

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|
|
|

19:30 EDT (UTC-04:00) |

* Jon Finlay  6'
* William Roberts  31'

| CFC Report
MCFC Report |

* Santiago Moore  16'
* Fakhry Kholfan  61'
* Luke Parker  83'

| Stadium: Finley Stadium
Attendance: 3,464

Chattanooga FC v Knoxville Force June 7, 2016 (2016-06-07) |  Chattanooga FC | 4–0|  Knoxville Force | Chattanooga, TN

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19:30 EDT (UTC-04:00) |

* Sindre Welo  47'
* John Carter  66'
* John Carter  73'
* Juan Mendicabal  85'
* David Perez  89'

| CFC Report
KF Report |

* Jamie McLellan  65'

| Stadium: Finley Stadium

Memphis City FC v Knoxville Force June 12, 2016 (2016-06-12) |  Memphis City FC | 5–1|  Knoxville Force | Memphis, TN

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19:00 CDT (UTC-05:00) |  |  |  | Stadium: Mike Rose Soccer Complex

Nashville FC v Chattanooga FC June 16, 2016 (2016-06-16) |  Nashville FC | 0–2|  Chattanooga FC | Nashville, TN

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|
|

19:00 CDT (UTC-05:00) |

* Erik Furseth  1'
* Kyle McLagan  8'
* Nicholas Melville  80'

| NFC ReportCFC Report |

* Luke Winter  36'
* Danny Reynolds  38'
* Kieran Bywater  46'

| Stadium: Vanderbilt Stadium

Memphis City FC v Nashville FC June 18, 2016 (2016-06-18) |  Memphis City FC | 1–2|  Nashville FC | Memphis, TN

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19:00 CDT (UTC-05:00) |  |  |  | Stadium: Mike Rose Soccer Complex

Memphis City FC v Chattanooga FC June 25, 2016 |  Memphis City FC | 1–1|  Chattanooga FC | Memphis, TN

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|  |  |  | Stadium: Mike Rose Soccer Complex

Nashville FC v Knoxville Force June 25, 2016 |  Nashville FC | 0–1|  Knoxville Force | Nashville, TN

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|  |  |  | Stadium: Vanderbilt Stadium

Knoxville Force v Memphis City FC July 2, 2016 |  Knoxville Force | 3–4|  Memphis City FC | Knoxville, TN

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|  |  |  | Stadium: Sansom Sports Complex

Knoxville Force v Chattanooga FC July 5, 2016 |  Knoxville Force | 0–4|  Chattanooga FC | Knoxville, TN

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|
|

|  |  |  | Stadium: Sansom Sports Complex

### 2017

[edit]

Main article: 2017 NPSL season

For 2017, the Southeast Conference was split in two with Knoxville Force competing in the East Division while Chattanooga FC, Memphis City FC, and new team Inter Nashville FC all competed in the West Division. To accommodate for this, the shield organizers divided the four teams into two groups:[3]

* Chattanooga vs Inter Nashville
* Memphis City vs Knoxville Force

The results from the two matches within each group would determine who wins that group. Once the two group winners emerge, the points earned in the two regular season matches the group winners played against one another would determine the overall winner. If those points were tied, or if the two group winners didn’t play in the regular season, the first tiebreaker would be the results of a playoff match between the group winners. If the group winners did not meet in the playoffs, then the overall results stand tied between the group winners and both would be listed a co-champions.

Chattanooga and Knoxville both won their groups on tie-breakers but since neither team played one-another in the regular season, the shield champion would be decided by tie-breaker whether that be a in a playoff match between the two sides or PointPerGame average vs other Tennessee teams.[4] In the first playoff round, which Knoxville had a bye in due to winning the East Division, Chattanooga fell to Nashville, 2-1, meaning the Knoxville Force won the shield based on PPG (1.5 to 1.0).[5]

#### Group A

[edit]

2017 Group A  Team  | Pts  | Pld  | W  | L  | D  | GF  | GA  | GD  | SEC P  | SEC GD

|
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Chattanooga FC  | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 22 | +21
Inter Nashville FC  | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 22 | +10

Tiebreakers: 1) Goal Diff in the two group matches; 2) Goals Scored in the two group matches; 3) Points earned in Southeast Conference play; 4) Goal Differential in Southeast Conference matches; 5) Coin-flip[6]

