Published for Chattanooga Red Wolves fans — October 2026
By Toxlay Sports Editorial Team · Last updated October 23, 2026
⚽ Red Wolves Fans — One Win and You’re In!
The Coach of the Year’s side, a hometown hero with 13 goals, and a playoff spot riding on the final day in New York. Deep red shirts, full voice — the Wolves have made a habit of saving their best for the nights that matter most.
The Club
Chattanooga Red Wolves Soccer Club was announced on August 1, 2018 as a founding franchise of USL League One, the name revealed that September, and the Wolves have worn red since play began in 2019. The club is owned by Robert “Bob” Martino, the developer who financed its stadium — and that stadium is the club’s pride: CHI Memorial Stadium in East Ridge, Tennessee’s first professional soccer-specific stadium, opened August 1, 2020, with a natural grass pitch installed in 2024, a 33′ × 62′ jumbotron, sky suites and the Howl Bar.
The head coach is Scott Mackenzie, Head Coach & Technical Director, appointed full-time in October 2023 — and the reigning USL League One Coach of the Year, the youngest winner in league history when he took the 2025 award. His Wolves are built on defensive steel and late drama: club lore includes a league-record 15-match unbeaten run in 2021, the league-record 7–1 win over Charlotte Independence in 2022 — still the most goals in a game in Tennessee professional soccer history — and a run to the 2022 Final. The one thing missing from the cabinet is a trophy. Everyone at CHI Memorial knows it, and it is exactly what drives this club.
⭐ FAN FAVORITE
#7 Hernández — Chattanooga Red Wolves Style Jersey
$59.99
The Dalton hometown hero — 13 league goals and 20 goal contributions. Deep red with black pinstripes — a fan-inspired take on the Wolves’ 2026 home shirt.
Last Season (2025): The Best Season That Ended in One Night
The 2025 Red Wolves produced the best regular season in club history: second place, 15 wins, 10 draws, just 5 losses and 55 points, built on one of the league’s meanest defenses and a 14-game unbeaten run from July 5 to September 27 with just one home defeat all season. Mackenzie was named Coach of the Year, goalkeeper Jason Smith won the Golden Glove with a league-best 11 shutouts and a 0.875 goals-against average, and Declan Watters made the All-League First Team.
The Open Cup gave the city its night of the year: the first Chattanooga derby, won on penalties against Chattanooga FC before 12,131 fans at Finley Stadium — the second-highest crowd ever for an Open Cup second-round match — then Las Vegas Lights beaten on penalties too, before a 1–0 Round of 32 loss to Nashville SC, who went on to win the whole tournament. And then the league playoffs: the No. 2 seed, at home, lost 0–1 to seventh-seeded Portland Hearts of Pine in the quarterfinal. One night erased a season of excellence, and it hung over everything the Wolves did in 2026.
Best Players Right Now
Omar Hernández — #7, midfielder. The hometown hero from Dalton, Georgia and the team’s attacking engine: 13 league goals in 2026, the club’s top scorer by a distance, and his stoppage-time goal against Corpus Christi on October 3 was his 20th goal contribution of the season. When Chattanooga need a moment, the ball finds Omar.
Pedro Hernández — #14, forward, captain. Six league goals in 2026 after top-scoring for the club in 2025. At the club since January 2022, he captains the side and leads the front line — the “P. HERNANDEZ 14” Wolves fans see leading the press every week, armband on his arm.
Matthew Bentley — #10, forward. Five league goals in 2026 from the English forward, a returner from the 2025 squad and a set starter in Mackenzie’s front line — the third head of a forward unit that has carried this team’s playoff push.
Jason Smith — #1, goalkeeper. The 2025 Golden Glove winner is again the No. 1, and he produced the run-in’s signature moment: a 75th-minute penalty save in the 3–0 win over Corpus Christi on October 3, protecting a lead with the season on the line.
Tobi Adewole — #2, center back. The marquee defensive signing of 2026, arrived from Charlotte — and a remarkable five goals from center back. A veteran of Pittsburgh, Colorado Springs, Indy Eleven and Phoenix, he defends his own box and attacks the other one.
Joshua Ramos — #11, defender. The U.S. Virgin Islands international is an ever-present starter who has added three goals in 2026 while holding down the back line next to Adewole and Eric Kinzner.
Star Spotlight
The Charlotte ambush. July 18, 2026: Chattanooga won 4–2 away at Charlotte Independence, the eventual Players’ Shield winners — the result of their season. After Marou put Charlotte ahead early, Aaron Lombardi scored twice in eleven minutes; Skinner equalized, but Pedro Hernández restored the lead at 88′ and Jordan Ayimbila sealed it at 90+4′. The night the Wolves proved they can beat anyone, anywhere.
Smackdown at home. July 25, 2026: Chattanooga 1, One Knoxville SC 0 at CHI Memorial — the 12th episode of the Smoky Mountain Smackdown, won against the defending league champions. Through that night the rivalry stood dead level: 12 meetings, four wins each, three draws, and not an inch given by either side.
