The Volunteer Shield was a trophy awarded to the primary supporter group of the Tennessean club in the
National Premier Soccer League
The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...
with the best head-to-head record. It was inaugurated in 2015, and awarded retroactively to
Chattanooga FC
Chattanooga Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 2009, the team began play in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) in Spring 2020. Prior to joining the NISA ...
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
''Liriodendron tulipifera''—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus ''Liriodendron'' (the other ...
, the official state tree of Tennessee.
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.
Previous results
2014
2015
2016
2017
For 2017, the
Southeast Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
was split in two with
Knoxville Force
Emerald Force Soccer Club, formerly known and nicknamed as the Knoxville Force, was an American soccer club based in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 2010, the senior team was part of the Southeast Conference within the South Regi ...
competing in the East Division while
Chattanooga FC
Chattanooga Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 2009, the team began play in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) in Spring 2020. Prior to joining the NISA ...
,
Memphis City FC, and new team
Inter Nashville FC
Inter Nashville FC is an amateur soccer team based in Nashville suburb of Antioch, Tennessee. They began play in the National Premier Soccer League in May 2017.
History
Inter Nashville FC's roots begin in 2010, when club owner, Pedro Reyes ...
all competed in the West Division. To accommodate for this, the shield organizers divided the four teams into two groups:
*''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. 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).
Group A
''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''
Group B
''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
2019
See also
*
Cascadia Cup
The Cascadia Cup is the name of the trophy created in 2004 by supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps, which is awarded each season to the best soccer team in the Pacific Northwest. The cup is named for the ...
a three-team rivalry for MLS teams in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
*
Southern Derby
The Southern Derby is a fan-based U.S. professional soccer cup competition between USL Championship (USLC) teams based in the South-Atlantic region of the United States (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.). It was founded in 2000. The ...
a multi-team rivalry for soccer clubs in the
South Atlantic states
The South Atlantic United States form one of the nine Census Bureau Divisions within the United States that are recognized by the United States Census Bureau. This region, U.S. Census Bureau Region 3, Division 5, corresponds to the South (states ...
References
{{United States-Canada soccer rivalries
Soccer in Tennessee
Soccer rivalries in the United States
2015 establishments in Tennessee