Chattanooga FC v Inter Nashville FC June 17, 2017 |  Chattanooga FC | 2–1|  Inter Nashville FC | Chattanooga, TN

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|
|
|

19:30 EDT (UTC-04:00) |

* Winter 58'
* Whitehall 68'
* Reynolds 91'

| Report |

* Chamberlain 45'
* Perez 90'
* Wilson 90'

| Stadium: Finley Stadium

Inter Nashville FC v Chattanooga FC July 1, 2017 |  Inter Nashville FC | 2–1|  Chattanooga FC | Antioch, TN

|
|
|
|

* Cordova 29',  66'
* Gomez 56'
* Dunleavy 73'

| Report |

* Whitehall 42',  71'
* Aldred 69'
* Bywater 90'

| Stadium: International Indoor Soccer Complex

#### Group B

[edit]

2017 Group B  Team  | Pts  | Pld  | W  | L  | D  | GF  | GA  | GD

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Knoxville Force  | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1
Memphis City FC  | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | -1

Tiebreakers: 1) Goal Diff in the two group matches; 2) Goals Scored in the two group matches; 3) Points earned in Southeast Conference play; 4) Goal Differential in Southeast Conference matches; 5) Coin-flip

Knoxville Force v Memphis City FC June 10, 2017 |  Knoxville Force | 3–1|  Memphis City FC | Knoxville, TN

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|
|

19:30 EDT (UTC-04:00) |

* Avgousti 25'
* Tim Baker 40'
* Kelynack 51'
* Taylor 53'
* Pickering 70'
* Bamba 87'
* Foster 90'
* Schneider 90'

| Report |

* Jones 69'
* Wadda 76'

| Stadium: Sansom Sports Complex

Memphis City FC v Knoxville Force July 8, 2017 |  Memphis City FC | 2–1|  Knoxville Force | Memphis, TN

|
|
|
|

19:00 EDT |

* Steele 32'
* Wadda 44'
* Moreto 90'

| Report |

* Fernandez 32'
* Pickering 74'

| Stadium: Christian Brothers High School

#### Other 2017 matches between Tennessee teams

[edit]

Inter Nashville FC v Memphis City FC May 20, 2017 |  Inter Nashville FC | 3–0|  Memphis City FC | Antioch, TN

|
|
|
|

19:30 EDT (UTC-04:00) |

* Kholfan 27'
* Medina 46'
* Reichenberger 51'
* Narke 77'

| Report |  | Stadium: International Indoor Soccer Complex

Memphis City FC v Chattanooga FC May 24, 2017 |  Memphis City FC | 0–0|  Chattanooga FC | Memphis, TN

|
|
|
|

19:00 EDT |

* Nishi 38'
* Jones 76'

| Report |

* Yuhaschek 18'
* Carrier 79'
* Bywater 88'

| Stadium: Christian Brothers High School

Memphis City FC v Inter Nashville FC May 27, 2017 |  Memphis City FC | 0–0|  Inter Nashville FC | Memphis, TN

|
|
|
|

* Nishi 36'

| Report |

* Chamberlain 68'

| Stadium: Christian Brothers High School

Chattanooga FC v Memphis City FC June 28, 2017 |  Chattanooga FC | 1–2|  Memphis City FC | Chattanooga, TN

|
|
|
|

* Antonio 16'
* De Smedt 67'

| Report |

* Nishi 33'
* Demba 55'
* Jones 67'
* Hyman 82'

| Stadium: Finley Stadium
Attendance: 3,854

### 2018

[edit]

Main article: 2018 NPSL season

2018 results summary  Team  | Pts  | Pld  | W  | L  | D  | GF  | GA  | GD

|
|
|
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|

Chattanooga FC  | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9
Inter Nashville FC  | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0
Emerald Force SC  | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 14 | -9

Chattanooga FC v Emerald Force SC May 19, 2018 |  Chattanooga FC | 2–0|  Emerald Force SC | Chattanooga, TN

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|
|
|

19:30 EDT (UTC-04:00) |

* Valenciano 62'
* Clarke 78'

| Report |

* Zaczyk 42'
* Rodriguez  90'

| Stadium: Finley Stadium

Emerald Force SC v Inter Nashville FC May 26, 2018 |  Emerald Force SC | 1–2|  Inter Nashville FC | Knoxville, TN

