New Stadium. New Coach. New Squad. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC is putting its near playoff miss in the rearview and focusing on the rebuild. First-time Head Coach Jimmy Obleda takes the reins in Chattanooga as the club opens its new soccer-specific stadium looking to improve on a fifth-place finish in 2019.

Obleda brought back several important pieces from the 2019 squad including All-League standouts Steven Beattie, Ualefi Rodrigues Dos Reis and Alex Mangels, but also injected new life into the roster adding in several unfamiliar faces. For those outside the club, the focus will be on how Obleda rebuilds the Chattanooga defense with the players he’s added.

The only defenders returning from the 2019 squad are Nicholas Amponsah and Leo Folla, leaving many to wonder what the Red Wolves’ back line will look like when they open the season. Chattanoogans will be especially interested in seeing where local product Jonathan Ricketts fits into Obleda’s plans for the back four.

Another point of interest for Chattanooga locals will be the opening of CHI Memorial Stadium. The Red Wolves had one of the best home records in the league in 2019, losing just once in 14 matches; they’ll look to continue that trend in their new digs.

South Georgia Tormenta FC started the 2019 season on a tear, but lost steam by mid-June and missed the playoffs by six points. Head Coach John Miglarese looks to have learned from the club’s inaugural professional season, adding depth to his roster ahead of year two.

Goalscoring was an issue for Tormenta FC throughout the 2019 season as the club struggled to find a consistent attacking threat and finished with the third-fewest goals scored in the league. Miglarese added attacking options with League One experience in Daniel Jackson, Devyn Jambga and Pato Botello Faz and will expect returners like Marco Micaletto, Jad Arslan, and Mikie Rowe to be more dangerous in the final third with a year in the league under their belts.

On the defensive side of the ball, club captain Lars Eckenrode is expected to return after missing a large portion of the 2019 season with a head injury. Having Eckenrode back in the center of defense should see the club return to its solid defensive shape we saw in the early portions of last season.

Like Chattanooga, FC Tucson begins the 2020 season with a new head coach and a roster full of new players. John Galas will be on the touchline for FCT as the club enters its second professional season looking to improve on an up and down first year.

Only four players from FCT’s 2019 roster return in 2020 -- midfielders Erik Virgen, Raheem Somerall, and Ramone Howell and goalkeeper Carlos Merancio Valdez. Expect all four to play a role this season and for Galas to fill in the gaps around them.

It’s difficult to predict how FCT will play or what the personnel will look like, but one area Galas should be looking to improve in immediately is making the most of the club’s home field advantage. Tucson took just 23 of a possible 42 points at Kino Sports Complex last season. With the combination of opposing teams’ travel, the desert heat, and a shortened season, FC Tucson should rack up the points in Arizona in 2020.

The Richmond Kickers hired Darren Sawatzky as the club’s new Head Coach and Sporting Director in December and hit the ground running. With a new man on the sidelines and new faces in the locker room, Kickers fans will be expecting big improvements in the club’s 28th season.

Sawatzky brought veteran center back Kyle Venter with him when he made the move from Tucson to strengthen the Kickers’ back line and serve in a leadership role. Venter, along with returners Conor Shanosky, Ivan Magalhaes and Wahab Ackwei are all pieces of a reliable back line that shouldn’t concede many chances.

It’s the area in front of the backs where Richmond struggled most a year ago. The Kickers scored the second-fewest goals in the league in 2019 and will need to find the back of the net more consistently to finish higher in the table in 2020.

Richmond had viable forwards last season, led by All-League selection Joe Gallardo, but lacked bite and creativity in midfield. Sawatzky added several creative midfielders and goal scorers to the roster in the offseason and we’ll get our first look at who he slots into midfield and up front this Saturday when the Kickers take on Tormenta FC in Statesboro.

We don’t know which names will be on the team sheet, but we do know from watching FC Tucson last season that Sawatzky’s side will play with energy and look to hit teams on the counter.

After finishing last and winning just four matches in 2019, life for Orlando City B can only improve in 2020. Argentinian manager Marcelo Neveleff will coach his first match for OCB when the club opens the season and he’ll be hoping to write a new chapter in the club’s history as the Lions move into the newly renovated Osceola County Stadium with a roster full of new players.

Neveleff will need to find a way to get the most out of OCB’s young talent – over half the roster is made up of Orlando City Academy products – something his predecessors struggled with. He’ll also have MLS SuperDraft picks Austin Aviza and Nick O’Callaghan at his disposal. Aviza, a goalkeeper out of Providence College, and O’Callaghan, a defender out of Florida International University, will be hoping to improve an OCB defense that conceded 52 goals in 28 matches last season.

Neveleff brought three midfielders with experience playing in the Argentinian leagues with him to Orlando and one would figure all three will feature prominently in the new head coach’s plans. Ignacio Poplawski and Theodore Ndje signed professional contracts with OCB earlier this year, while Adam Ozerri joins the Lions on loan from Ferro Carril Oeste in Buenos Aires.

Up front, fans will be eager to see the combination of Fablo Dos Santos Oliveira, who is on loan from Brazilian club Clube Atletico de Barra de Tijuca for the 2020 season, and Aleksandar Gluvacevic, a 6-foot-5 center forward who is no stranger to scoring goals in Florida – the IMG Academy graduate scored 35 goals in his senior season in 2015.