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Former Soccer Hawks propel Chattanooga FC to opening day win
Quote courtesy TimesFreePress.com
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Over the past several years, Mark Beattie and John Calderwood helped propel the Shorter University men's soccer program to the top of a potent Southern States Athletic Conference.
Now, the former Hawks are making their presence felt at the next level.
Calderwood scored a goal and Beattie notched an assist as the Shorter connection helped send Chattanooga Football Club to a 2-0 victory over Jacksonville United FC in the 2011 National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) opener last Saturday in front of 1,175 fans at Chattanooga's Finley Stadium.
It was the first professional goal for Calderwood, a perennial All-SSAC performer who ended his Shorter career this past fall, and the first assist of the season for Beattie, Shorter's current graduate assistant coach whose all-league collegiate career with the Hawks ended in 2009.
The Beattie-Calderwood connection came in the 43rd minute, as Chattanooga's Nick Chase stole a pass about 40 yards out and pitched ahead to Beattie, who found Calderwood undefended in front of the net.
Calderwood connected from point blank range for the club's first goal of the season and a 1-0 lead on Jacksonville.
"We broke from back and Mark had a great one-touch to me," said Calderwood, who racked up four goals and 16 assists in two seasons with the Hawks. "I made a front-post run and scored."
Chattanooga added a second goal in the second half in stoppage time, but it was Shorter's combination that provided the game winner.
Beattie and Calderwood appear to have found a comfortable home with Chattanooga FC, the reigning NPSL Southeast Division champions, and are not the only former Soccer Hawks to find success on the next level.
Shorter's all-time assists leader and former assistant coach Ciaran Traquair enjoyed a stint with Chattanooga following his collegiate playing career and 2009 graduate Anthony O'Garro signed with AC St. Louis of the U.S. Soccer Federation Division 2 Pro League's NASL.
O'Garro scored the franchise's first-ever goal last season in AC St. Louis' 2-1 loss to the Austin Aztex on April 17, 2010 -- ironically enough, that goal also came in the 43rd minute.
Beattie and Calderwood return to action with Chattanooga FC today, Friday, May 13, when they travel to Silverbacks Park in Atlanta for an 8 p.m. kickoff against the Atlanta Silverbacks reserve squad.
