The Chattanooga Red Wolves have reached a 1-1 draw against Portland Hearts of Pine.
Set pieces. That was where Chattanooga dominated. In the first half alone, they won five corners and three free kicks, each beautifully executed and each stopped at the last second.
Portland’s Hunter Morse tended their goal, and the Wolves were left to watch and plot for the first half. Adewole and Lelin kept the defense going strong, clearing the area near the box and running remarkable tackles, until a corner from Portland allowed their Felipe Rodriguez to put a shot past Smith.
Playing catch-up, the Red Wolves pressed fiercely. A corner from Omar led to a shot that Morse just barely deflected, and then to a Lombardi header that got caught before it could do any damage.
Chattanooga amassed a whopping ten corners throughout the match and maintained a steely defense. Portland never had another shot on target after their goal.
The struggle carried into second-half added time, where Omar Hernandez pulled off the equalizer: A clean cross into Portland’s box opened the faintest of windows, and a speedy toe tap sent the ball tumbling past Morse, winning Chattanooga a point at the death.
The Wolves hit the road this upcoming Saturday for a game against FC Naples. Sitting comfortably in sixth place, they’ll seek to up their placement even more and squeeze for a top-four spot.