Volunteer Shield Explained

Volunteer Shield
Sport:	Soccer
League:	National Premier Soccer League
Givenfor:	Best NPSL team from the state of Tennessee
Location:	Tennessee
Country:	United States
First:	2015 (Plus retroactive 2014 awarding)
Number:	6
Last:	2019
Firstwinner:	Chattanooga FC
Mostwins:	Chattanooga FC (5)
Mostrecent:	Chattanooga FC (2019)
Url:	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

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

2014

See main article: 2014 NPSL season.

2014 results summary

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD
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

2015

See 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

2016

See 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

2017

See 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

2017 Group A

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD	SEC P	SEC GD
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]

Group B

2017 Group B

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD
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

Other 2017 matches between Tennessee teams

2018

See main article: 2018 NPSL season.

2018 results summary

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD
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

2019

See main article: 2019 NPSL season.

2019 results summary

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	D	GF	GA	GD
Chattanooga FC	6	2	2	0	0	9	1	+8
Inter Nashville FC	0	2	0	2	0	1	9	-8

See also

• 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

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Yellow Hammer - Nashville FC Supporter's Club . January 6, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150219135517/http://www.theyellowhammer.org/ . February 19, 2015 .
2. https://www.facebook.com/VolunteerShield
3. Web site: Volunteer Shield Foundation . www.facebook.com . 5 February 2020 . en.
4. Web site: Volunteer Shield Foundation . www.facebook.com . en . "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. Web site: McElhaney . Tori . Chattanooga Football Club out of playoffs with 2-1 loss to Inter Nashville [photos] ]. timesfreepress.com. 12 July 2017 .
6. Web site: Volunteer Shield Foundation . www.facebook.com . 5 February 2020 . en.