The final home statement. October 3, 2026, the last home match of the regular season: a 3–0 win over Corpus Christi FC. Pedro Hernández scored and assisted, Omar Hernández’s stoppage-time goal was his 20th contribution of 2026, Jason Smith saved a penalty — and the Wolves finished the job with ten men after Eric Kinzner’s red card. A whole season’s character in ninety minutes.
🔥 More Fan Favorites
More Wolves stars, same deep red.
This Season (2026): Alive on the Final Day
Chattanooga sit seventh with 46 points from 31 matches — 14 wins, 4 draws, 13 losses — alive but not clinched, with Fort Wayne FC on 45 points and FC Naples on 43 still able to catch them. The Coach of the Year’s side looked like contenders again through midsummer — wins at Charlotte and against Knoxville, a 5–0 demolition of Richmond in May — then faded hard down the stretch, winning once in their last five league games. One quirk defines them: in 2026 the Red Wolves have never lost a match in which they scored first. Score first in New York on Saturday, and history says the rest takes care of itself.
The cups were a mixed bag: a USL Cup group campaign that ended without advancing, and an Open Cup that ended in the first round in Murfreesboro — a 1–0 loss to amateur side Tennessee Tempo FC, on a night the team bus blew a tire on I-24 and kickoff was delayed 75 minutes. Some seasons test you in every way possible. Everything now rides on ninety minutes at the New York Cosmos: win, and the Wolves are in the playoffs, with a shot at erasing last year’s one-night heartbreak.
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Mark Your Calendar
Saturday, October 24, 2026 — at New York Cosmos. The finale, and everything rides on it: win and the Red Wolves are in the playoffs; slip, and Fort Wayne or FC Naples can pass them. The biggest ninety minutes of Chattanooga’s season, on the road, exactly how this club seems to like it.
October 30 – November 1, 2026 — USL League One Quarterfinals. If the Wolves qualify as the No. 7 or No. 8 seed, this is their window. The top eight qualify, the bracket is single-elimination, and the higher seed hosts round by round.
November 6–8, 2026 — Semifinals. One win from the Final.
November 13–15, 2026 — the USL League One Final window. The trophy this club has chased since 2019. League matches air across CBS Sports platforms, ESPN networks, ESPN+ and TUDN.
Biggest Rivalries — The Wars
1. One Knoxville SC — the Smoky Mountain Smackdown. The in-state war, dead level through the July 2026 meeting: 12 matchups, four wins each, three draws. The 2026 editions kept the pattern of pain shared around — a 1–1 USL Cup draw in June that Knoxville took on penalties, Chattanooga’s 1–0 league win in July, and Knoxville’s 3–0 win in October. No rivalry in the league is tighter, or means more to both sets of fans.
2. Chattanooga FC — the Chattanooga Derby. The cross-city feud: Chattanooga FC, the city’s amateur-era giant now in MLS NEXT Pro, accused the Red Wolves of a market takeover attempt when the pro club launched, and the two fanbases have never forgiven each other. They finally met on the field in the 2025 Open Cup second round at Finley Stadium — 1–1 after extra time, the Red Wolves winning on penalties, before 12,131 fans. There was no 2026 meeting; the grudge simply keeps for the next draw.
3. Charlotte Independence. A long-running series with real history: Chattanooga’s league-record 7–1 win in 2022 came against Charlotte, still the most goals in a game in Tennessee pro soccer history. The 2026 meetings were a split pair of thrillers — Charlotte won 3–2 in Chattanooga in May, then the Wolves went to Charlotte in July and won 4–2, beating the Shield winners on their own ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do Chattanooga Red Wolves SC play, and what is the stadium like?
CHI Memorial Stadium in East Ridge, Chattanooga (1 Stadium Way) — Tennessee’s first professional soccer-specific stadium, opened in 2020, with a natural grass pitch installed in 2024, a 33′ × 62′ jumbotron, sky suites and the Howl Bar. Published capacities vary by source, so check the club site for the current configuration before traveling.
Who is Chattanooga Red Wolves’ best player?
Midfielder Omar Hernández (No. 7), the Dalton, Georgia hometown star — the club’s top scorer in 2026 with 13 league goals and 20 goal contributions. Captain Pedro Hernández (No. 14) leads the front line, and goalkeeper Jason Smith (No. 1) won the league’s Golden Glove in 2025.
What trophies have Chattanooga Red Wolves SC won?
None yet — the club is still chasing its first trophy. Its best runs: USL League One Finalist in 2022, losing 2–1 to South Georgia Tormenta, semifinalist in 2021, and a club-best second-place regular-season finish in 2025 under Coach of the Year Scott Mackenzie.
How can I get tickets or watch Chattanooga Red Wolves SC?
Tickets are sold through the club’s official site, chattanoogaredwolves-sc.com, for matches at CHI Memorial Stadium. Games air across the USL League One broadcast partners — ESPN+ and ESPN networks, CBS Sports Network and the CBS Sports Golazo Network, and TUDN.
⚽ Chattanooga Red Wolves Fan Shop
The full Wolves trio — Hernández, P. Hernandez and Bentley, fan-inspired in deep red.
Sources & official links: Chattanooga Red Wolves official site · USL League One official site · Chattanooga Red Wolves tickets
Red shirts, full voice, one win from the playoffs — howl on, Chattanooga.