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|
|
|

19:00 EDT |

* Garuba 44',
* Altman 76'
* Volny 90'

| Report |

* de Jesus 44'
* Redmond 49'
* Emerald Force Soccer Club 61' (o.g.)
* Sakou 63',  73'
* Sassano 79'

| Stadium: Sansom Sports Complex

Emerald Force SC v Chattanooga FC May 30, 2018 |  Emerald Force SC | 1–5|  Chattanooga FC | Knoxville, TN

|
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|
|

19:00 EDT |

* Barlow 32'
* Hellmann 34'
* Zapata 64'

| Report |

* Costa 3'
* Clarke 11'
* Mendizabal 22'
* Oliveira 47'
* Valenciano 65'

| Stadium: Sansom Sports Complex

Inter Nashville FC v Emerald Force SC June 2, 2018 |  Inter Nashville FC | 5–3|  Emerald Force SC | Antioch, TN

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|
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19:00 EDT |

* Collins 11'
* Dunleavy 22'
* Sakou 26, 66'
* Simon 48'
* Taylor 72'
* Reichenberger 73'

| Report |

* Barlow 8',  50' 75'
* Zapata 30'
* Garuba 42',  73'
* Alvarez 81'

| Stadium: International Indoor Soccer Complex

Inter Nashville FC v Chattanooga FC June 13, 2018 |  Inter Nashville FC | 0–2|  Chattanooga FC | Antioch, TN

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|
|
|

19:00 EDT |

* Sakou 2'
* Taylor 61' 63'

| Report |

* Valenciano 42'
* Ferraz 89'

| Stadium: International Indoor Soccer Complex

Chattanooga FC v Inter Nashville FC July 4, 2018 |  Chattanooga FC | 1–0|  Inter Nashville FC | Chattanooga, TN

|
|
|
|

19:30 EDT (UTC-04:00) |

* Oliveira 66'

| Report |  | Stadium: Finley Stadium

### 2019

[edit]

Main article: 2019 NPSL season

2019 results summary  Team  | Pts  | Pld  | W  | L  | D  | GF  | GA  | GD

|
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|
|

Chattanooga FC  | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8
Inter Nashville FC  | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | -8

Chattanooga FC v Inter Nashville FC June 8, 2018 |  Chattanooga FC | 4–0|  Inter Nashville FC | Chattanooga, TN

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|
|
|

19:30 EDT (UTC-04:00) |

* Ferraz 20, 50'
* Mendizabal 84'
* Wilschrey 86'
* Oliveira 89'

| Report |

* Brookes 60'

| Stadium: Finley Stadium

Inter Nashville FC v Chattanooga FC July 3, 2019 |  Inter Nashville FC | 1–5|  Chattanooga FC | Antioch, TN

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|
|
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19:30 EDT |

* Moreland 39'
* Silva 48'

| Report |

* Dustan 4'
* Walsh 33'
* Ferraz 43'
* Webb 47'
* De Lima 51'

| Stadium: International Indoor Soccer Complex

## See also

[edit]

* Cascadia Cup a three-team rivalry for MLS teams in the Pacific Northwest
* Southern Derby a multi-team rivalry for soccer clubs in the South Atlantic states

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Yellow Hammer - Nashville FC Supporter's Club". Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
2. ^ https://www.facebook.com/VolunteerShield [user-generated source]
3. ^ "Volunteer Shield Foundation". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
4. ^ "Volunteer Shield Foundation". www.facebook.com. "Since the two did not meet in the season, the Shield could be decided by the two teams meeting in the playoffs. Knoxville skips the quarterfinal round on the strength of the 1st-place divisional finish. Chattanooga will host Nashville Tuesday night. Should Chattanooga win that match, then Friday's semifinal between Knoxville and Chattanooga would determine the Volunteer Shield. If Chattanooga loses on Tuesday, then Knoxville wins the Volunteer Shield on the strength of their higher PointPerGame average vs. Tennessee teams (1.5 to 1.0)."
5. ^ McElhaney, Tori (12 July 2017). "Chattanooga Football Club out of playoffs with 2-1 loss to Inter Nashville [photos]". timesfreepress.com.
6. ^ "Volunteer Shield Foundation". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 5 February 2020.

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