Portland Hearts Of Pine v. Chattanooga: Three Thoughts
Morse's moment, plus two more thoughts.
Portland Hearts of Pine’s magical inaugural season continues, as they defeated Chattanooga Red Wolves SC 1-0 to advance to the semifinals.
Here are three thoughts from the game.
Morse’s Moment
A road game against the second seed was a difficult task for Hearts, who went 0-1-1 against the Red Wolves during the regular season.
Chattanooga were certainly dangerous on Saturday, taking 15 shots (9 on target). Unfortunately for them, Hunter Morse had one of his best performances of the year.
The netminder’s night started early, as he made a diving save in the 11th minute. His final stop came in the 96th minute as Chattanooga made a late push for an equalizer.
FotMob listed Morse as their Player of the Match with a rating of 8.8.
Special Moment, Special Player
Ollie Wright was the Hearts’ attacking hero, as he calmly slotted the game-winner past goalkeeper Ricardo Jerez in the 55th minute.
The play started with Wright throwing the ball to Nathan Messer, who bounced it back.
Wright proceeded toward goal, finding Jake Keegan, who played a perfectly weighted return pass. Hearts’ No. 10 finished it from there.
The throw-in routine reminded me a bit of the quick corner that led to Masashi Wada’s goal against AV Alta.
Road Warriors
Hearts will once again travel next weekend, as they will play either Spokane Velocity FC or South Georgia Tormenta FC.
Hearts went 1-0-1 against Spokane this year, recording a scoreless road draw in April before winning 6-1 at home in October.
They are 0-1-1 against South Georgia, losing 2-1 on the road in April before tying 1-1 at home in July.
The game between Spokane and South Georgia is scheduled for Sunday. For now, enjoy this man wearing a hot dog suit.