Match Preview: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC vs. Portland Hearts of Pine
Hosts aim to continue club's best ever season
Match: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC v Portland Hearts of Pine
Date: Saturday, November 1st, 2025. 19:00 (Eastern)
Venue: CHI Memorial Stadium, East Ridge, TN. Capacity: 2,500
How to watch: ESPN+
Tickets: Red Wolves Website
Expansion side Portland Hearts of Pine will make their post-season debut tomorrow evening in Tennessee when they visit the Chattanooga Red Wolves at CHI Memorial Stadium. The game is the opener of the USL League One Quarter Finals and kicks off at 7pm (Eastern).
Chattanooga (W15 D10 L5 GF:42 GA:30 GD:+12 in the league regular season) were the surprise package of the regular season. After being tipped by many to struggle due to their threadbare squad back in March; Head Coach Scott Mackenzie engineered a stellar season through clever tactics, blistering counterattacking, and tough defending. This saw them go on a sterling 14 game unbeaten run between July 5 and September 27. They’ve won over half their home games (9/15) this season and have only lost once at CHI Memorial Stadium.
Portland (W11 D12 L7 GF:48 GA:38 GD:+10) have some talented players but have struggled for consistency on the field. However, an eight-game unbeaten that included six wins in midseason pushed them into playoff contention at the first time of asking. After clinching their inaugural playoff spot, Hearts scored a team-record six goals in their penultimate match of the season against Spokane. With four wins and six draws, they picked up points in 10 of their 15 away games this year.
The game will be officiated by Muhammad Hassan (Mississippi) and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The history
Chattanooga: P:2 W:1 D:1 L:0 GF:3 GA:2 GD:+1
Portland P:2 W:0 D:1 L:1 GF:1 GA:2 GD:-1
Given this is Portland’s first ever campaign, tonight will be just the third time these sides have met. after coming together twice during the regular season. Their first meeting, on June 7, ended in a 2-1 win to the Red Wolves thanks to goals from Declan Watters and Pedro Hernández that cancelled out an early Azaad Liadi strike. On September 13, at Fitzpatrick Stadium, a Hernández penalty put Chattanooga ahead before Kemali Green equalized for the hosts.
Probable lineups
Chattanooga
Last weekend’s 2-1 win at home to bottom club Westchester saw the Red Wolves close out their season on a high, but miss out on the League One Players’ Shield after Knoxville’s win against Greenville on the same night. Pedro Hernández continued his blistering goalscoring form with an opportunistic strike early in the game. Substitute Matt Bentley then sealed then win after a Westchester equalizer. It was fitting that the club’s two top goalscorers Hernández (10 goals) and Bentley (7 goals) were the ones to seal the win on the night.
Undoubtedly Chattanooga’s player-to-watch tomorrow night is Pedro Hernández. The 26-year-old forward has become the side’s talisman this season, having scored 10 goals and assisting in a further seven. He, along with his namesake Omar, are the key to the Red Wolves’ attack.
Omar Hernández and South African Wynand Wessels have the joint most assists in this side, with four in 2025. Goalkeeper Jason Smith has 11 clean sheets, the most of any goalkeeper in the league. Smith recently earned the league’s Golden Glove award as the 22-year-old also recorded 43 saves and a save percentage of 67.2 percent.
International experience in this Red Wolves squad is with Guatemala (Ricardo Jérez, 63 caps) and the US Virgin Islands (Joshua Ramos, 18 caps).
Portland
Hearts finished their inaugural regular season with four points form their last two games, clinching their playoff berth. This included a ruthless 6-1 over Spokane Velocity with two goals from Nathaniel James and a goal apiece from Ollie Wright (penalty), Nathan Messer, Titus Washington, and Jay Tee Kamara. The match also saw the club break the USL League One attendance record, when 6,440 fans came to Fitzpatrick Stadium. Bobby Murphy’s men then rounded out their season with a 2-2 tie against AV Alta through goals from Messer and Masashi Wada.
Defender Nathan Messer, midfielder Ollie Wright, and forward Jay Tee Kamara were all named to the USL League One Team of the Week last week (Week 34). Messer recorded two goals and one assist across two appearances in the week, helping Hearts to that club-record 6-1 win against Spokane Velocity, while also winning 10 of 18 duels and completing 57 of 81 passes. He has completed a league leading 221 crosses in 2025. Kamara registered a goal and assist in the victory against Spokane while recording three shots, completing 7 of 10 dribbles and winning 9 of 16 ground duels.
Wright recorded a goal and assist and logged 10 chances created across two games while completing 80 of 98 passes. It was the Englishman’s second Team of Week berth in succession and his 11th honor of the season, having previously been named to the Team of the Week for weeks 12, 15, 16, 19, 25, 26, 29, and 30. He was the league’s Player of the Week in Week 12, and Player of the Month for August. He’s my player to watch for Portland, and has scored nine goals and provided eight assists, including three game-winning goals. His 17 goal contributions is the most of any player in the squad and the 61 chances he’s created is the second most in the league.
Another player with nine league goals is Japanese midfielder Masashi Wada, who is suspended for tomorrow’s match. Goalkeeper Hunter Morse has made 83 saves in league player this year, the most of any keeper in the league.
Captain Mikey Lopez has a number of years MLS experience with Sporting KC and NYCFC as does center-back Séga Coulibaly with LA Galaxy, as well as almost a decade in the French league system.
Midfielders Michel Poon-Angeron and Nathaniel James are both Trinidad and Tobago internationals with 19 caps each while defender Colby Quiñónes has 11 caps with Puerto Rico. Sub goalie Kash Oladapo, Lopez, Wada, and Coulibaly are former youth internationals with the US, Japan, and France respectively.
Analysis and Predictions
This will be a tight game, but Chattanooga might have a slight edge. They’re at home and are more defensively solid. I think they will win narrowly (1–0 or 2–1), but a draw isn’t out of the question.
